Disclaimer: The characters you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich.

Sitting across from me at the breakfast table, Carlos had a note book and pen. He was in full business mode, planning our nuptials like it was one of his missions or a highly technical take-down.

"What?" he said when he looked up to my smiling face.

"I thought we agreed to keep this simple? You're making an awful lot of notes?" I questioned.

"Well, there's a lot to consider, firstly the date. I was thinking Friday."

"Friday! As in this Friday?" it was Wednesday, that's only three days away.

"Are you busy?" he asked with a wolf grin.

"No, Fridays good. Where were you thinking of doing this?"

"Actually I have a list to go over with you." he said while checking his notes. "If we have it here, Julie can come and we can fly down who ever you'd like from Trenton. The private jet is really and waiting."

"That's a great idea, I love it here and the garden is so beautiful, why not have the ceremony out by the pool?" I suggested pointing out the window. "We should probably phone Rachel and ask if we can visit with Julie a.s.a.p."

"Taken care of Babe, we're picking Jules up from school this afternoon. I thought we'd go shopping for your dresses." Carlos said while ticking off his list. "Oh and I've received a conformation fax this morning that our marriage licence is in order."

"Cake! Don't forget cake." I waved my hand at his list.

"Maria is organising the cake and flowers. We have an appointment in an hour with the jeweller for our rings." another tick. "Have you given much thought to the guest list?"

"No, only that Julie will make a gorgeous flower girl. Have you?" I shrugged.

"I'd like Tank to be my best man. He'll be flying down Friday morning."

"Well then, Lula would make a fabulous bridesmaid." do they even make bridesmaid dresses in spandex?

"So there's you and me, Jules, Tank and Lula, Maria will be here to take care of the food. I'll ask Ed to be our official photographer and the celebrant will only be here for the ceremony. What about your family Babe?"

"I'd love my Dad to give me away, but I'm not sure about my Mum. I don't want her to rain on my parade. Let's keep in small and intimate."

"Well I need to speak to your father anyway." he said while dialling a number on his phone. "Mrs Plum, this is Carlos Manoso. May I speak with Mr Plum?"

Oh my god, what was he doing?

"Mr Plum, this is Carlos Manoso. Good thank you sir. The reason for my call, yes sir, she's fine. I know this is not the best circumstance, I would rather ask you in person, but I'm in Miami with Stephanie. I have asked her to marry me and she has accepted. We would like your blessing. Yes sir. Friday. Do you think Mrs Plum…..? I will have Tank contact you with the details. The plane will be ready for take-off a 0900 hours, Friday. Yes sir, thank your sir, um Frank. See you Friday."

"I can't believe you did that. What did he say?" I sat in shock.

"He said it was about time I pulled my head outta my arse. He said he'll take care of Helen and to call him Frank."

"What about your family?"

"You met some of them when Alex brought you to Mamma's house. There are so many, it would be hard to keep it quiet and intimate. Maybe we could just surprise them with the news."

"Won't your Mamma be upset?"

"She hasn't been well enough to fly over the past couple of years. She will understand. She will be happy for us, you'll see." closing his note book he added. "We better leave, we have an appointment."

We were sitting outside Julie's school, waiting for her exit. I looked down at the engagement ring on my finger. Ranger insisted on getting the biggest and best diamond solitaire, I took some convincing, but when he said it would be an investment, I reluctantly agreed. It was beautiful and felt really good on my finger. The past few days had felt like a dream and I'm sure our wedding was going to be like a fairy tale. My day dreaming was interrupted by Julie's screeching voice.

"Steph, I can't believe you're here? I've been bugging Ranger to bring you for a visit for ages."

She seemed genuinely happy to see me. We hugged and she hopped into the small back seat of the Porsche.

We headed to the mall where Carlos had arranged for us to try on dresses. Jules bopped excitedly on the back seat, asking millions of questions. Carlos explained that we planned on getting married this Friday and that we'd both love for her to be our flower girl. She was delighted and had the biggest smile on her face.

The boutique was full of amazing gowns. Carlos left us to it, saying he'd meet us back here in an hour. The store manager asked a whole lot of questions about what I'd like, so that we could narrow in down.

She took some measurements and came back with three different dresses. I tried them all on and Jules helped me pick one. It was a very plain and simple design in white satin. Perfect for the Miami weather and a garden ceremony. It needed some minor alteration, but would be ready by tomorrow.

I was so happy to be able to share this experience with Julie. She had some valid input and seemed to know what she was talking about. When I questioned her, she said her fav show was America's next top model. She says she and her friends have picked up heaps of fashion tips from the show.

Picking Julies dress was a little more complicated. She had the style narrowed down to two. But we both had trouble picking a colour. Julie flipped out her mobile and rang Carlos.

"Yo yourself." she giggled, "Um, I'm having trouble deciding on a colour for my dress. I've narrowed it down to two. Pink or blue? Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Thanks Ranger, see you soon." and she disconnected.

"He says he likes blue as it will match your eyes." she giggled.

"Done, now a dress for Lula."

We flipped through all the racks of bridesmaid dress and didn't come up with any. I explained to the store manager that Lula was in Trenton and wouldn't be here until the day of the wedding.

She said that they had a store in Newark, if Lula could choose a dress from there, she would ring the Newark store manager with all the details of our dresses and they'd be able to set Lula up with something to match. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Carlos was back and handed over this credit card and arranged for the delivery of the dresses to his house tomorrow. He also organised to pay for whatever Lula picked out in Newark.

Next stop, shoes. We made our way over to Macy's. I knew the brands they stocked and was excited to find the perfect FMP's to go with my dress. Jules found some sweet silver ballet flats.

My stomach let out a huge growl. Bridal shopping sure works up an appetite. We all laughed.

"Better feed the beast, Babe." Carlos announced.

We stopped at a seafood restaurant backing onto the wharf. I wasn't sure where abouts in Miami we were, but Julie commented that she'd been here before and the food was delish. Apparently she lived close by.

The food was 'delish' and we enjoyed each other's company. We dropped Jules off and had a quick visit with Ron and Rachel.

On the drive back home, Carlos handed me his phone to ring Lula and fill her in on everything. It took longer than I'd hoped, Lula needed every detail. We were pulling up to the house gates, so I explained that I had to go and I'd see her Friday.

It had been an exciting but exhausting day and I was dead on my feet. I headed to the shower and then curled up in bed with my warm hard bodied Cuban. Yum.