Lies in Love (37 page)

Talia
shook her head in response to Camey’s question. Her sister
hadn’t returned to work since the fight over Mason the day
before. If Talia hadn’t been so angry about Sara championing
Mason, she might have been worried, but she was still reeling from
their argument.

“I
guess it’s a good thing Landon is helping out then. We can sure
use his muscles for the heavy lifting.” Camey placed various
shades of pink ranunculus and peonies in the final bouquet for the
wedding. “Where is he anyway?”

“He
took the van for gas.”

“Is
he nervous about going to the wedding?”

“I
haven’t told him yet.” Talia lined up several
arrangements on the table to be loaded upon Landon’s return.
She’d avoided telling him, remembering all of the events Mason
had ducked out of at the last minute and not wanting to live through
that humiliation again.

“Talia.”
Camey set the bouquet she’d just finished on the table. “Why
haven’t you told him? He’s going to be furious that you
sprung this on him.”

“I
didn’t want to give him the chance to say no; or worse, to say
yes and then back out.”

“Just
because you put it off doesn’t mean he won’t say no. What
happens if Mason is there? If you show up alone…”

Exasperated,
Talia interrupted. “I know. I’ve already thought of that.
Just let me worry about it, okay?”

Camey
shook her head, walking out of the cooler.

The
delivery van could be heard returning to the alley so Talia started
moving the arrangements to the workstation. Reina came breezing in
through the front of the shop as Talia continued to work.

“I
tried to make room in Papi’s minivan, but I’m not sure
how much we can fit in there.” Reina dangled keys from her
hand.

“I
just need it for overflow. Marisa’s wedding is our biggest
wedding to date so we’ll need all the room we can get to keep
from causing any damage.” Talia still remembered the meeting
she’d had with Marisa at her reception hall shortly after
Ronald had proposed. She’d wanted flowers throughout the
wedding and reception. Her plan was to transform her venue into an
indoor garden of sorts and, with all of the arrangements, she was
sure to pull it off.

“Van’s
ready to go.” Landon entered through the back door.

Talia
stretched on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.” With
everything coming together so smoothly, she knew she had to tell
Landon now that he was going to be attending the wedding with her.
“Landon?”

“Petal?”
Landon’s brow furrowed.

“Could
you change before we go? This is a big wedding.”

“Okay.”
His response was more of a question. “What do you have in
mind?”

“I
put something out for you on the bed."

Landon
headed upstairs and Talia stood, slowly breathing in and out,
anxiously awaiting his return. So focused on even breaths, she missed
the silence that fell over the shop until the back door slammed shut.
Talia jumped to find her sister standing just inside the back door
with a malevolent glint in her eye.

“Hey,
Sara,” Camey greeted her, no doubt in an attempt to break the
silence.

Sara
walked past briskly, grabbing a large arrangement from the table and
carrying it outside.

Talia
rolled her eyes, still standing at the foot of her stairs. She should
have been helping load up the vans, but she was too anxious for
Landon’s reaction. Moments away from hyperventilating, he
appeared at the top of the stairs dressed in the black-on-black wool
suit she’d had custom made. To her pleasant surprise, the
single-breasted suit matched with an onyx cotton dress shirt and
black satin skinny tie fit him perfectly.

“It’s
a bit much for a delivery,” he mumbled as he descended the
stairs.

“We’re
also guests.”

Eyes
wide, Landon sputtered, “Guests?”

“Yes,
guests. Now if you don’t mind, I need to run upstairs and get
changed.” Talia hurried up the stairs, trying to avoid any
confrontation. She knew she was wrong for springing the wedding on
him, but it was too late to worry about that now. She took the steps
two at a time, listening to Landon’s footfalls behind her.

Just
inside the apartment, Landon questioned, “What’s going
on, Talia? Why did you hide this from me?”

With
her back to him, Talia mumbled, “I didn’t want you to say
no.”

“You
haven’t learned by now that I can’t say no to you? I’d
do anything you asked. I’d run into a burning building blind if
you wanted me to.”

Talia
chuckled. With Mason, it took an act of Congress to get him to go
anywhere with her. Things were so different with Landon, so easy. She
felt like an idiot just now realizing that. “I’m sorry.”

“You
don’t need to apologize.” He wrapped his arms around
Talia’s waist and kissed her neck. “Go get ready before I
throw you on the bed and do unspeakable things to you.” His
teeth nibbled her earlobe before he let her go.

“Tease.”
She swatted his chest, then went into her room to get changed. She
heard Landon leave the apartment while she dressed in her burgundy
chiffon, single-shoulder dress with a form-fitting bodice and
knee-length, draping skirt. She bought the dress with Landon in mind,
knowing that the color did wonders to emphasize her hair and eyes.
She pulled her hair into a loose, side-swept ponytail and returned to
the shop, freezing at the base of the stairs when Landon’s jaw
dropped looking at her. “What?”

Landon
neared to whisper, “It’s a good thing I came downstairs
when I did, or I would have had my way with you before we left the
apartment and we would have never gotten to this wedding on time.”

Talia
felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she tried to coyly walk away.
Pulling herself together she hollered, “Let’s get this
show on the road,” and ushered the group to their respected
vans.

All
of the flower arrangements were in place in the wedding and reception
venues and the time was closing in for the start of the wedding.
After dropping off the boutonnieres to the groomsmen, Talia and the
girls snuck into the bride’s quarters with the bouquets while
Landon waited outside. As soon as they came through the door, every
head turned in their direction.

“Oh,
Talia.” Marisa came bustling up grappling with the ruffled
skirt of her organza dress. “I can’t believe it’s
finally here.”

Talia
plastered a well-intentioned grin on her face in support of her
friend. Her smile grew more genuine as Marisa beamed over her
shoulder at the bouquets being handed out to her bridesmaids.

“Talia,
they’re beautiful!” She scurried to Sara, holding the
bridal bouquet, cautiously eyeing it. “Can I hold it?”

“Of
course.” Talia laughed. She knew that Marisa’s bouquet
was her best work to date. It was her first bouquet containing so
many elements, but when some would assume the final result would be
somewhat gaudy, it actually looked very elegant and pleasing to the
eye.

The
posy-style bouquet was made up of pink ranunculus and peonies with a
number of pink and white roses scattered in. There were a handful of
brooches distributed throughout the bouquet, placed there to
represent the women who made a huge impact on Marisa’s life.
And among the flowers and brooches were blossoms speckled with
rhinestones adding a bit more sparkle to the bouquet. Topping it off
were wisps of feathers placed throughout in honor of those souls who
had departed and could not be at the wedding in physical form.

There
was so much thought put into each element, right down to the
hand-tied base that was wrapped in pale pink satin to match the
blooms and adorned with a row of pearl corsage pins ‒‒
one for each of her sisters. Talia watched as Marisa inspected each
facet, her smile growing the longer she looked. “I incorporated
all the details we discussed on your bouquet as well as the
bridesmaids. Each of the bridesmaids has their own brooch pendant
attached to their bouquet and they can easily be removed once the
ceremony is over.”

Upon
Talia’s statement, the bridesmaids began oohing and awing over
each of their personalized bouquets.

“Thank
you so much. They are perfect.” Marisa hugged Talia in a
one-arm embrace while she clung to her bouquet. “And before I
forget to tell you, you look absolutely beautiful. Mason is going to
flip when he sees you.”

“Mason?”
It was the last name Talia expected to roll off of Marisa’s
lips.

“Yes.
Ronald’s brother’s flight got cancelled and he couldn’t
get here in time so Mason is filling in. After all, if it wasn’t
for the two of you, Ronny and I would have never ended up together.”

Talia
struggled to keep the smile on her face. With gritted teeth she
uttered, “I’m glad he could help out on such short
notice.”

“Oh,
you know, he was planning to be here anyway, so it was really no big
deal. I do have to warn you, though, he didn’t come alone.”

“Who’s
he with?”

Just
as Marisa’s mouth opened to answer, a demanding voice came from
behind. “Excuse me, ladies, can I get a picture of the two of
you?”

“Of
course.” Marisa whirled Talia around to face a heavy-set
photographer lugging a large bag and pointing a camera in their
direction.

After
a quick snap, the wedding planner bustled in to usher the bridesmaids
and Marisa into place. Talia snuck out of the room with Camey, Sara,
and Reina close on her heels and joined Landon in the lobby, ready to
take their seats. With the wedding set to begin, they had to settle
on seats near the back of the hall. Landon sat at the end of the
aisle, forcing Talia next to her sister, who huffed when she sat
down. She’d hoped Sara would be over her tantrum before long.

As
the entrance music began, Talia turned to see the bridesmaids
entering, each with her own bouquet bearing minor details to match
each of their dresses. They all smiled brightly, obviously thrilled
for the couple about to exchange their vows. And when Marisa entered,
every eye was glued to her. In that moment, Talia felt Landon’s
hand reach for hers and hold tight. Her heart felt full holding onto
him while watching her friend make the long journey down the aisle.

When
they were seated, Talia saw the one face she’d been avoiding
since they entered the hall. Mason was standing at the front of the
congregation, staring straight at her. Her stomach turned at the
sight of him, remembering his naked body in bed with Brandy. Sweat
formed on her brow as the recognition of her date dawned on Mason’s
face. His haunting stare turned to a menacing scowl in an instant.

“Tal,
are you okay?”

Talia
stole her eyes from Mason to look up into Landon’s sapphire
gems. She swallowed then answered, “I’m fine.”

Landon
leaned in and kissed her cheek. Her heart was racing, fighting to
focus solely on the ceremony and struggling desperately to ignore the
man standing next to Ronald. Feeling a gentle squeeze on her hand,
Talia’s mind returned to Landon as she listened intently to
Ronald’s vows, set adrift by every word he said to Marisa.

“Fate
brought you to me when I was broken and ready to give up. I’ve
never met anyone who has found so much strength in me and showed me
so much support when I needed it the most. When I couldn’t see
the light at the end of the tunnel, you were there, pushing that
light a little closer to me. You never let me give up. You are my
rock, my dream come true, and I’ll spend the rest of my life
thanking you for finding the better man inside of me. Life just
wouldn’t be worth living without you. I love you.”

Talia
breathed in the words, knowing exactly how Ronald felt, because
Landon had done the exact same thing for her. He’d pushed her
to be better and never gave up on her when she’d tried so hard
to shut him out. He made her see reason. He
was
the light at the end of the tunnel. He was the reason she was finally
able to let what happened with Mason go. Feeling the words in every
fiber of her being, she placed her head on Landon’s shoulder,
feeling that she was no longer broken because of him. Her eyes never
returned to Mason, knowing Landon was all in the world she needed.