Doing It for Love (All About Love #1) (12 page)

“Wedding Gods, we need your hel—”

“Goddesses.”

I sigh, dropping Theresa’s hand and opening one eye to look at her. “What?”

“I’m just saying, if we want to get your dress, we should probably talk to the ladies up there,” she says, gesturing to the ceiling in the Bed Bath & Beyond storage room. Alec covers his laugh with a cough and I nudge him with my knee.

“All right…Wedding
Goddesses,
we need your help.”

“My friends have gone insane,” Alec interrupts, and I nudge him again. Theresa bites back her laugh, and I ignore them both, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

“THE dress needs to be in the winter sale.”

“Shit, I forgot the glitter.”

I drop my friends’ hands again and slump my shoulders. “What?”

“We have to toss glitter in the air,” Theresa says, throwing her arms out like she’s actually tossing glitter. “Otherwise it won’t work.”

Alec nods. “Yeah, and the glitter has to be from a fairy’s ass.”

“Like Peter Pan.”

“Tinker Bell didn’t poop glitter.”

“How do you even know that?”

“I babysit.”

They both laugh, and I shove from my spot on the floor. “Y’all are fired.”

“Sorry, Liz,” Theresa says, but her smile is still on and she’s sharing a look with Alec. “We’ll be good.”

“Nope. You’ve offended the Wedding Goddesses. We have to chant around an empty hanger now.”

“I’ll get my bongos,” Alec says, and I smack his shoulder. This sounded so much better in my head when Theresa showed up with coffee. I’ve been working since eight this morning, and I’ll be here until we close. Maybe an entire month of sleep deprivation has something to do with my insanity.

A tap comes at the employee door, and Alec gets up and cracks it open.

“Hey,” Jace says, and Alec lets him in. Theresa’s smile fades somewhat and she starts gathering the candy wrappers we’ve accumulated since I went on break.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask Jace, tucking my polo into my khakis. It’s almost time for me to clock back in.

“Landon wanted me to drop this off.” He holds up the bag of groceries—okay, it’s probably just twelve boxes of mac and cheese—but I’d told Landon to grab them today while he was out.

“He has to stay late again?” I ask, taking the bag with a pout. “But it’s Halloween.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t the best day of shooting.” He scratches the back of his neck, and I notice he’s got a slice on his arm.

“That’s a good makeup job,” I joke, nodding to the cut.

“Hurt like hell. Got cocky with one of the prop shovels.”

“Oh!” Theresa says, leaping to her feet. “Blood chant. We can get your dress with that.”

“What?” I laugh, as she grabs Jace by the arm—the non-injured one—and pulls him to the center of the room.

“We’ll chant around him. It’ll work.”

“Are you pulling this out of your ass?” Alec asks, stepping up next to me.

“Of course not,” she lies. But hey, I’m willing to try it. I’ve looked like an idiot in front of my friends before. Maybe I should add my parents’ visit to the blood chant as well.

Theresa slides up Jace’s sleeve, being careful around the cut, and then positions his arm out. He’s laughing, flexing his muscles for her, but she just smacks him.

“Should we all start singing ‘Balls,’ like on
The Proposal
?” Alec asks, and I snort.

“You’ve seen that movie?”

“
You
made me watch it!”

Theresa starts chanting unintelligible noises, and then pushes Alec and me to move circles around Jace.

“Winter sale!” she shouts, making me laugh so loud I scare Jace enough to jump. We’re able to keep it up for about two more rounds, but then I break formation, hunch over, and clutch my side. Alec bumps into me, then Theresa into him, so of course Jace hops on all of us, and my ass hits the concrete floor.

“Y’all get off of me!” I shout, but no one takes me seriously since I’m near peeing myself. It feels good to laugh this hard. I’ve been so wound up about everything it’s nice to know I don’t need sex to make it better.

Though…it wouldn’t hurt.

A phone alarm goes off, and Jace says, “Shitshitshit,” and weight is lifted from our sandwich pile.

“Hey, gotta run,” he says, shoving his phone into his tattered jeans pocket and fixing his messy brown hair. “My current lady wants some of this.” He gyrates his hips, and Theresa smacks his shin.

“Your lady?” I ask, finally freeing myself from the tangle of my friends.

“Chantal.”

“When did that happen?” I swear Landon doesn’t tell me anything, and with working so much I’ve been out of the loop.

“Like three days ago,” Alec answers. “He’s already got it bad.”

“Jace has it bad for someone?” Theresa says, opening her mouth in mock shock. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“And I’m ditching you guys now.” Jace grins and fixes his shirt. “See you at the party tonight, yeah?”

We all nod and wave him out. Alec sighs, helping Theresa to her feet. “Guess I better turn into your boss,” he says to me, tucking his own polo into his pants.

“Boo.”

He hands me my time card, and Theresa grabs her jacket. “I’ll see y’all later,” she says, and shares a hug with Alec—which shouldn’t seem so weird, but it does now. So instead of sticking around, I slide out, clock in, and get ready for the second half of my very long shift.

“Hey, all you Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers. Doors close in T-minus fifteen seconds. And I’m so beat I’ll lock you in here. Don’t worry…there are display beds for your convenience. But if you sleep in it, you buy it.”

Alec grins from across the store where he’s mopping invisible dirt from our invisible customers. “You’re fired!”

“No, I’m not. You love me,” I say into the intercom. Olivia laughs from the plunger section as I swing my legs over the register counter and tread lightly on the mopped floor to lock up. We’ve had probably two people all night, since most are out at parties or trick-or-treating with their kids. Olivia and I strapped pillows to our bellies and ran into each other for about an hour.

I go to twist the lock, but there’s a woman jogging through the rain, straight for the doors. When she lifts her head, I throw the doors open and meet her.

“Mom!” I squeal, and toss my arms around her neck.

“Hi, sweetie!”

“I thought you weren’t coming till next week.”

“My last open house fell through, so I caught an earlier flight.”

I pull her inside so we’re not shouting over the rain, and then I hug her again. She smells like home. Like lemon meringue pie. Man I could go for a slice of that.

“Uh, Liz?” Alec asks as he looks at his freshly mopped floor that my mom and I just puddled.

“Oh, sorry! I’ll clean it up.” I walk around him to the mop bucket. “Alec, this is my mom. Mom, this is Alec. He’s Landon’s best man.”

They shake hands, and then Mom fixes her blond wavy hair under her hood. Her cheeks splash pink and I laugh under my breath. Yes, Alec is adorably hot. Dirty blond hair, lean and tall, and one dimple in his cheek.

And yes, that is Mom’s type, even if she is twenty-five years his senior and
married
.

“You’ve known Landon and Liz awhile?” she asks awkwardly. I push her foot with the mop and she bats at me.

“I met Liz when Landon introduced us a few years ago. Landon I’ve known since I was four.”

“They grew up across the street from each other,” I add, nudging Alec with the mop now. “Alec hired me when I was basically living on Theresa’s couch.”

“I’m also her personal chauffeur right now.” He winks to let me know he’s not really bothered by giving me a ride to and from work every day. “So I’d let her off early if she had a way to get you both home. Unless you want to use your cab?” He nods out the window.

I can’t afford a cab, and I’d hate for Mom to pay. But Landon’s last check was stretched to its limit, and we’re living on mac and cheese and SpaghettiOs.

And chocolate for me, which I need to stop. My jeans have been a bit snug of late due to the frosting, candy bars, chocolate chips, instant brownies, and fudge bingeing nearly every night before Landon and I go to sleep. Or I should say, before we go to
bed
. Both of us are still tossing and turning, and Landon’s pillow is so beaten up the feathers are starting to poke out.

“We can take my cab,” Mom says, already holding a finger up to the cabdriver. “If you’re sure you don’t need her to stay and close up.”

Alec shakes his head, and I hand him the mop. “Sweet. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“You’re not coming to Jace’s party?”

“I’m going to hang out with my momma.” I give Mom another squeeze and get my side soaked. “Landon might stop by, though.”

“ ’Kay. Head out there before your driver takes off. I’ll clock out for you.”

I tell him thanks, and Mom gets all flustered again as she waves goodbye. I’m laughing as we run through the downpour and slide into the backseat.

“Where’s Dad?” I ask after we tell the driver my address.

“It’s just me this time around. He thought he’d save his visit for Christmas.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What about meeting Landon?”

“Apparently…he’s already met him.”

“What?”

“Landon called your father about a week after your engagement. They spoke on the phone for nearly an hour.”

“About what?”

“He apologized for not asking Dad for your hand, then he officially asked, and then they talked about the horror stories from working at a call center…who are you talking to?”

“I’m texting Landon a death threat. He doesn’t tell me anything!”

Mom chuckles as she watches me type:
You’re in trouble.
Then I add a flaming red-faced emoticon and hit send.

We catch up on the rest of the drive. Mom’s client list is so packed she hardly has any time to herself anymore, but she loves putting people in new homes, and they’ve been thinking about buying property and building their own house. I frown a little at her because that means they’ll sell the one I grew up in, and she grabs my lip and says, “I’ll put a hook in it,” just like she always does when I give her the pout.

Mom pays for the cab, knocking my hand away when I reach for my purse. I’m glad, because I couldn’t even pay for half of it, but I’m also upset, because I should be able to take care of myself if I’m trying to prove I’m ready for marriage. So instead of focusing on my feather-light pocketbook, I drive all attention to Landon.

“I hope you like him,” I tell her as we get out of the elevator.

“Well, if he’s anything like his best friend, I say his chances are pretty good.”

I laugh and put the key in the door. Alec and Landon are similar, yet so different. Alec’s quieter, but get him with the guys and he comes out of his shell. Whereas Landon is kind of out there, but get him with the guys and he keeps to himself. He’s not a big fan of crowds. But he is great one-on-one. Maybe I should let him take Mom out for dinner or something and I’ll pretend I’m sick.

No, that’d be evil.

“Just a warning, Landon’s been home a lot lately and I have no clue what the place looks like.”

Surprisingly, the apartment is pretty clean. Landon’s damn socks are on the floor, but at least there aren’t any dishes in the sink or on the coffee table.

“That you, Tumbles?” Landon calls from the room.

“Yep!”

“Come check out the costume I got.”

My mom shuts the door behind her and takes off her jacket. “Tumbles?”

“Long story,” I say, setting my keys down. “Give me a second to warn him you’re here?”

Her head moves, but she stops mid-nod. Eyes wide, she stares over my shoulder as booming “Old Time Rock and Roll” plays from down the hall. Landon bursts from the bedroom, landing feet apart, arm pointing straight at me. He’s in nothing but a white button-down, briefs, and sunglasses. His lips sync the words for about two seconds, until he sees my mom.

He shoots upright, hands covering his crotch and red splashing all up and down his neck.

“Uh…,” he mutters, completely dumbfounded. I can feel my mom shaking with laughter.

“Mom, Landon. Landon, Mom.”

Landon’s jaw drops slightly. He quickly takes his sunglasses off, sort of waddles down the hall, and awkwardly reaches around me for Mom’s hand.

“Well, this is just how I wanted to meet you,” he jokes. I’m so embarrassed for him I want to hide my face, but Mom laughs and shakes his hand.

“Nice legs.”

“Nice hands. Very soft.” He pulls back with a smile. “I’m gonna go put on some pants.”

His face is still red as he walks backward into the room and shuts the door. I turn to apologize to my mom, wondering who wins the parental meet and greet fail, but when I lock eyes with her, she’s grinning from ear to ear.

“I like him.”

“What’s this from?” Mom asks, taking the painted shoelace of Landon’s between her fingers. She’s been admiring our collage wall since Landon left for the party. He didn’t want to go, but I wanted some alone time with Mom to go over wedding details.

“My engagement party.”

“You dipped your shoelaces in pink paint?”

“Those are actually Landon’s. Paint war. Whatever he says…I won.”

She laughs and lets her fingertips trail over the pictures, movie ticket stubs, and the bowling score sheet from our first date. She pauses at one of me and Theresa backstage at the first play Landon directed. Well…assistant directed. Alec got the lead because it was a musical, but Jace probably would’ve snagged it if it hadn’t been.

“Your hair looks really pretty in this one,” she says. “Maybe we could do that for the wedding.”

A hopeful smile twitches my lips. Maybe we can plan this thing without her reminding me how young I am and without any “Are you sure you aren’t pregnant?” speeches.

“I was thinking we could put red flowers in it,” I say. “Maybe some jewels to make it look like snowflakes?”

“That would be pretty, too.” She takes one last glance at the wall before easing on the couch and patting her leg. I instantly plop my butt on the cushion and lay my head in her lap, squeezing her knee.

“Have you picked a hall?” she asks. “We want to make sure it’s available for the weekend you want.”

“On top of it. Put down a deposit and nearly wiped my savings clean.”

“Completely clean? Or it’s just not as big as you’d like it?”

I wrinkle my nose at her, and she starts stroking my hair. “I’m worried we won’t have enough. I looked online and the average wedding costs are—”

“Do you think that you’re paying for the entire wedding?”

“Well, yeah. I didn’t want to assume…”

“Your father and I have been saving for your wedding since you were a baby. We could’ve used more
time,
” she teases, tugging on my earlobe. I wiggle away from her. “But here’s what I want you and Landon to worry about.”

She brings up her fingers, and I know she’s going into planning mode. Something I definitely picked up from her. I sit up and get ready to make a new wedding budget plan.

“Your honeymoon.”

I wait for her to tick off more, but she doesn’t. “And…?”

She pulls me back to her lap with a laugh. “And nothing.”

“So the hall?”

“We’ll pay for the rest of it.”

“The cake? The reception? The food? What about decorations? My bouquet? Invitations?”

“Yes, all of that.”

I twist so I’m looking right up at her. “My…my dress?”

She tucks a blond lock behind my ear and nods.

“Mom,” I say, letting my eyes fall closed. “That’s so expensive. I can’t let you and Dad…”

“Well, we’re hoping Landon’s family will take care of the flowers and tuxes. Do you think they’re in a position to help out?”

What did she just ask? I’m temporarily thoughtless as warmth cocoons me in a sense of relief and love and such overwhelming gratitude that I’m left completely speechless. I’m trying to think, trying to figure out what else there is that I need to save up for. Theresa is paying for her dress. Landon’s already paid off the ring on my hand—he piggy-banked that cash for a year without me knowing. Kudos for him being able to keep that a secret—and now the hall, the reception…all of it…how can my parents take care of all of it?

“Lizzie?”

“This isn’t going to bankrupt you, is it?”

She laughs. “No. We’re doing this sensibly, okay? I need you to be mindful of our budget. You won’t get everything on that Pinterest board of yours, and we can’t buy everything for you on New York’s prices, but I promise we’ll make this a good day for you and Lando—
oof!
”

My arms swing around Mom’s shoulders, and I know I’m squeezing too hard, but I can’t stop myself. The reality of Landon’s cut-back hours, my minimum-wage job, our overworking and paycheck-to-paycheck way of living hits me hard, and I realize that there is no way I could’ve afforded this on my own, and Mom and Dad are offering me a wedding.

There is something to be said about chanting.

“Thank you,” I say, knowing the words do not do my feelings justice. Mom taps on my shoulders to get me to ease up, and when I do she lets out a long breath like the ability to breathe has finally returned.

“After your shift tomorrow we’ll shop. Dresses, cakes, decorations, invitations, you name it.”

“I’ve already found the perfect dress,” I say, settling back in her lap. “I’m waiting for it to go on sale.”

“You can show me tomorrow, then.” She starts lazily stroking my head again. “And you never answered me.”

“About what?”

“Landon’s family. Do you think they’re able to help out with the flowers and tuxedos?”

“Oh…um…I don’t know.” I drum my fingers along her knee. “I suppose I could…I could ask.”

That conversation is bound to go smoothly. “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Wangford, I know I completely ran my mouth at you, but let’s let bygones be bygones and give me some money.”

Mom tugs on my chin, eyebrows meeting in the middle of her forehead. And my frown that follows is completely involuntary.

“Landon’s mom hates me.”

Mom’s brows relax and she pinches my lip. “Of course she does. That’s what mother-in-laws do.”

“So you hate Landon? Peachy.”

She chuckles, smoothing my lengthy blond hair. “Why do you think she hates you?”

“I drank too much wine and I don’t know what I said to her, but it pissed her off enough to basically kick us out the next morning.”

“Oh, Lizzie…”

“First impressions are not my forte.”

“Something you and Landon have in common?”

She gets a snort out of me. “One of many things.”

“What else?”

“We’re both pretty competitive.”

“You found someone to butt heads with.” She pinches my nose. “Just what you need.”

“We like the theater. Broadway would be our weekly date if it weren’t so expensive. We’re both Leos. He has a great work ethic. He can’t cook, but he can sure order a mean takeout. We both have tattoos we’re not very proud of. Our favorite TV shows are
The Walking Dead, The Big Bang Theory,
and
Survivor.
He’s well-rounded, exciting, fun…And, of course, we’re both
hilarious
.”

I twist around since Mom’s stopped her soothing strokes. There’s a slight glisten in her eyes.

“You have a tattoo? New York Lizzie is different from Georgia Lizzie.”

“Not really. I’m still picky about my vegetables. I still keep everything in Rubbermaid bins, my toes are always painted, and I have a Hurdle List for every life-changing event.”

She smiles, taps my arm so I move from her lap, and she pulls out her tablet.