Savior
Chapter 76
-xx-
"Step away from the computer," Cate grinned as she looked over her shoulder to see Derek striding down the hallway.
She adjusted her glasses as she swiveled around in the chair at the island. "I'm not working," she said as she lifted her hand into the air in a mock salute. "I promised I wouldn't work today."
Derek chuckled as he reached the kitchen. He dropped a kiss to her lips. "Then what are you doing?"
"Shopping," she said nonchalantly.
Cate turned her seat back towards the laptop in question. Derek peeked over her shoulder to see the split screen of Pinterest and shopping websites. "Shopping for what exactly?"
She shrugged. "Wedding stuff," she answered with a raised eyebrow. Derek stepped away from her chair and around the island to retrieve a cup of coffee. "Speaking of," Cate said as she reached for her own coffee mug. "When are you going to get fitted for your suit?"
Derek laughed as he reached into the fridge to grab creamer. "Next time you are heading to your aunt's shop, I'll go with you to get measured."
"No, you won't," she exclaimed. "The next time I am going to her shop is to have my next fitting."
"So?" he asked before taking a sip of his coffee.
"So?" she repeated as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You are not seeing my dress!"
Derek chuckled. He placed his mug on the counter and rested against the cabinets behind him. "Are you a stickler for tradition?"
Her eyebrow rose in his direction. "For some things, I guess I am. I don't want you seeing my dress before I walk down the aisle!"
Sometimes it was too easy to get a rise out of her, he thought. "My measurements are the same as what I have for Desi's wedding, babe. I already sent them to your aunt."
She sighed at his words. She picked up the pen sitting on top of her notebook and threw it in Derek's direction, hitting him in the chest. "You're a pain the ass," she said with a huff.
He grinned in her direction. "Brendan already sent his to Jeanne as well," he added. "And she said she already had your brothers all set." He leant forward to stretch across the island to take her hands in his. "I've got my part all taken care of, Catie."
"You just like stressing me out, don't you?" He winked in response to her question. "It's such a good thing I love you."
He stepped around the counter and leant down in front of the brunette. "Not nearly as much as I love you," he responded before pulling her into a kiss.
"While you're here," she said as they pulled away. She directed his attention to the laptop on the counter and started flipping through different photos. "Grace's mom sent over a few options for centerpieces."
Derek sighed as he glanced at the screen. He placed a kiss to her shoulder next to her tank top strap before returning to his coffee. "I'm not picking centerpieces, Cate," he answered gently. She narrowed her eyes in his direction. "I don't know the first thing about flowers, or table decorations."
"Just tell me from these pictures what you like," she whined. "They're just something to on. Gloria is amazing at what she does."
Derek nodded and turned the laptop towards him on the counter. "You wanted to keep it simple and let the venue speak for itself," he began. Cate rested her chin on her palm as she leant against the countertop and watched him. He has been listening, she joked to herself. "I think the boxes and simple table numbers are nice."
"That's what I was thinking too," she agreed. "But I love that long one too – in different colors, of course. Maybe we can do a smaller version of that on our table?"
"Aren't we sitting with the bridal party?"
She grinned at how interested he became. "No," she answered softly. "We have our own table, my love. They call it a sweetheart table."
He huffed at her answer. "At least B won't be able to steal my food," he joked back, referring to their childhood.
Cate rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what I was really worried about," she said sarcastically. "It's not like we'll be sitting a lot, anyways."
Derek shrugged his shoulders and spun the laptop back towards Cate. "Do whatever you want, Catie," he urged. "Just as long as you don't make a 'hashtag'," he said, accenting the last word.
Cate chuckled as she placed her mug to her lips. "Sorry, #MorganPartyOf2 is already live on Facebook," she answered with a wink.
-xx-
"What are you so nervous about?" Cate turned to her sister and sighed.
"What if the alterations change my dress too much?" the younger brunette answered honestly.
Jackie scoffed as she placed her coffee cup on the table. She put a hand on each of Cate's shoulders and made her sister look directly at her. "Auntie will not let you take a dress out of here that you do not love," she reminded. "It's going to be gorgeous."
Cate took a deep breath and slowly let it out before stepping in to the fitting room to meet her aunt.
Minutes later, she waited for Jeanne to pull back the curtain. Jackie stood on the other side, impatiently tapping her foot against the tile floor. "Oh wow," her sister muttered as the curtain pulled back. "It's amazing, Cate."
The younger brunette nodded; she was unable to keep the grin from spreading across her face. She stepped out of the fitting room and took in the entire piece in the mirror.
She had spent many days trying dresses on in her aunt's shop; Jackie, Cate and her daughter all played dress up in their younger days. A framed photo in the front of the shop was the three girls around ten years old all wearing wedding dresses that were way too big for all of them.
"Cate," her sister sighed behind her. "You look beautiful."
Cate grinned at her sister's words. The dress was exactly how she imagined it. When she tried it on, the skirt was too full for her liking. Her aunt removed most of the volume under the skirt; Cate was thrilled with the outcome. She loved the full skirt but did not want to be weighed down by excess fabric.
"Derek will not know what hit him," the three ladies looked up in the doorway to see Helena step into the fitting area. "Amazing work, Bean," she added to her best friend, referencing the nickname the kids had given her years prior.
"You've given me two beautiful girls to work on, Helena," Jeanne replied. "I can't believe this is the last wedding dress I get to work on for the Johnson girls."
Cate grinned as she turned to check out the rest of her gown. The bodice fit perfectly; Cate was always a fan of the sweetheart neckline. She had already envisioned leaving her neck open and only wearing a pair of dramatic earrings to match the embellishment her aunt added to the waistline.
"Auntie," Cate started, but lost her train of thoughts as she took in every detail. She ran her fingers over the accent on the waistline; Jeanne removed the satin ribbon that was originally there and added all crystals. "I love it."
Her godmother grinned from next to her. "I'm so glad, Cate."
Most of the extended train had been removed; Cate watched as Jackie learned to bustle the back of it. "Thank God you got rid of most of the fabric," she said with a laugh.
"What do you think Derek will say?" Cate asked cautiously.
"He'll be speechless," her mother assured her. "This is not what I expected that you'd love, Cate, but you look radiant."
Jackie and Jeanne finished the bustle. Jackie let out a content sigh. "I guess it's only fair, since you had to do mine." The two sisters laughed. Her hands darted into her sister's hair, and started showing her what she was thinking. "Up or down?" she asked as she tussled with her curls.
"I'm torn," Cate replied. "I love the look of having it down."
Jackie nodded and stepped back for a moment, taking in the dress. "With the open back, it would look nice."
Helena and Jeanne watched the sisters go back and forth from the couch. The best friends were caught laughing as Cate became frustrated with her sister. "You have plenty of time to decide, Cate," Jeanne offered.
"Six weeks," her mother reminded, leading to a frustrated sigh escaping Cate's lips.
But then she realized – only six weeks stood between her and the man of her dreams.
-xx-