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Liv is a gorgeous woman, but right now, her pretty green eyes are puffy from crying, and her face is blotchy, and she just looks miserable.
“Oh, honey.” I pull her to me and hold her tight as a whole new crying jag starts. “Let it out. It’s okay to let it all out.”
“I’m so mad.”
“I know. I cry when I’m mad, too.” I lean over and grab the box of tissues, offering her one. “When you can breathe again, you can tell me what happened.”
“So stupid,” she manages to get out through the sobs. “So fucking stupid.”
“They usually are,” I reply, and she lets out a half laugh through the tears, which gives me hope. For a while, we sit like this, with me patiently rubbing her back as she runs out of energy for tears.
Finally, Liv sits up, grabs a few tissues, and blows her nose before sighing and looking at me with angry eyes.
“What did he do?”
“He refuses to invite his parents to the wedding.” She swipes at her nose and stands to pace her office. “I mean, who even does that? I understand that they’re not super close. There’s a lot of baggage there, but they’re his parents. His parents.”
She flings her arms over her head and starts pacing even faster.
“Like, when we have kids, and if it’s twenty-five years from now and our son is getting married, would Vaughn be perfectly fine if we’re not invited to the freaking ceremony? If we’re not involved in any of it? I would be devastated!”
“Okay, first of all, you’re not pregnant. Wait, you’re not pregnant, are you?”
“No.” She stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“Just clarifying. Do you need me to help you with solutions, or do you need me to hate him?”
And just like that, my strong, brave, wonderful cousin deflates and just sits down on the floor.
“I guess I always pictured myself marrying someone who has the kind of family that we do, Soph.”
“Oh, honey, no one has a family like ours.” I blow out a breath and walk over to the small fridge she has in the corner, pull out two bottled waters, and take her one before cracking open my own. “I don’t really understand how people can be estranged from their families, especially their parents, because we come from amazing people. We come from a family that, although a lot to handle, makes us kids a top priority. Puts their marriages first, even before us. That’s what we were lucky enough to grow up in.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But, Liv, not everyone else is so lucky. There are so many people out there with kids who had no business procreating in the first place. Or maybe they’re sick. Or they just don’t put their kids very high on their priority list. I don’t know much about Vaughn’s family, just what I’ve seen from the documentary and in the things I’ve read, but his celebrity family is the complete opposite of yours. Uncle Luke protected you guys from so much. Vaughn’s family is a true show business family.”
“I’m being unreasonable.”
“I think you just picture your wedding a certain way, with all the parents happy and excited for you. Have you ever thought that maybe Vaughn’s parents don’t want to be there, and he isn’t willing to put himself in a situation where he’ll be rejected? Especially when it comes to something this important to him?”
Liv bites her lip, and more tears fill her eyes. “I’m such a selfish bitch.”
“Okay, stop it.” I shake my head at her. “You’re under a lot of stress, Liv. I don’t know how anyone throws together a wedding of this size in a month. There are so many details, and you haven’t reached out to any of us for help.”
“I feel bad asking for help,” she admits. “I’m the one who insisted on making it fast, mostly because the press are a bunch of assholes, and I refuse to let them ruin this for us. That doesn’t mean I should be putting everyone else out. Besides, Aunt Alecia has been a huge help at the vineyard.”
“I’m sure she’s in her element,” I agree. Our aunt Alecia was the family event planner long before she married our uncle Dominic. “What else do you need help with? We’re only two weeks out now.”
“Well, first, I should tell Vaughn that I’m not breaking up with him.”
I stare at her and then reach over and poke her in the arm.
“Ouch.”
“You broke up with Vaughn?”
“I was really upset.”
“Look, I’m no relationship expert, but you can’t threaten to cut and run every time you get upset. That’s annoying as fuck and not fair.”
“It’s the first and only time it’s happened.” She reaches for her phone and taps the screen. When Vaughn answers, she frowns. “Are you driving?”
“I’m almost to your office,” he says. I can hear the tension in his voice. Poor guy. “Don’t move a muscle. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
