Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (6 page)

“Yes, but really, you don’t have to get so
defensive. Anyway, you will get us reservations for tonight?” I
say, changing the subject. “Bring Craig, too; let’s make it a
party.” I will get Craig on my side, and we will bring this happy
couple together once and for all. I feel like I should let out a
sinister laugh as though I’m plotting to take over the world.

“Oh, and one more thing, I just got a call
from Ellie.” I tell Sienna about our conversation. I probably
should have waited until later because she was already irritated
with me about all of the Ace questions.

Sienna, being the awesome friend she is,
promises she will get in touch with her but quickly gets off the
phone. She is probably trying to avoid any more pep talks from
me.

After I hang up, I think about our
conversation. Sienna knows that I have no intention of giving up on
this subject. I need to talk to Abby, and I think that maybe it’s
time that I had a conversation with Mr. Ace Eckelund. I leave Abby
a message about our plans for the night, and I’m hoping that she
has spoken to Ace. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her since she
brought baby Ace over during my cookie madness. It may seem like
I’m always meddling in Sienna’s life, but that’s what true friends
are for, right?

A few hours later, I get a text from Sienna,
and once again she has worked her magic and we are in for dinner at
8 p.m.

~*~

Surprisingly, I arrive a few minutes early,
which hardly ever happens. I admit I’m late sometimes. Well, OK,
all the time, but tonight I have an important agenda. Abby walks in
right behind me.

“Hi!” I exclaim, giving her a big hug. “You
look great and well rested. How’s mommy land?”

Abby smiles and I can almost see the joy
pouring out of her. “It’s good, better now.” she adds. “Those first
few months were rough, but we’re finally getting into a routine.”
She starts to tell me about all of the cute things baby Ace is
doing, and I know I better cut her off before Sienna gets here. We
can talk baby all night long later.

“OK, before Sienna gets here, have you talked
to Ace and what’s happening?” I ask urgently.

“I did finally,” she says with a deep sigh.
“I can tell he’s discouraged. He says that he feels like every step
forward leads to a few steps back. We definitely have to do
something.”

“Well,” I say excitedly, “I have an idea.” A
huge smile spreads across my face.

“WHAT?” Abby screams.

“Shhh!” I say, shoving my hand over her
mouth. Everyone in the lobby at Venice is now staring at us.

“OH CRAP!” she says in a loud whisper.
“Didn’t mean to scream but hurry and tell me,” she says, looking at
her watch. “Sienna will be here any minute.”

“I have been thinking since I now have two
new members of my bridal party, we will need a few more groomsmen.
I talked to Cole, and we have decided to ask Ace to be in the
wedding party. Cole thinks Ace is a great guy, too. So, what do you
think?”

I can almost see the wheels turning in Abby’s
brain.

“I love this idea,” she says calmly.
“When—”

“What are you two whispering about?”
interrupts Sienna. Both Abby and I jump straight in the air. I turn
to see Sienna staring at me. Craig is right behind her, talking
very animatedly on his phone.

“Whatever you want. That’s fabulous.” I hear
him say. He leans in and gives Abby and I air kisses.

“Oh, we were just chatting about all of the
adorable things baby Ace is up to,” I reply unconvincingly.

“Yes. That’s right,” adds Abby. Yeah, she’s
the worst liar and Sienna knows it.

Sienna stares at both of us, and I know she
suspects something. Luckily, Craig gets off the phone and
interrupts our conversation.

“Abby, you are looking fine,” he says as he
twirls her around. “Way better than the last time I saw you.” Yes,
no matter what, you can always count on Craig to be completely
honest.

“Craig!” exclaims Sienna. “Why do you always
have to be so rude? Seriously, one of these days you are going to
say something to the wrong person and it better not be a
client.”

“Wait a second. You know how professionally
fake I am,” Craig replies with a laugh. “I would never tell a
client what I really think. Believe me, most of the time I wish I
could.”

We all laugh, and a few seconds later, the
hostess announces that our table is available. I catch Abby’s eye,
and we both exhale in relief that Craig’s lack of inner monologue
distracted Sienna from catching us whispering about her.

During dinner, we talk mostly about baby Ace
and Sheer Happiness Events. Sienna and Craig tell a story about a
bridal shower that was crashed by a jealous ex-wife. Apparently, it
was a huge disaster. I can see how upset Sienna is about it; she
can’t stand it when things don’t go perfectly. The subject then
turns to my wedding. I tell everyone about my early morning phone
call from Ellie and remind Sienna to call her.

“So, why is she suddenly so interested in
this wedding?” Craig asks as he puts a California roll into his
mouth. I really wish he wouldn’t have asked that question because
the thought of it makes me start to sweat. Before I can respond,
Craig starts talking again.

“I think it’s about time I got to meet the
wicked stepsisters,” he adds with a sinister tone in his voice.
“I’m a great judge of character, and I will be able to figure out
exactly what this Ellie person is up to.” He leans back in his
chair with an air of confidence that only Craig can pull off.

“Oh, please,” Sienna exclaims as she finally
looks up from her phone. I start to wonder what she is so consumed
with because she seems very preoccupied. “Craig, you are way too
self-absorbed to be able to see through anyone,” she says. We all
start to laugh, including Craig.

“I resemble that comment,” he says as he
fixes his hair while looking at his phone. He even goes as far as
to make kissing faces at himself.

“Madie, do you think it’s possible that your
cousins just sincerely want to be a part of your day?” Abby
interjects.

“Of course it’s possible,” I say. “I really
do feel that Stephy is sincere, at least she seems to be. She
seemed to grow out of that bullying phase a while ago. I just don’t
think she cares enough to stand up to Ellie,” I say as I take a sip
of my water. “Ellie, on the other hand, is definitely a wild
card.”

“It’s pure, old-fashioned jealousy. That’s
it,” Sienna replies. “At least it has been since the day I met you,
and I’m sure it was that long
before
I ever met you. I will
give her a call back tomorrow.” She picks up her phone quickly to
answer another text.

“Who are you texting?” I ask. “You seem very
interested in whatever is happening on that phone.” Sienna looks up
to see Abby, Craig, and me staring at her.

“It’s just a potential client,” she says
nervously. “Just a lot of questions, you know work never stops for
me. Anyway . . .” she says, obviously trying to change the subject.
“When’s the big cookie debut?”

“Next weekend! Bev really liked my Four
Seasons idea,” I say excitedly. “I will be baking non-stop for two
days straight. So, about the apartment.” I look at Sienna with a
little bit of hesitation. “I promise I will clean it from top to
bottom, or even better, I will hire someone to clean it.”

“Madie, don’t worry about it; this is a
really exciting time for you,” she says sincerely. I know she means
it, too. Sienna has been very supportive since day one about my
cookie endeavor. She has very calmly overlooked the mess I make,
and I have gradually gotten much better about it. Even I couldn’t
stand the mess and chaos when I first started.

We have an awesome night out. We talk about
my cookies, baby Ace, and Craig auditioning for some local showing
of
Hairspray
. I really have the best friends. Reluctantly, I
finally decide to bring up the elephant in the room.

“OK, Sienna, time to spill it. When are you
seeing Ace again?” I ask as I take a bite of my tiramisu. I close
my eyes as my favorite dessert melts in my mouth.

She lets out a huge sigh as she puts her
phone down on the table. “Madie, didn’t we just have this
conversation? I told you he’s still out of town for work.”

“Yes, you did, but you also didn’t elaborate
on it. You know me well enough to know that wasn’t a good enough
answer,” I say with a smile. Both Craig and Abby have become
completely silent. I’m sure they are waiting to see if Sienna
completely freaks out on me. For a second I think I may regret
bringing it up, but her phone rings. She quickly excuses herself
and leaves the table.

“Madie, you’re my hero,” Craig says
excitedly. “You don’t know how many times a day I try to talk to
her about him. I know she really, really likes him, but she’s being
so stubborn. He’s probably getting so bored with her that he’s
ready to move on. I’m sure a man like Ace Eckelund will have no
problem finding a new love interest, and I don’t blame him one
bit.” He adds. “I tell her all the time that she better stop
dragging this out.”

“No way,” Abby says firmly. “Ace is totally
committed and he has told me that he will be patient with her.
Also, you guys can’t tell her this but . . .” She leans in close to
Craig and me. “He hinted around to Matt that he thinks he may be in
love with her,” Abby whispers.

“Ahhhh!” Craig screams. “Seriously, I love
the girl but she’s exasperating. She will never get any better than
him.”

“Craig, that’s awful.” Abby replies calmly.
“She’s just being extremely cautious. She can’t bear to have her
heart broken again. We just have to . . .” Abby stops talking when
Sienna returns to the table.

“Sorry, you guys, I was waiting on that call.
Craig, guess who that was: Bianca Grazian! She has just hired us!”
Sienna announces. “You guys have no idea what a huge deal this is.
Her wedding will be the social event of the year.” She claps her
hands together.

“Wait, I thought my wedding was going to be?”
I say, giving her a wink.

She smiles and has seemed to forget all about
our previous conversation. I decide to drop it because she and
Craig start talking excitedly all about their plans. I glance at
Abby and nod my head. I know just what needs to be done; maybe
something good will come out of my cousins joining the party after
all.

Chapter 4

The next week seems to fly by. Before I know
it, I’m forty-eight hours away from my cookie debut at Bev’s Sweet
Treats. I’m so stressed because nothing seems to be going right.
Poor Cole has been on non-stop runs to the baking supply store as
well as food runs for Chinese, pizza, and even McDonald’s at
midnight. I’m so nervous that I ended up throwing up the entire
meal. Truthfully, that may not have been nerves but more the fact I
should never have eaten all that junk food in the middle of the
night. Either way, I haven’t slept. I have actually thrown away
whole batches of cookies. I didn’t tell Sienna though because there
has been many a day that she has practically survived on my cookies
alone--that is, when she isn’t on one of her no sugar diets that
last a day or two.

When Friday morning rolls around, I have
finished the fall and summer displays. All of my spring cookies
turned out horribly. I consider quitting while I’m ahead, but I
refuse to give up. I still have a little over twenty-four hours to
pull this together, so I need to stay completely focused.

Easier said than done. While I was having a
minor anxiety attack, I used the wrong amount of butter in my dough
and didn’t even realize it. I run to my room, scream into the
pillow, and throw a few things. A little while later Cole finds me
in my room having some kind of crazy hugging-my-knees,
rocking-on-my-floor toddler tantrum. I wish I had a picture of his
face when he saw me rocking as if I was possessed. I think I left
my body for a minute.

“Madie, you OK?” Cole asks with concern. He
stands back for a few minutes until I respond.

“I think so,” I say softly. “Except, I have
to wonder what I’m doing. Seriously, I should just stick to doing
hair! I’m GOOD at doing hair; no, I’m GREAT at doing hair! I have
no business being a cookie designer or doing anything in the
kitchen!” I shout and start to rock again and Cole sits down next
to me.

“First of all,” he says as he puts his arm
around me, “please stop the rocking; you’re creeping me out.” Leave
it to Cole to make this into a joke.

“Thanks for your support,” I reply
glumly.

“Oh, don’t be mad.” He kisses me on the
cheek. “Yes, you’re great at doing hair, but you love your cookie
business and you’re great at that, too. Why don’t you just have fun
and enjoy yourself?” He’s right, and as always, he makes me feel
much better.

A few hours later, I’m able to finish my
project and even make some fun cookies for our emergency stash.
This stash tends to disappear quickly during certain times of the
month in an apartment with two women. I spend the rest of the night
cleaning up the disaster that has accumulated over the past week. I
have everything ready to deliver to Bev tomorrow morning before
heading to bed. After I shower for the first time in almost three
days, I sit down in front of my computer, and I glance at my
wedding countdown calendar. I can’t remember the last time I looked
at this. I count the days and realize that it will be here before I
know it. I pull out Sienna’s list that she left for me weeks ago
and get to work.

~*~

I wake up and glance at my phone; wow, 7:30
a.m. sure came quick. The last thing I remember is attempting to
conquer my wedding to-do list from Sienna. So far, the only thing I
have checked off is finally deciding on the centerpieces. I still
have to make final choices for the music list, wedding favors, and
bridesmaids’ gifts. For some reason I was able to choose my dress
rather quickly, but these simple tasks completely stress me
out.