GOLDEN | DANI ROJAS

XLIX. I'D MARRY YOU WITH PAPER RINGS

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♩... PAPER RINGS by TAYLOR SWIFT
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EPILOGUE I OF II
ONE YEAR LATER...

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"Are you sure you don't want us to look after the baby for a few hours?"

For perhaps the first time ever, Connie was borderline furious at the sound of Rebecca's voice. She had been insistently nagging her all morning, telling Connie that she and Dani should spent the night before their wedding getting hammered with their friends. The idea wasn't appealing to either of them by any means, especially after the day of chaos they'd had.

Disasters were inevitable when it came to weddings, that was for sure. In a way, Connie was a little bit glad that it was all going wrong before the wedding. Hopefully, that was a good omen for all that was to come after the wedding. But, positive thinking did not take away from the relentless stress of the day.

"Rebecca," stated Connie, walking forward with a tight-lipped smile and slightly crazed stare that made Rebecca feel a little bit uneasy. "I love you. I do. You know it. But, if you ask me one more time..."

Rebecca's eyes widened as Connie's voice lowered to a hushed but harsh whisper. She stepped back, trying to suppress a slightly amused smile as she held her hands up in defence.

"I'm sorry! I just want you to enjoy this night," pleaded Rebecca, frowning slightly as she rubbed Connie's bicep. "Keeley and I are going to that new bar with the ball pit! Don't you fancy it?"

"I will enjoy this night with my fiancé and baby. Then, tomorrow morning, I'm all yours," said Connie. She smiled sympathetically, squeezing Rebecca's hand between her own. "Sorry for getting mad. It's just... there's so much going on."

"I know, darling. It wouldn't be a wedding without a handful of fuck ups."

Connie let out a pained laugh, running her hands down her face and groaning. Just as she went to open her mouth, her phone began to ring. Rebecca nodded understandingly, waving her off as she made her way back to the elevators in the hotel lobby.

"Hi, beautiful," greeted Connie, hoping that she didn't sound too stressed. She wasn't doing a great job. "What's up?"

"You sound sad, mi amor. Is everything okay down there?" asked Dani, sounded a bit exhausted himself, or at least as exhausted as Dani could get.

Connie glanced around the lobby, the quick scan of the room enough to make her heart pound hard in her chest. Several of her friends were on their hands and knees searching every corner of the lobby for Dani's ring which had somehow fallen from Jamie's pocket. Jamie was panicking, moving frantically as he searched, ignorant to Roy and Keeley's calls for him to take a moment and calm down.

That wasn't all, though it probably was the biggest issue at the moment. Isla, having been given far too much sugar by Isaac and Colin who couldn't quite fathom that kids shouldn't have a ton of sweets in the morning, was causing chaos in the lobby. Trent and James were chasing her around, and as soon as Trent managed to scoop her up, she burst into a fit of sudden sugar-crash induced tears.

"'Okay' might be pushing it, but it's not a complete disaster," explained Connie, opting not to tell Dani about the missing ring. It would likely get sorted out, whether by finding it or buying a new one. He didn't need the extra stress. "And how's it going down there?"