“Shit, sorry,” I say, registering just how crap I’ve been with my phone. “Yeah, I stayed all weekend. It was crazy, crazy good.”
We’ve only got fifteen minutes before Claire’s appointment, so I run through my trip to the beach with Janie in one long gush of excitement – letting her know about the kids on the beach comments from Ant and how happy that made me. I talk about the lovely pub meal and the little table we had in the corner.
“Holy shit! That’s amazing!” she says, then leans on the reception counter. “Damn. I wish I’d have been the one at Hanley Hall that night. You’ve found yourself a superstar.”
We laugh together, and I decide to do it. I step closer and take hold of my diamond pendant, holding it up for her to see. Her eyebrows rise as she catches sight of it, looking between the pendant and my face and back again, over and over.
“Is that..? That’s a real diamond, isn’t it?”
I nod. “He gave it to me on Saturday night.”
I neglect to mention it was on the back of me taking two random guys’ cocks, even though a little shadow inside of me wants to.
Janie is struggling to believe it, just like I was when he gave it to me.
“That thing must have cost an absolute fortune. Just imagine what your damn engagement ring is going to look like!”
My heart races, and I’m thankful that Claire arrives early, because I can’t get into the conversation with Janie yet about how serious things are getting between me and Ant. Fantasies are becoming real life so quickly, and I’m still digesting it myself. I can’t tell her yet about how Ant wants me to give up the Newton Road apartment and how he’s thinking about relocating back to work in the UK one day. Because it’s not one day in the distant future he’s talking about, and I know it. I saw it in his eyes.
I need time to let it sink in.
“Hey, Claire! Hey, Lena!” Janie’s attention is fully on our clients as they step into the office, and I turn my attention to them, too.
Out of all of the clients I’ve met so far in Malvern, I love Claire the most. The rapport between us at being the same age and sharing the same kind of dream is a beautiful feeling. She has hair as black as mine is, in the same natural wave style to her shoulders, and she’s the same kind of shape as me, just a little bit shorter. Seeing her try on her wedding dress for the second time gives me a rush of tingles, because I can see myself being in her shoes one day, smiling the same happy smile as she swishes around in her gown.
“Me and Lena went on a trial run hen do this weekend, just the two of us,” she tells me and Janie. “I think we’ve picked the venue we’re going to take the rest of the girls to, right on the beach front in Saundersfoot.”
Lena agrees with a nod and a smile. “The sea was so rough. We watched the waves for hours on Saturday, couldn’t get enough!”
Damn – life’s synchronicities are coming hard and fast.
Janie smiles at me, and then at them. “Cass went to the beach this weekend, too. Her boyfriend took her to Westward Ho!”
“Wow! I love it there!” Claire says. “The waves against the sea wall are just crazy!”
I’m grinning. “I know. I’ve loved it there since I was a kid.”
It’s another sense of rapport between us, and it’s a reminder of how much I’ve missed times like these – having fun with friends around me.
Janie elbows me with a nod, like she’s about to share a top-level secret with them before she speaks.
“Cass is going to be needing table decor herself soon. She met her boyfriend a few weeks ago, and he’s the love of her life, for sure.”
I love the affection in her eyes, and that’s mirrored by both Claire and Lena. Claire gives me a hug.
“Two approaching thirty-year-old brides-to-be!” she laughs. “We’re on the same team!”
“I’m not a bride-to-be, yet,” I reply, laughing along with her. “I don’t have an engagement ring to show it.”
“She will!” Janie jumps in. “Look at the pendant he just got her. Check it out.”
Claire and Lena slap hands to their mouths when I hold it up.
Claire mirrors Janie’s thoughts.
“Holy shit, just imagine what your engagement ring is going to look like!”
The thought is becoming a lot more real. I have no idea what kind of ring Ant would pick for me, but I have no doubt whatsoever that it would be crazy impressive. I’d be looking at it every five seconds of every single day, just to check it was still on my finger.