AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jacob and I exchanged a look and for a few seconds, we were the only two people in the room.
“Like that,” she said with a toothy grin that blinded me. “Real. Passion. Sex. Love that leaves you breathless.” She smoothed her hair back away from her face. “I don’t know what other wedding planners would do with your story, but I know that I could take that--” She held her hands out and framed us, “--and make it shine through. I could get people to look past the glitz and glamour and see the thing that’s uniquely you.”
Alicia could barely sit still. “Tell us more about your vision for the ceremony for my son and daughter-in-law. I know you have something amazing in mind.”
Hearing my in-law call me ‘daughter’ for the first time and mean it should have been a moment, but it just made me feel...queasy. She was really laying it on and it made my stomach twist and knot because I still wasn’t sure if this was all real or just a part of a larger plan. I tried to push it aside, at least long enough to hear what Macy had planned for us.
“Nothing gaudy and over the top,” Macy continued. “You’re marrying a billionaire so people are expecting horse drawn carriages and a guest list that stretches as long as the train of your elaborate wedding gown. So I was thinking something small and intimate would be the way to go.”
And just like that, I’d found our wedding planner.
The excitement that colored Alicia’s face a few minutes ago devolved into confusion. “Small and...intimate?”
Macy nodded. “I think that would really capture the essence--”
“We’ll be in touch, Macy.” Alicia sliced in, shutting her down.
I opened my mouth to tell her to wait, but Macy didn’t linger. Alicia offered to pay for her drink, but she whipped out a twenty and dropped it on the table before she strut toward the exit. Another point in her favor. She knew she was good and didn’t have to beg for our business, despite the groom’s net worth.
“Don’t worry,” Alicia said, the borderline scary chipper voice clearing out me and Jacob’s surprise and replacing it with uneasiness. “We’ll find someone that can give you two the wedding you deserve.
I hoped Jacob would speak up and state the obvious--that what she really meant was the dream wedding SHE wanted for us, but he said nothing, reading his menu in silence. I followed suit, but committed Macy Scott’s name to memory.
****
Megan walked in, her eyes gulping up every inch of the apartment. “I don’t think you can call anything occurring in this place a ‘sleepover’. I think that word should be reserved for modest, itty bitty kinda places where mere mortals live. This--” She gestured around us before twisting her long, fiery strands nervously. “This is breathtaking.”
“You act like you haven’t seen it already!” I laughed, holding out my hand for her overnight bag. “It’s just four walls, Meg.”
Her green eyes glimmered as she shook her head in disagreement. “I wondered when this would happen.”
Pangs of worry pricked my arms and the back of my neck when I took in her worried expression. “When what would happen?”
“When you’d be so jaded by all of this that you’re all, ‘It’s no biggie!’.” She leaned in, dropping her volume to a whisper. “Let me let you in on a little secret. This isn’t just four walls. This is like, MTV Cribs before it sucked. This is call up every interior design magazine ever so you can get your brag on.” She gasped and covered her mouth in horror. “This is just step one. The next is upgrading your friend circles to socialites and celebrities.”
I yanked the strap from her hand, shaking my head. “Don’t worry, I’d keep you around for laughs.”
“Like your court jester.” She swept the air with her arm twice in a gesture that reminded me of our Tudors marathon last summer. Naturally, she punctuated it by bending at the waist, bowing low. “Your Majesty.”
I ignored her, moving to the living room where I deposited her bag beside the sofa. “Keep it up and I’m gonna start regretting inviting you over here to keep me company while Jacob’s in London.”
“I’m a lot more fun than whatever trashy reality TV show you would have thrown on.
She knew me too well.
When Jacob left at the last minute to handle business in England, I’d already mentally recounted what I had recorded on the DVR. When I realized it wouldn’t have been more than background noise while my eyes were glued on Macy’s website, regretting not standing up to Alicia, I decided I needed to call in reinforcements. At least with Megan I could vent instead of staring at the little ‘Message Me’ button until my eyes bled.
She joined me in the living room, gesturing at the white sofa. “Can I sit or will I ruin it?” When I glared at her she laughed, “I’m just saying, I don’t want to mess up your feng shui or whatever.”
“Megan...” I warned with a groan.
She dropped down without another word and her face went serious. “Alright. So what’s going on?”
I’d already told her about Alicia’s change of heart (or change of strategy), but I hand’t talked to her since the woman started wearing out my cell number.
I dropped into the oversized armchair, repositioning my head band and rolling up the sleeves of my denim shirt. “Jacob’s mom is driving me insane.”
“I think that’s what mother-in-laws are supposed to do,” she offered unhelpfully. She must have picked up on my annoyance because she tried a different route. “Remember when you were trying to play nice? I thought this was what you wanted. Alicia to be friendly and be in you and Jacob’s life.”
