Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (21 page)

It’s Sienna, and she has called three times.
I know she would only call if it was important, or at least
something she thinks is important.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as soon as I
answer.

“I’m so sorry. I know this is bad timing. I
just wanted to tell you something.”

“How are you feeling?” I ask. “I know last
night was a little rough. Especially with Ellie and Luke’s
announcement.” I know that no matter how much time has passed that
break up was very difficult. At the time, she handled it very well,
but she was also preoccupied with the launch of Sheer Happiness.
Sometimes it takes people longer to really get over things.

“I feel good, like I finally have closure,”
she says. “Luke actually came up to me at the end of the night. He
told me he was truly sorry about everything. I didn’t know what to
say, but I think it gave me some closure. He also said something
really interesting that made me think.”

Luke said something interesting? This ought
to be really good.

“What did he have to say?”

“Well, two things actually.” She pauses.
“First, he said that the thing he regrets the most in his life was
how he treated me. Then he said . . .” she pauses again. “He said I
should give things a chance with Ace.”

Well, that is a big surprise. Ace and Luke go
way back to college days and were pretty good friends until some
girl came between their friendship. When Ace came to town, he and
Sienna hit it off, but they were only friends and business
associates. Nothing more happened, but Luke was extremely jealous.
Go figure, he was the one cheating the whole time.

“That
is
surprising. He told me
something similar about being sorry about what he did to you. That
was after I told Ellie that she was too good for him.” I laugh.

“You said that? That’s awesome.” She sounds
so happy. I think I just made her week, or maybe even her year.

“Yeah. Can you believe it? Last night was
pretty crazy.”

When I get off the phone, Cole is still
asleep, so I check some emails and take care of a few things before
our honeymoon. Most of the messages in my inbox are junk. I cringe
when I see an email that states that my application to the So-Cal
Garden Club has been approved. I have to do something about this or
else soon I will be gossiping with a bunch of rich ladies, wearing
pearls to play tennis, and hosting my own dinner parties.

I scroll through my emails and find something
very interesting. It’s from a bakery in Malibu.

Ms. Wales,

I saw your cookie feature at Bev’s in
Beverly Hills and I think your cookies are precious. I was
interested in having you featured in my pastry shop for the
holidays. It would only be for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and
Christmas. Would you be able to provide me with a few samples?
Please let me know if your schedule allows.

Namaste,

Marie Peterson

Sugar*Sugar*Sugar Pastry Shop

“YES!” I shout so loudly that I wake Cole
up.

“I’m sorry, babe.” I get up and crawl back
into bed with him. “I just got an email from a bakery in
Malibu.”

I tell him about the offer and how I was
convinced that my cookie days were over after Bev’s rejection. Cole
has always been so supportive of everything I’ve attempted to do.
I’ve been thinking about this, and I think it’s time I did the
same.

“So, I’ve been thinking.” We’re still lying
in bed and he is playing with my hair. “I want to start traveling
with you more. I want to be more involved in your career.”

I’ve visited a few of his shows in the past
but haven’t had the chance to travel as much as I would like
to.

“Really?” he asks excitedly. “Well, that’s
what a good wife should do.” He kisses me. “I would love that, but
what about work?”

“What about it? I pretty much make my own
schedule already, so I’ll just schedule all of my clients around
your shows. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Cole must have really wanted me to travel
with him because I haven’t seen him this happy in a while. We
finally get up and get ready to go to brunch. We are staying at the
Ritz for two nights and then going home to finish moving into the
house before we leave for Hawaii in a few days.

“Do you think that Ellie and Luke’s
engagement is for real?” I ask Cole while we are at brunch. “It
wouldn’t be a huge shock if they staged the whole thing.” It really
wouldn’t be; Ellie would probably do anything to draw attention
away from my big day.

“No way,” Cole says confidently. “That
engagement was a totally legit, and you know I don’t think Luke is
that bad. He just made a bad decision. Maybe it’s time for everyone
to move on.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes.

“I thought you worked things out with your
cousins? Didn’t you confront them about everything, then made up
and braided each other’s hair?”

“I did, well, all except for the braiding
hair part,” I reply. But that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t have
had this planned prior, and since when is Cole the voice of reason.
That role is usually played by Abby or Sienna.

“Do you regret accusing Ellie of sabotaging
the Four Seasons?” Cole asks finally. I don’t know how to answer
that question.

“Maybe a little, but I guess I justify it
because of how horribly they treated me for years. I know, I know .
. . I need to stop letting my childhood issues take over.” Cole
gives me a curious look.

“Um, yeah, you do.”

“Oh, don’t judge me ‘Mr. Blacksheep’ of the
family.” He really should talk.

Thankfully, we move on from that subject and
start talking about decorating the house, and Cole wants to look
into adding a pool. I’m so excited to start our life together.

We have a couples’ massage scheduled for
later in the afternoon, and then Cole planned a dinner on the
beach. He loves planning trips, and he’s really good at it. He
practically planned our entire Hawaii trip with a few of my
requests of course, and he says that he has a few surprises planned
too.

The next day we arrive home, and I have one
more day to get things ready for the movers to come. Sienna is
moving into her place this coming weekend. I call her when I get
home.

“I’m home. How is everything?”

“Fine. How was the Ritz?

I can tell she’s preoccupied with something.
I give her a quick rundown of our stay and ask her what’s
wrong.

“I’m probably overreacting, but Craig told me
that he heard that there are rumors that Sheer Happiness is going
under.” She sounds so worried. “Have you heard anything?”

Ugh, she’s totally putting me on the spot. I
just don’t have the heart to tell her exactly everything, so I give
her a watered-down version.

“I haven’t heard that exactly, but Bev was
asking how things were going for you. I told her I thought
everything was fine. Don’t you have some pretty important events
coming up?”

Hopefully people haven’t gotten wind of any
of these rumors and canceled on her.

“Yes, I do! That’s the strangest part; I
don’t know where these rumors are coming from. Of course, I know
there is always going to be bad publicity.” She pauses. “But it’s
not good if clients hear that my company is going under
either.”

I try to convince her to ignore the rumors
and focus on her work. I know that’s easier said than done.

“We have the Grazian wedding coming up, and
soon we will start the planning Faith, Fashion, and Hope for next
year.” That’s a huge relief to hear; Faith, Fashion, and Hope is a
huge charity event. Sienna planned it last year, and it was an
amazing success.

“See! Everything will be fine,” I assure her.
“So, how are things going with Ace? Are you going to take Luke’s
advice?” I can’t believe I just said that out loud. I feel like I
need to get some soap and wash my mouth out.

She lets out a sigh. “Things are really good,
except for
Allyson.”
She tells me about their dinner date
the other night being interrupted yet again by an urgent issue that
came up. If this Allyson is so brilliant then why is she always
having a problem that needs Ace’s immediate attention? You would
think that he would catch on to her helpless act.

“Don’t sit on this. You need to be honest
with him about your feelings,” I demand.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m planning on it.”

Chapter 17

When I arrive at my new house, I unload my
car. Susan called me on my way and asked if she could bring over a
meal because we aren’t quite moved in yet. I thankfully accept, and
Cole will be very happy to hear that she’s recognizing her
boundaries and calling first.

I have started neatly unpacking and
organizing all of my cookie stuff. I’m so excited about my cookie
room. I even have some framed pictures of a few of my favorite
designs. I’m busily hanging them on the walls when I hear a knock
at my door. Susan is right on time as usual. Except it’s not Susan
at the door, it’s Ellie.

“Ellie? What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Madie. I wasn’t sure if you would be
here, but my office is nearby so I thought I’d check.” She walks
right by me into the house.

“Your office is nearby?” I repeat. Crap!
Maybe I can convince Cole and his parents to move.

“Yes. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about
Sienna. Is there any way that you can convince her to be my wedding
planner?” She wanders into the cookie room and starts looking
around.

What? I thought she was kidding when she
asked me that.

“Ellie, I don’t think so. You do remember
that Luke and Sienna used to date, and Luke really did her wrong.
That would just be really awkward.”

Ellie stares at me. Sometimes I wonder if she
has selective hearing when I talk to her. It’s almost as if she
ignores half the things I say.

“Of course I remember, but that was a long
time ago, and Luke even talked to her at the wedding. Also, I’m not
sure you knew this, but Luke and her boyfriend are really good
friends,” she adds, looking at her nails.

“Not anymore they’re not.”

Ellie insists that Luke and Ace have moved on
from their issues from the past. I sit down on a barstool after I
offer Ellie some coffee. I try to explain that Sienna is not the
best option, but I’m sure she could recommend someone else.

“Would she really want to send me to her
competition?” Ellie asks. “I mean, starting a business is
difficult, I would think she could use all the business she can
get.” So even Ellie has heard the rumors.

“I’ll talk to her for you,” I finally agree.
I know by now that sometimes it’s better to just agree and deal
with the fallout later. She thanks me (sincerely) and gives me a
quick hug. I admit I’m surprised because I don’t remember the last
time she thanked me or hugged me.

“There is something else I wanted to talk to
you about.” I can tell by her expression that I’m not going to like
this.

“I have a confession to make and I hope this
doesn’t change things with us, you know, since we’ve become
closer.” Closer?

“It’s about Bev’s Sweet Treats . . .” she
trails off.

I sit there as I listen to Ellie’s
confession. It turns out that she was the one who told Bev that
Sheer Happiness was going under, and she also told her about the
wedding being canceled. She even suggested that the cookies be
removed because it could be considered false advertising because I
was no longer having a “Four Seasons” wedding.

“Madie, I really regret it now. I was angry
that you would accuse me of ruining your wedding.” She looks at her
hands. “But I understand if you need some time.”

I don’t really know what to say or how to
respond.

My silence is interrupted by Susan’s arrival
with our dinner. She tries to hide her surprise to see Ellie, but
she doesn’t do a very good job. Ellie leaves shortly after and asks
me again to talk to Sienna. She really has a lot of nerve.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted something,” Susan
apologizes. I tell her not to worry about it and then explain about
Luke, Sienna, and Ellie wanting her to plan the wedding. Then I
tell her about Bev’s.

“My goodness,” Susan says, taking a sip of
her coffee. “Perhaps the guilt was eating away at her. You know . .
. she could have never admitted it, and you would have been none
the wiser. I think that’s progress.”

I know she’s right; I just need time to let
it soak in.

The next morning I meet the movers at the
apartment. Sienna’s still there, so I go ahead and mention Ellie’s
request. I decide not to mention anything about Bev’s to her. This
is about business, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to keep Sienna
from planning another event no matter what my personal issues
are.

“What? Why would she want me to plan her
wedding? I thought she said I did a horrible job with your
shower?”

“No, she was just mad at me as usual. She
knows you’re the best and that’s why she wants you.”

“I don’t know . . . I have to think about
it,” she says. Really? I’m completely shocked that she even agreed
to think about it. Is she really that desperate for business?

She leaves for the office right before the
movers arrive and load up the remainder of my stuff. Cole is
meeting the movers at the new house because I have three clients
this afternoon. I look around the apartment and reminisce for a few
minutes. A slide show of memories goes through my mind, as if I was
in a movie or TV show. I imagine a sad song would be playing along
with it. I can’t believe I’m married and moving into my first home
with my new husband. This feels so surreal; I guess the time comes
for everyone to have to grow up.

At work, Caycee asks me if I used her shower
gift yet. I tell her that I haven’t but promise to bring it on our
honeymoon. Seriously, why does she care so much? I’m busy
organizing some products when I get a group text from Sienna.