Arianaâs face flushed. âDonât be ridiculous! These are my friendâs family. They were kind enough to give me a ride home, so I invited them to the wedding. Itâs not what you think!â
The woman in red just laughed. âSneaky, sneaky! Who offers a casual friend a ride home and then gets invited to a family wedding? Theyâve never even met the bride! All this fancy treatment for a random friend? Doesnât add up, does it? Donât insult my intelligence. Who brings a random person home? Let alone to a family thing like a wedding?â
Just then, Damien was in the car, hung up on Jacob, and stepped out.
Shawbury wasnât exactly known for luxury cars or glamorous people. So, when Damien walked out in his khakis and sweater, looking like a million bucks, everyone stopped and stared.
The woman in red whoâd been grilling Ariana practically had her jaw on the floor. After a stunned silence, she squeezed Arianaâs hand way too hard.
Dressed in a vibrant red dress, the womanâs eyes lingered covetously on Damien as she leaned in to whisper to Ariana. âAge ainât nothing but a number, honey! Look at him⦠I can practically smell the money bags! Come on, spill the beans. Howâd you snag him? Check out the car, the clothes, the whole package! This guy has gotta be at least a department manager, right?â
Cherise, catching wind of her covetous tone, couldnât suppress a smirk. âOh, you have no idea youâre selling him short.â
âReally?â The woman in the red dress instinctively turned towards the voice.
Only then did she notice another woman standing behind Ariana. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she called out Cheriseâs name in a stunt.
âDo you know me?â Cherise was surprised that this stranger knew her name.
âOf course! We went to high school together!â The woman in the red dress pursed her lips. âI used to pick on you back then⦠I mean, we even sat in front of each other! Iâm Stella Page. Hey, donât you remember me?â Stella frowned.
Cheriseâs mind was blank, but she played along. âYeah, yeah, of course I remember,â she mumbled.
Stella kept rambling, lost in her own world. âThe couple getting married today- Savannah and Steve were classmates with us back in high school! Remember graduation? Considering how deeply they were in love, everyone assumed the gorgeous Savannah would marry the class heartthrob.
She paused and then ruefully shook her head, âBut who knew the prettiest girl in our class would end up-marrying the biggest dork? Money talks, I guess.â
Stella snapped out of her nostalgic rant and turned back to Ariana, still holding her hand. âSpeaking of money, how loaded is this new boyfriend of yours?â
Ariana fumbled, her face flushing. âWait, no! Not my boyfriendâs car! Donât jump to conclusions! Itâs actually her husbandâs,â she explained, gesturing to Cherise.
Stellaâs eyes widened in surprise. âWait, what? Your husbandâs?â
At this point, Cherise couldnât keep up the pretense of stay out of the drama any longer. She gave Stella a sheepish smile. âYep, heâs my husband.â
Hearing this, Stellaâs admiration for Damien quickly soured into disdain. âWell, that explains the flashy car. Itâs probably rented and for show. Seems like heâs just putting on airs with his supposed wealth and sophistication, huh?â
Adding insult to injury, she continued, âWho wouldâve thought a plain Jane like you would end up with such a vain man for a husband. Quite the surprise. But I guess you two complement each other.â
Glancing towards the hotel entrance where a wealthy relative had just arrived, Stella nudged Ariana.
âIâll go say hi to Granduncle. Since theyâre your guests, why not show her in? Todayâs Savannahâs wedding, and thereâs a bunch of our old high school buddies around. You know the drill. See if you can slot her in with the gang.â