Beach Wedding (24 page)

She starts slicing, and soon we’re all sitting around with a
drink and a massive wedge of cake. Jules, Pixie and Theo, Marcie,
even Clyde and my aunts. The most unlikely set of drinking buddies I
can imagine. But having made in through the past crazy month, I’m
so thankful to have had this chance to spend time with them all.

“To the end of the road.” Marcie lifts her glass in a
toast.

“The end of the
series
,” Pixie pipes up, smiling.
“You’ll be fine, Marcie, I know you will. Any company
would be lucky to have you.”

Marcie rolls her eyes, but she still looks happier than I’ve
seen her in weeks. I guess it’s a weight off her shoulders not
to have to deal with the madness of Pixie’s world anymore.
Meanwhile, Pixie herself looks pretty content, munching on a slice of
wedding cake with Theo’s arm around her shoulders.

“What about you, Ginny?” Pixie asks. “What are you
doing next?”

“I have a few clients waiting on me back in the city,” I
tell them, trying to be upbeat. The last thing I want to dwell on
right now is the one person who isn’t at this table. Luke.
“That should keep me busy – unless they’ve already
heard about my big failure.”

“Don’t worry,” Marcie tells me. “It’s
not your fault. As far as the press are concerned, it’s all
because of Pixie. No offense,” she adds, reaching for more
cake.

“None taken!”

I look over at Theo. “I didn’t mean it, before,” I
tell him. “If you want to come back to work, I’d love to
have you.”

“Thanks, boss.” He grins. “But mind if I take some
vacation? Pixie and I have some traveling to do.”

She glances over at Clyde. “Sorry babe, you don’t mind if
we use the honeymoon, do you? It’s non-refundable!”

Clyde looks up, distracted. “What’s that? Oh, no love,
you go ahead. Never liked the tropics anyway. All those mosquitos,
buzzing around. Give me a camper van and a night in the desert any
day.”

Bettina lights up. “Have you been to Joshua Tree?”

“Been there?” Clyde chortles. “Love, I wrote my
first album there. I was off my head on peyote, howling at the moon.
Good times.”

“Peyote!” Bettina laughs. “Those were the days. Now
all it takes is a full-caff latte and I’m buzzing all
afternoon.”

I finish my cake, and reluctantly check the time. “I should hit
the road,” I tell them. “I want to make it up to
Jacksonville by tonight.”

My aunts and Jules get up. “We’ll see you out,” Rae
says, linking her arm through mine.

“Take some cake for the road!” Jules wraps me up a couple
of slices, and joins us out front.

I pause by my car, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion. “Thank
you, guys,” I sniffle. “It’s been really good
seeing you again.”

“Oh, hush you,” Bettina gives me a brisk hug. “Just
as long as you don’t wait another ten years to come back and
visit.”

“I won’t, I promise.” I hug Rae, then Jules. She
grips me tightly.

“Don’t give up on him,” she says stubbornly. “I’ve
never loved anyone the way you guys love each other. You can’t
just walk away from that.”

I give her a smile, and finally get in the car. “See you soon,”
I call, meaning every word as I start the engine and head down the
drive. I won’t let another decade go by without keeping these
people close in my life – this town, too, in all its crazy
glory. Soon, their waving figures go out of view, and I reach the
turning on the highway

I pause. Turning left will take me north through the Keys towards the
mainland. But right… right leads me back to Luke’s
place.

I can’t just leave him again, not feeling the way I do.

With a surge of determination, I turn the wheel right. I drive the
short distance to his house on the beach, my heart pounding faster
with every passing mile. I’m ready to tell him everything,
declare my love and refuse to go until he listens; until he
understands. But when I turn into his driveway, his truck is gone.
There’s just one of his crew, loading something into the van. I
go upstairs and check the house, but even though the door is open,
the place is empty.

“Is Luke around?” I call down hopefully. If he’s at
one of their construction sites, I’ll do whatever it takes.

The guy gives me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, he’s on
vacation.”

I blink. “What?”

“Left a couple of hours ago, a spur of the moment thing, he
said. Won’t be back for a week or two.”

My heart sinks. “Do you know where?”

“Sorry. Said he was taking a road trip, maybe a cabin
somewhere.” He shrugs. “You could try him on his cell.”

“No,” I exhale, disappointed. “Thanks all the
same.”

I pause on the deck. He’s gone. I can’t believe it. I
guess I didn’t realize until now that I was still holding out
some glimpse of hope – that he would change his mind, that he
would realize we’re meant to be together. But instead, he made
sure he was the one who skipped town first.

There’s nothing keeping me here anymore.

My heart aches, but I can’t leave like this. I have to show
him, somehow, what he means to me. Hope that one day, perhaps, he’ll
think twice and come around.

I step inside the house and look around. There’s some paper on
the table, and I find a pen too. I think for a long time about what
to write: an apology, a promise, something to express the way I feel
about him, the way I’ve always felt.

I could write a novel with everything that’s in my heart, but
in the end, I only need five words.

It will always be you.

I slowly lift my necklace over my head. My parents’ wedding
rings, the ones I keep near me for strength. For luck.

I undo the clasp and carefully lift off one of the rings. I kiss it,
and place it by my note. Then I put the remaining necklace back on –
half a promise, separated from its partner. Just like my heart.

I head back to my car and hit the highway again, flashing back ten
years ago to the last time I made this exit drive. I had a couple of
bags in the backseat, and a broken mess of a heart.

I guess some things never change.

‘
You are now leaving Pelican Key Cove. Come see us again
soon!’

I wipe away my tears, and keep driving.

Three months later…

“White doves and roses?”

“Whatever Pixie was having,” my latest clients say
eagerly. “We want exactly the same thing.”

“I’ll do my best.” I smile at them across the desk.
“But it’s your wedding, too. We want to add personal
touches so it has meaning for your relationship. Like a special song
at the reception, or your favourite flowers in the bouquet.”

“What flowers did Pixie have?” the bride demands. “I
mean, what was she going to have?”

I laugh, rising to my feet. “We’ll figure it out
together. We have a few months to get it right, and I promise, you
both will have the perfect day.”

I show them out, and close the door with a sigh of relief. It’s
been a long day, but then, every day since I got back has been booked
solid. Despite the fact that the big Princess and a Rockstar wedding
never actually happened, the network went ahead and started airing
the series—advertising ‘the twist we all saw coming’.
I don’t know if it was a parting gift from Marcie, but my
wedding planning came off looking great, and the minute the first
episode aired, my phone started ringing off the hook. Just like she
promised, I tripled my rates, and business hasn’t slowed yet. I
was even able to promote a few people and hire more to handle the
expanding business, moving us into cute new offices in the West
Village.

“I’m done for the day.” I poke my head in on my
new hires. “You guys should pack up, too.”

“I just have a couple more things on the Drexel planning,”
Jody says. “She’s got her heart set on Celine Dion
again.”

We exchange a look. “Didn’t the groom threaten to turn
around and leave her at the altar if that was the wedding march
song?”

“Yes,” she sighs. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You could see if there’s a cover of it around?” I
suggest. “Maybe if someone else is singing “My Heart Will
Go On”, he won’t even notice until it’s too late.”

“Good idea,” she brightens. “I’ll give it a
shot.”

“OK, goodnight!”

I meet Theo just coming in on my way out. He’s toting bag full
of centerpiece samples from his new clients, weighed down with
hyacinths and begonia. “You heading home?” he asks. I
nod.

“I’ve got a hot date with some Thai food and a glass of
wine.”

“Come over,” he insists. “Pixie’s throwing a
big party for the final episode. We’ve got a ton of people and
food, it’ll be fun!”

“You want to watch that all over again?” I’m
surprised. The last show is the one where everything fell apart: the
tears, the fights, Pixie weeping in a cheap motel room.

Theo gives a wry smile. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” he
says. “It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“I guess,” I laugh. For them, anyway. Theo and Pixie
returned from their non-honeymoon even more in love. They’re
living together now in her apartment uptown – no cameras
allowed. “But I’m too wiped for a party,” I
apologize. “You guys have fun.”

Back at my apartment, I change into my sweatpants, and collapse in
front of the TV. Jules calls before I’ve even dug the remote
out from behind the couch cushions.

“Are you watching?”

“Give me a chance!” I laugh. I finally find the device,
and click over. “OK, it’s on. Starting after the
commercial break.”

“How much do you think they’ll show?” Jules asks. I
can hear her eating something in the background. “It won’t
be the whole thing, you think? The tears, the meltdown.”

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s been so cute and funny
up until now.” Surprisingly, Pixie and Clyde’s adventures
in Pelican Key Cove have been a hit. The town comes off as quirky,
sure, but nobody’s the butt of any joke.

“I wonder if they’ll show your little speech.”
Jules says.

“No way. I’m not the star, remember?”

“But they’ve shown a lot of you so far.”

“As the wedding planner,” I argue. “Those scenes
were all about Pixie and Clyde. They’ve probably edited me out
of every shot.”

At least, I hope so.

“So, how was your day?” I ask, settling back.

“Very productive,” Jules replies. “I played hooky
to shop for my perfect New York City wardrobe.”

I laugh. “They do have stores here, you know.”

“But it’s so much fun planning! I can’t wait.”

“Me too.” Jules is booked to arrive next week, and I’ve
planned us a ton of fun things to do.

“And when are you planning on coming back down here?”
Jules asks. “I would have thought your aunts would be laying it
on thick to get you back for the holidays.”

“Not this time! Rae’s talking about a meditation retreat
in Tibet, and Bettina’s still out on the road with Clyde.”

“I have to say, I didn’t see that one coming,”
Jules laughs.

“Nobody did.” I grin.

It turns out Clyde wasn’t too cut up about being left at the
altar, because not a week after I got back to NYC, I received a
postcard, stamped from New Mexico.

‘
Giving the airsteam a workout & making beautiful music.
Love Bettina & Clyde.’

I guess the old dog had some new tricks in him after all.

“Ooh, it’s starting.” Jules says. I turn up the
volume on the TV and brace myself for show time. Sure enough, the
first shot in the ‘previously on’ segment is the four of
us relaxing on Luke’s back porch.

I feel a familiar pang. That was the night we slept together again,
and my whole world shifted back into Technicolor. I hadn’t
realized just what I’d been missing, until Luke took me in his
arms and showed me what it was to really feel passion, to connect on
a deeper level.

“Ginny?” Jules’ voice comes. She’s still on
the other end of the line. “You holding up OK?”

“Sure,” I lie. “I’m fine.”

I reach for the single ring hanging around my neck, missing its
partner. I’ve been trying not to think about him since I got
back. I’ve thrown myself into work, and focused on a dozen
happy couples to forget about the empty ache in my own heart. But
there he is, on my TV screen right in front of me. Smiling across the
grill at me, that special warmth in his eyes.

It still hurts like hell that I lost him again.

“You know what, I don’t think I can watch this?” I
tell Jules. “It still hurts too much.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I understand. I’ll see it
through, and report back, OK?”

“Thanks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

I hang up and shut the TV off. It’s too painful a reminder of
what we almost had – and the moment when it all fell apart. I
know that Pixie got her happy ending after all, and Clyde, too. I’m
happy for them, I really am, but when I think about that wedding now,
all I can feel is loss for the moments with Luke I got to share again
– and then see slip away.

Suddenly, there’s a hammering on my door. “Ginny?”
It’s Theo’s voice.

I go answer. “What’s going on? What about your party?”

Theo looks stressed. “It’s Lexi Sanderson,” he
says, out of breath. “She just stopped by the Boathouse, to
show her mom the plans, I guess. They’re tearing the whole
thing down. Construction.”

I gasp. “What? When will it be up? Nobody told us anything
about it!” The Sanderson wedding is in just a few days; I’ve
been to the permit office at least half-a-dozen times, and nobody
said anything about construction!

“She’s there now, and she’s having a major
meltdown,” Theo warn me. “We better get over there right
away.”

“Of course. I’m coming.” I grab my purse and a
jacket. I follow Theo down to the cab. He seems in a real rush, and I
don’t blame him: the Sanderson wedding is the first one I let
him take the lead on, and he’s been working overtime to make
everything runs smoothly.