Chapter 63
Sebastian then hung up without hesitation.
Before Noelle could hand the phone back to Mary, Sebastian’s call came through.
“This is my number,” he said in a deep voice.
Noelle found herself wondering how he even had her number. She was certain that neither of them ever exchanged phone numbers.
Before she could think about it any further, that deep voice rang out again. “Did you call me to talk about
the wedding gifts?”
Noelle found it almost uncanny how he could guess exactly what she was about to say. Still, it saved her
the trouble of figuring out how to start.
She gave a slight nod as she said, “I think… that’s far too much for wedding gifts.”
Even without going through the list item by item, just a quick glance was enough to see how valuable the
gifts were.
Every item was costly. Even a few items alone would be more than the Spencers could ever return in kind,
let alone the mountain of gifts now taking over the living room.
On the other end of the line, Sebastian sounded perfectly calm. He assured her, “As long as you don’t
think it’s too little, that’s all that matters.”
The comment left Noelle a little flustered. She didn’t think it was too little. In fact, she thought it was far
too much.
While she was still trying to figure out how to explain herself, Sebastian added in an even tone, “The
wedding gifts are simply a gesture, a way for my family to show how much we value you and your family. Beyond that, they don’t mean anything else.”
Noelle followed his lead. “My family also wants to show our respect for the Coles, but…”
Sebastian cradled his teacup and looked out at the blazing sun breaking through after the storm. Had he
just talked himself into a corner?
He had meant to say the wedding gifts didn’t require an equal return, but somewhere along the way, it had started to sound as if the Spencers would be disrespecting the Coles if they didn’t send something of equal value.
Sebastian furrowed his brows, mulling it over for a long moment before settling on the right words. He explained, “Your family has already shown their respect for us by trusting me with their precious daughter.
“That’s something we’ve all seen for ourselves, so there’s no need to fuss over what you contribute to the wedding.”
Da af
What he said was enough to put Noelle a little more at ease. Even so, there was one more worry lingering
in the back of her mind
And of course as if reading her thoughts, he added, “My words also speak for my parents.”
It was only then that Noelle fully felt at ease.
Okay Mr. Cole Lunderstand,” she acknowledged.
Just as Noelle was about to end the call, Sebastian added one last thing. “Noelle, I use the same number
for my Facebook. If it’s not too much trouble, add me on Facebook.”
About three minutes after the call ended, her friend request finally came through.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to add Noelle. The problem was that her privacy settings were so strict that he couldn’t find her, whether by phone number or her name.
He accepted the request instantly. When he tapped on her profile picture, he saw a bouquet of bright white gardenias, fresh in early summer.
Sebastian couldn’t even remember how long he had been waiting to add Noelle on Facebook.
He quickly set her Messenger nickname to “Noey“.
He had first heard her parents call her that when she was seven, and ever since, the name was burned into his memory.
When Noelle saw the notification that her friend request had been accepted, she went to his profile and typed his full name in the chat’s nickname field, making sure she spelled his name correctly. His all–black profile picture somehow matched his name perfectly.
Curious, she clicked into his Facebook profile. The profile photo might have been nothing but solid black, but his cover photo was a sea of delicate white flowers blanketing many hills.
Chapter 64
1/2
Chapter 64
