Kiara knew about Ward and Rose's anniversary party for a few months. Sarah couldn't stop talking about who she was bringing as her date and Rafe had mentioned it to her a couple of times in passing—coordinating their outfit colors.
This was their 15th anniversary, meaning it was an important one. Ward and Rose wanted to have their anniversary party at the country club, a venue they knew they could rely on to fine-line small details.
The two had said that everyone could bring a plus one—a date per se.
During their evening of dancing, the two had advised everyone to bring a date or a partner in order for the photographer to capture nice photos. It was only natural that Kiara picked Rafe as her dancing partner after he asked her to be his girlfriend months ago.
Sarah couldn't stop gushing over her recent boy toy, Nolan. The blonde was so excited to invite him to the anniversary party as her date. The two weren't even together, they were only talking— or Sarah was leading him on, always telling him she wasn't ready for a relationship when he got a little over his head.
Anna took the brunette dress shopping a few weeks prior to the event, wanting her daughter to look her best. Anna wanted something fetching and appealing. She had pointed to nearly every clothing rack, pushing Kiara to take notice of dresses she found nice.
But none of them fancied her all that much. The ones her mother pointed to were either too much, too plain, or not in a color she liked.
Eventually, she came across the perfect dress, a dress that wasn't too fancy, or too basic and was in the perfect color.
"This one's perfect," She had told her mom.
The first thing about this dress that caught her attention was that it was maroon pink. The color wasn't too loud but still attracted the eye. Kiara ran her fingers along the fabric, noticing that it was a satin material. The dress had a slit running up the side as well—not too high and not too low—with a halter top finish.
After skimming through the shop for an hour, she finally stumbled upon the dress she had been looking for. She liked to think of it as the universe working in her favor.
Anna kept urging her to pick one of the ones she had shown her but Kiara had already settled on the dress she wanted, picking it up off of the rack and buying it despite her mother's disfavor.
Now, she was in the car headed to Ward and Roses's anniversary party, clutching a purple gift bag in her hand. Since it was their 15th anniversary, Anna had picked out a crystal vase for the crystal milestone, feeling it would look perfect on their kitchen table.
The vase rolled around in the bag every time they made a turn. Kiara mentally kicked herself for not stuffing more gift paper inside of the bag. Hopefully, it won't be a problem. The vase wouldn't crack and the Camerons wouldn't care about the lack of gift paper, they'd just be thankful for the gift.
She hopes.
Soon enough the car pulls up to the front of the country club. Kiara sees people conversing outside when she steps out of the car. Anna and Mike follow behind her, handing the car keys to the valet.
The air is surprisingly cool, the sun has gone down a little as the day gets later. The wind grazes Kiara's legs, blowing open the slit of her dress. Luckily the party is inside.
"This is so nice." Anna smiles, looking down at the trail of rose petals in a path to the front doors. "Roses for Rose,"
Kiara looks down at the rose petals, a smile of her own growing on her face. "That's clever."
