Chapter 13:
"So she really ran you ragged?" Shana laughed at the expression on Flint's face in the mess hall. "I warned you she was a shopper!"
"Warned him about what?" Allie said, sitting beside her fiancé and lightly bumping into him. "Oh, the shopping. I told him he didn't have to come, that the three girls could handle it."
"Yeah, and not sure what our furniture would look like then," he muttered, giving Courtney a side-long glance who grinned back at him.
"Hey, everyone needs a chaise lounge! And, that mirror would've looked great on the ceiling!"
Allie burst out laughing. "I had forgotten about that. The look on Dash's face was priceless at that moment!"
Shana sighed, trying for a mature look, but failing as she too burst into laughter. "Not to mention the sales clerk! I think he was about ready to escort us out of the store at that point!"
Allie rubbed Flint's arm and laid her head on his shoulder. "Well, we did kind of gang up on him without anyone on his side. Poor baby."
"Just because none of the guys were dumb enough to be suckered into coming with us," muttered Flint. He shook his head. "Did we even accomplish anything today?"
Allie smiled sympathetically at him, then pulled a photo out of her pocket. "What about this for the master bedroom?"
He looked at the photo of the oak furniture. "Now this, I like. I don't remember this from yesterday, but then again, my head's still hurting…" He once again glanced over at Courtney, who pretended to be studying her nails.
Allie chuckled. "It's actually mine, just in storage. I can have that and a few other pieces sent over to the house once we sign the contract. I think it'll be much better than some of the things we saw yesterday. Oh, and your mom called me and offered us her kitchen table. Said something about your Dad offering to get her a new one if she got rid of it, I mean, let us have hers."
She knew she had him there. She was a firm believer in good karma and that scarred table had it. Plus, she realized, in the house they were buying, the older, more traditional furniture would look more at home than any of the newer pieces they had looked at. She just didn't mention to Flint that her "storage" was her New York penthouse. She was selling it anyways, she told herself, so better to sell unfurnished. She wouldn't be using it, anyways.
"When do you guys sign the contract?" Shana asked, grateful when Duke joined them. Flint needed the extra testosterone support at the table. Courtney's giggles were earning a glare from Beach Head, who was sitting over at the next table. While Flint was not one of the drill sergeant's favorite people, he really connected with Allie and had already expressed to both Shana and Courtney his misgivings of two Joes getting married. It had not gone over well with Courtney who, even though she was nowhere near contemplating marriage, was bummed that he was not thinking of a more serious commitment.
Allie answered, since Duke and Flint were already in a separate conversation. "Next week. My lawyer's looking over the contract, making sure everything's kosher, so to speak." She shrugged. "The realtor's small time so I'm sure they're happy to get this property off their hands and get the commission." Allie was just hoping that her lawyer was taking this less seriously than his efforts at getting Allie to sign a prenup. She wanted nothing to do with that, believing something like that doomed the marriage from the start. It stated that you didn't trust the marriage to last. Of course, your parents hadn't had one, and look what happened to them, a voice in her head argued. Yeah, but they never divorced, just went their separate ways, she argued back.
"Earth to Allie! You ready to go, girl?" Courtney snapped her fingers in front of Allie's face, who looked up, not realizing she had gotten lost in her own thoughts. "Don't you have to call your mother tonight and tell her the date and time of the ceremony?"
Allie groaned. "I almost forgot, but she'd never forgive me if I let her miss it. Just promise me that you and Hawk will see to her at the reception?"
Courtney grinned back. "Yeah, I've had my shares of society matrons, don't worry about it! Hawk knows his role is to distract. She just has that cool way of insulting you so that you have no clue she did until she walks away! Man, that's class!"
"Whatever," Allie managed to smile back, already nervous about the phone call. She patted Flint's shoulder as she passed him on the way out the door.