One
10 Days Until Dream Wedding
Sienna was late.
Her t-shirt was inside out.
And she had to pee.
This whole crazy trip was not off to a good start.
She still couldn’t believe Audrey had agreed to be a participant in the show,Wedding Games.Or that it was filming near their hometown.
Sure, the idea of spending ten days in a gorgeous mountain inn with all expenses paid was tempting. And knowing it would all end in an over-the-top wedding—that was guaranteed to be the topic of Thanksgiving dinners for years to come—also sounded amazing.
But couldn’t Audrey see that, for every reason to agree to be a participant in the show, there were a million other reasons to say no?
This was reality TV, after all. People weren’t looking for a smooth, problem-free event. That was too boring—too easy. Viewers wanted drama. They wanted meltdowns.
And the producers of the show were going to make sure their audience got what they wanted by any means necessary. At least, that was the argument Sienna had made when Audrey first called her with the news—an argument she’d voiced even louder once she’d seen the contract she was required to sign.
A film-crew would be allowed all access to the wedding preparations, and everyone in the wedding party needed to sign it if they wanted to be invited to the intimate ceremony. It was frustrating to be forced into a reality TV show, but Audrey was Sienna’s sister, for goodness sake. She wouldn't dream of missing this wedding, so she signed the stupid thing, even though it was filled with so much legal jargon it made her head spin.
Everyone knew drama was what made people keep watching those shows. Viewers hoped the bride would go full-blown crazy. Or that one of the bridesmaids would get jealous of the way everyone fussed over the bride. It was a perfect storm, and Audrey couldn’t see it.
But why would she listen to her little sister? It’s not like Sienna had first-hand experience in the entertainment business—oh wait, yes, she did. Sure, it was only a few years, and mostly stage and commercial work, but she knew the industry better than the rest of her family. Maybe Audrey was too blinded by the idea of her happily ever after with Eli, so she didn’t consider how difficult this might be for everyone else involved. Sienna had never been in love like that but had heard it made you do all sorts of crazy things.
Regardless, Sienna loved her sister and was going to support her. She’d packed her suitcase, booked a last-minute red-eye flight from New York to Asheville, and had just finished driving an hour to get to the secluded inn the producers chose for the filming site.
Growing up in the area, she’d never even known it was tucked away in the mountains. But someone from up north had bought it last year, and it was all her family could talk about. As the destination came into view, Sienna thought it looked more like a mansion that wanted to pretend it was something cozier.
It was a two-story building with large windows on every side that were sure to give the place the perfect amount of natural light any time of day. One side of the inn had an impressive stone chimney that took up the entire wall. And way in the distance, Sienna could see the corner of what looked to be an old barn, set against the backdrop of acres and acres of gorgeous trees and mountains.
With the sun still rising in the distance, the scene was magnificent.
Sienna drove up the gravel path and crossed her fingers that the rental car she’d gotten had enough power to make it up the steep incline to the front of the building. The bumpy road was not helping her bladder situation, which had reached critical levels about ten minutes ago.
She was the last to show up—as usual—and saw a small crowd that consisted of the wedding party gathered out front. The camera crew was still off to the side and mercifully hadn’t begun filming yet, as far as she could tell. That meant she had time to take care of her pressing business.
She parked her car beside her mother’s familiar and practical beige sedan.
With a deep sigh, and a mumbled, “you can do this,” Sienna looked in the rearview mirror. She plastered a fake smile on her face and stepped out of her vehicle.
Her mother came rushing over immediately, a look of panic across her face. “Oh, Sienna, there you are,” she shrieked. “We’ve all been wondering if you would ever show up.”
“And hello to you too, Mother,” Sienna answered, the smile still affixed to her face. “Glad to see you made it here safe.”
Her mother huffed as she planted both of her hands on her hips. “Where have you been? It’s nearly nine.”
A jolt of panic shot through her. “Isn’t that what time the contract said to be here?” She could have gotten an earlier flight, but it would have made her miss two shifts at work and cost her two-hundred dollars more. Two-hundred dollars she most certainly did not have.
Her mother shook her head and let out another loud puff of air. “Well, just because they say nine, it doesn’t mean that you have to cut it so close.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “You and I both know how much is at stake.”
“I know.”
The contract was so full of ways things could go badly, so it was hard for Sienna to know what exactly her mother was referring to. The right to defamation, the hold clause, the lack of privacy for them but confidentiality for the show. It was all to keep the power in the hands of the producers.
But failing to show up, well, that would potentially pull the plug on the whole thing. Sienna might be notorious for being late, but she wasn’t going to risk putting her sister’s wedding in jeopardy. Sienna had been so concerned with making it on time, she’d packed everything in a carry-on bag to avoid getting stuck at baggage claim and hadn’t even stopped in the airport bathroom to pee before racing out the doors toward the rental car kiosks. The pressure on her bladder was downright unbearable at this point, and she had one mission: Find the little girls' room—STAT.
