Hannah ...

The next couple of days flew by in a blur of wedding planning. Lori and Lauren became instant friends over the wedding details. We settled on a combination of seafoam green, turquoise, and blush pink as my spring wedding colors. Everything from the flowers to the tablecloths, Lauren and Lori’s dresses, and the decor were in those colors.

Roman and I made a date out of our trip to the courthouse to pick up the marriage license. He spoiled me at an expensive restaurant for brunch, and kissed me whenever he got the chance.

After brunch, he gave me a quick tour of his penthouse apartment before dropping me back off at home with Lauren and Lori.

"I’ve got to head back to work," Roman said to me at the front door. He held me by the waist and my arms were draped over his shoulders.

This was becoming our new favorite way of standing together.

"You’re running off to leave me with the wedding planners," I said, teasing him about rushing off to work. Roman smiled.

"Maybe we can carve out a bit of time together this evening," Roman said. "Just you and me."

The front door opened and neither of us pulled apart. We had gotten used to being close while around other people. Lori peeked out at us. "Lauren said that I could ask you for your credit card, Roman," Lori said to him. "The last thing we have to get is Hannah’s wedding dress." Lori smiled at me excitedly.

Roman and I pulled apart, and he reached into his back pocket to get his wallet. His blue eyes were on me. "I don’t think a dress can make you any more beautiful than you already are," Roman said, "but you can buy any dress that you like." Roman handed his card to Lori, who thanked him and ran off, presumably to share her victory with Lauren.

I smiled at Roman. "You’ll regret missing the wedding dress trip," I said sarcastically.

Roman laughed. "I only care about seeing you walk down the aisle in the perfect wedding dress," he said.

"I’ll see you tonight," I said, pushing open the front door.

Roman winked at me, and I waved goodbye to him as his driver drove off.

Back inside the house, Lori and Hannah were impatiently waiting for me.

"It’s about time," Lauren said. "Let’s go find your wedding dress!"

On our way to the dress shop downtown, Lauren and Lori inundated me with the details of what type of dress they thought would complement my body type.

"I can definitely see you in a mermaid style dress with a long train," Lauren said to me, showing me pictures on her phone.

"The dresses with the really low-cut back are so cute," Lori added, showing me more pictures of dresses.

"Look at this one, Lori," Lauren said, showing her the screen of her phone. "Don’t you just love this vintage style?"

"It’s beautiful!" Lori squealed. "Show Hannah."

I glanced at the dress, and it was definitely beautiful, but I wasn’t sure if Roman would like it. "I love your ideas," I said to them, "but I need to try it on to know if it’s the one."

"I totally agree," Lauren said.

"We’re here," Lori pointed out, and when the driver stopped, she was the first one out the door. When we entered the dress store, we were surrounded by white dresses of all shapes and sizes. Lori and Lauren dragged me around the store, assessing dress materials and styles while I watched them debate.

Most of their suggestions were great, but I turned down a few that were too revealing or just not my style.

"Try this one," Lori said, holding up a dress next to me.

The back was low cut, the sleeves were off the shoulder, and the train fanned out in an exaggerated mermaid tail. I went into the dressing room to try it on and I gaped at my image in the mirror. The dress hugged my curves in all the right places, but it was still modest.

A combination of lace and silk worked well together, swirling around the dress in an elegant pattern all the way to the end of the train.

Tears stung my eyes as I realized it was perfect. I loved it and I truly believed that Roman would love it too.

"You OK in there?" Lori asked from outside the dressing room. Instead of answering her, I opened the door and placed my hands on my hips to show off the dress. Lori gaped at me and Lauren had a huge smile on her face.

"I love everything about it on you," Lauren said.

"You’re so beautiful, Hannah," Lori said, looking me over in the dress, her eyes wide with wonder.

"This is the dress," I said. "How much is it?" Lori and Lauren shared a look and I frowned.

"It doesn’t matter," Lauren said, flashing Roman’s credit card at me. "Roman’s paying." She walked away toward the register and spoke with the woman there. They both glanced over at me, and Lauren made the transaction with Roman’s credit card.

"It’s worth every penny, Hannah," Lori said, smiling at me.

When we got the dress home, I hung it in my closet and joined Lori and Lauren in the main family room. They were huddled together discussing what looked to be more wedding details. I asked a maid to bring Lauren and me a glass of wine and herbal tea for Lori.

"That’s over three hundred people," Lori said suddenly.

"It’s family, friends, friends of friends, and business colleagues," Lauren said. "Roman didn’t want to leave anyone out." Lori turned to me, still gaping at the number of guests we would be inviting.

I shrugged. "Roman wants a big wedding," I said to my sister. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"I think the museum is a perfect venue," Lauren said. "And Roman rented the space all day, including buying tickets for everyone to the new

exhibit."

"We haven’t been to the museum in years, Hannah," Lori said, excitement evident in her expression.

I smiled at her. "You deserve to enjoy yourself," I said to Lori.

"Both of you. This wouldn’t have come together so quickly if I had done it on my own."

At that moment, Roman strolled through the door of the main family room.

"How’d it go today?" he asked us, sitting down next to me on the sofa.

"We accomplished what we planned," I said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

"Her dress is gorgeous, Roman," Lauren said, placing his credit card on the table and sliding it toward him. "Hannah wouldn’t have purchased it, so I kept the card from her."

Roman laughed, picking his credit card up off the table. He leveled his blue gaze with mine. "I’m glad to have those two looking out for you in my absence," he said.

"I’d hate to be around when these two plan their own weddings," I said.

"If it were up to you, Hannah," Lori said, "you and Roman would be married at the courthouse."

"Wedding planning isn’t for everyone," I admitted.

"Can you two handle the details while I steal my fiance away for a moment?" Roman asked Lori and Lauren.

"Go ahead," Lori said.

"Don’t let us stop you," Lauren added.

Roman stood and whisked me away to his study, closing the door behind us. We wrapped our arms around one another, and I leaned my head against his chest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me.

I sighed. "Exhausted and overwhelmed," I said. "Even with Lori and Lauren handling the details, there’s still so much to think about."

"But you’ve been having fun too, right?" he asked, and I gazed up at him with a smile.

"I’ve had so much fun," I said. "It’s great that you and Lauren get along so well with my sister. I’ve never really thought about what my wedding would be like, but I hope that planning my real wedding is this much fun."

Roman frowned at me in confusion. "Your real wedding?" he asked me.

"Yes, a wedding where me and my groom aren’t getting married because of a contract," I said. Roman took my left hand and rubbed my empty ring finger.

"But, this is a real wedding, Hannah," he said to me. "Once we have the ceremony and file the marriage license with the county clerk, we’ll legally be husband and wife. Our family and friends will know it’s a real wedding, and I want you to see it as a real wedding, too."

I bit my lip as I stared into his blue eyes. Roman was right, the wedding would be real in the sense that we would legally be bound by marriage, but my heart was still trying to catch up with what my brain was telling me. He was still holding my left hand, so I slipped my fingers between his to lace our fingers together.

"Tell me again that it’s real, Roman, make me believe it."

"This is real, Hannah, I want you to marry me," he said. "Hannah Macalester, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

I smiled up at him. "Yes, I will marry you, Roman Thaddeus," I said.