Emily smiled at her gratefully. They reached a certain altitude and the perky flight attendant came back with some fresh fruit and croissants. “The hot breakfast will be out in a few moments,” she said and left them again.
The girls ate their breakfast and made plans for the day. The first thing they were doing was some major shopping and then some gambling, followed by a couple of shows. Emily couldn’t wait until the luxurious jet ride ended.
They landed in no time and were whisked off from the airport in another limo. They drove down the strip and Emily’s eyes were glued to the window. She was looking everywhere she could. She wished they were going slower so she could see more of the area.
They pulled into the Mirage and were taken to their luxury suite. “Mark made the reservation for us. I told him it was silly to get such an expensive room, considering we weren’t going to be spending much time in it but he insisted on only the best for his bride,” Jessica said to Emily.
Emily was so awed by the amazing suite she had tears in her eyes. The room was bigger than her old apartment, by twice the size. There was a huge living room area and three bedrooms. Fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers were displayed on the table. She wished she had an entire week to spend in the suite alone.
“Time to go,” Amy said, barely able to contain her excitement.
“I agree, there’s a lot of shopping to do and very little time to do it,” Jessica added.
“Okay,” Emily reluctantly agreed and followed her two friends out.
Emily may have been reluctant to leave the luxurious suite but soon found herself glad she did. The strip was phenomenal and she wanted to stop and look at everything. When they reached Caesars Palace and started shopping, she was hooked.
She’d never been a materialistic person and was still reluctant to use the credit card Amy had placed in her hand but it was hard not to enjoy the gorgeous mall they were traversing through.
“Mark said if you didn’t come home with several bags, he wasn’t going to be happy,” Amy said as she pulled Emily towards an exclusive lingerie boutique. “I think this would be a great place to start,” she said with a giggle.
They shopped for several hours, then had their items taken back to the suite, while they enjoyed a buffet lunch. “I think I’m going to gain ten pounds on this trip,” Amy said, as she sat back, rubbing her very flat stomach.
“I agree,” moaned Jessica.
“I’m not going to fit into my own wedding dress,” Emily added with a satisfied smile.
“Well we better go walk off all this food then,” Amy said and they were off to explore some more of the city.
They watched a pirate fight in front of Treasure Island and a volcano explode on the strip. They took a gondola ride and walked so much Emily’s feet were killing her by the end of the night.
The girls finally stopped in the casino and played some blackjack, which they were horribly unsuccessful with, then crawled back to their room as dawn was breaking, to catch a few hours of sleep.
When their car picked them up at noon, they were all much quieter on the trip home and fell asleep the entire jet ride back. Soon they were picked up from the airport, heading back to the ranch to be pampered and dressed for the evening wedding.
Emily didn’t even have time for her nerves to get the better part of her. Before she knew it she was standing behind a set of closed doors, waiting for her time to walk down the aisle. Her panic started to set in at that moment.
Chapter Eight
Jessica and Amy were fussing with Emily’s dress, making sure everything was perfect. She was breathing deeply in and out, trying to calm herself, as the music began. She couldn’t calm the rapid beat of her heart.
She reached up her hand to rub the pounding. She was scared to death. Her son was already out there, looking so handsome in his little tuxedo. She’d been so proud when he’d told her he was standing up with Mark as one of his best men.
“It will be okay, take some more deep breaths. Jessica and I will walk down the aisle and then you’ll follow us out in about two minutes okay,” Amy said to her.
Emily felt instant panic at the thought of walking down that aisle on her own. She didn’t think she’d be able to do it.
“Wait,” she said in a panic. “We don’t have to do it the traditional way, we can all walk together,” she begged the girls.
They looked at each other like she had lost her mind, saw the panic in her eyes and then shrugged. “Sure,” they said in unison.
“Thank you.” She started to feel a little bit better.
“Hey it’s our job as your maids of honor to get you down the aisle. We wouldn’t be doing it right if you ran in the other direction,” Amy said with a smile.
“You guys are the best.”
“Don’t you dare ruin your make-up,” Jessica said as she wiped at her own eye.
The three women laughed and then threw their arms around each other. Emily could feel her pulse start to slow down.
There was knocking at the door. “Is everything okay in there?” Joseph asked through the doorway.
“Everything is fine. We are coming out in a moment,” Jessica said.
“Good to hear,” Joseph said and then they heard his footsteps start to retreat.
Jessica stepped out of the doorway, with her two new sisters on either side of her. There was a gasp from the audience as the three beautiful women made their way towards the stage. Not one of them realized the stunning picture they made.
The men standing at the end of the aisle couldn’t take their eyes off the glorious women. The sight of them was enough to stop traffic, or cause a riot.
Mark’s chest puffed out in pride, as he realized in just a few short moments, the beautiful vision walking towards him would be his wife. He wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms. It took everything he had to stand there and wait for her to reach him.
The ceremony went by in a blur and before Emily knew it the preacher was pronouncing them man and wife. Mark took her in his arms and pressed his lips gently to hers. It was slow and sweet and took her breath away.
She felt like she was floating on a cloud as they made their way back down the aisle and then stood there greeting guests. She was on autopilot as they cut the cake and sipped champagne. She wouldn’t be able to repeat a word that was said during the toasts. She had ears and eyes for nothing but her husband.