Stella & The Playboy

Stella & The Slumber Party

Chapter 24

Julius kept his word and hadn't brought up what I like to call 'the incident'. Things were pretty normal between us, and not at all physical.

Things were starting to get stressful as we got closer to our supposed wedding date. With Julius getting ready to take over as CEO and me having to plan for a wedding that was never going to happen, tensions were starting to rise.

My father had been working closely with Julius as of lately, and Julius continued to keep me in the dark. My mother on the other hand had been dragging me around town with Mrs. Ashford to find what she called 'the perfect dress'.

The month of July was quickly approaching, and New York felt its hottest. I was at some boutique with my mother and Julius's mother as they picked out dresses for me to try on.

"You would look so lovely in this sweetie!" My mother cooed at the floral v-neck wedding dress.

"You need to try this one!" Mrs. Ashford insists, holding up a drape-wrapped dress in her arms.

That's a majority of what I heard as I sat on the bench impatiently, waiting for the women to finally let me leave.

"Okay, the dresses are ready for you to try, go on!" My mother says excitedly as she ushers me toward the dressing room.

I sigh as I begin putting on the first dress, which happened to be the one my mom was holding earlier. I put on the dress and step out from the changing room where the two women waited.

"Tada." I say, trying to sound enthusiastic as I spin around. My mothers' hands cover her mouth as her eyes begin to water.

"Gorgeous." Mrs. Ashford cooed.

"You look so beautiful Stella." My mother whispers sadly. I frown at her, my eyes beginning to water. I can't stand seeing her cry, it always made me sad.

"Don't cry mom, it's just a dress." I chuckle as I wipe a tear.

She shakes her head, "It's more than that. You're getting married Stella. It didn't hit me until now. I'm losing my little girl."

"You're not losing her Lisa, we're simply joining our families together." Mrs. Ashford says trying to comfort my mother. I nod my head in agreement, "Yes exactly, I'm not going anywhere. Now please don't cry for every dress. I didn't wear waterproof mascara today." They both chuckle as I enter the dressing room again, putting on the next dress.

After only God knows how many dresses, I was done. But not done for the day. Our next stop, wedding cake tasting.

I felt guilty going to all of these things knowing that there wasn't going to be a wedding. But if I didn't, our parents would suspect our scheme before Julius can take over.

We enter the little cake shop and check-in for our appointment. They seat us in an area and bring out a tray of different cake samples with labels. I immediately go for the red velvet first and take a small slice into my mouth.

"I pick this one, let's go." I tell them as I eat the cake. Both women laugh at me as they sample other pieces, completely ignoring my request to leave.

"This lemon cake is really good, try it Stella." My mom urges pointing to the yellow cake in front of me.

"At my wedding, I had marble cake, it was delicious." Mrs. Ashford says as I taste the lemon. I nod, "So both of you were arranged to be married correct?" I ask the women in front of me.

My mother chuckles, "Much like you, my dad was setting me up with people and let me pick from them. I just happened to pick your father." She says with a light smile.