Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (5 page)

“It’s nice to meet you, Cole. I’m Stephanie,
but everyone calls me Stephy.” She reaches out to shake Cole’s
hand.

“This is all so wonderful!” Susan exclaims.
“I love when two families come together like this, and it will be
even better when Karen and Bill are able to be with us.” Karen and
Bill are my parents. Everyone starts talking at once as we make our
way to the living room. I remain quiet as I take it all in. Cole’s
father has joined everyone, and my grandmother is busy praising the
girls.

“Yes, my Ellenor and Stephanie have both done
extremely well in their careers. I’m just so proud,” she says
fondly. “I have a wonderful legacy!” She glances in my direction.
“And of course Madison, after all, she is the reason we are all
here together.” I plaster a fake smile on my face; once again, I’m
an afterthought.

“Madie, tell us all about this bakery thing
you have going on,” Stephy asks.

“Oh yeah, we heard you’re now a baker or
pastry chef, is it?” Ellie adds. “That was a huge surprise. Didn’t
you break our Easy-Bake Oven when we were kids?” She giggles.
Seriously, not that damn Easy-Bake Oven again. I’m pretty sure she
brings that up at every family function. I decide it’s best to just
avoid that discussion.

“No, I’m not a baker,” I reply calmly. “I’m a
cookie designer, and my cookies will soon be featured at Bev’s
Sweet Treats. I just started it as a hobby, but surprisingly it
took off,” I say proudly.

“Oh yes, I have some right here,” Susan says
excitedly as she gets up to get the cookies I brought for her
brunch. “They’re not only beautiful but they’re also
delicious.”

“Wow, those are really good,” Stephy says as
she looks through the box. ”We have another friend that does cake
decorating, right, Ellie? It looks really fun.” I catch a glimpse
of Ellie as she looks at them; I can tell she’s impressed but
clearly trying to hide it.

“Did you really make those?” she asks
doubtfully.

“Of course, why do you ask that?” I say
defensively. I can tell she wants to say something else, but she
holds back for a few seconds.

“Those are almost too perfect to be
homemade,” she responds. I watch her expression; it looks as if she
is about to explode.

“Well, I can promise you they ARE homemade,”
I say finally. “You’re more than welcome to come over and check out
my disaster of a kitchen.”

“Madie, don’t get defensive,” she says,
cracking a smile. “Madie has always had a tendency to overreact.
She has never taken criticism very well.”

“Don’t you worry, Madie.” Ellie says
patronizingly. “Your cookies are very cute.”

HA! There it is, she wanted to get a reaction
out of me and she got it. I’m about to say something I may regret,
but thankfully at that moment Susan invites us to all sit down for
dinner. Cole and I hang back for a few minutes after everyone else
heads to the dining room.

“How are you holding up?” he asks.

“I’m OK, but do you see what I’m talking
about? Ellie was asking me if I made the cookies. Like I would lie
or try to pass someone else’s cookies off as mine,” I whisper
furiously. “I’m really not sure about all of this. I had hope that
things were going to be different, but now I don’t know.”

“Hey now, she’s just jealous,” Cole says
calmly. “It doesn’t mean she’s going to ruin the entire wedding. I
think everything will be fine. Just try not to let them bother
you.”

“I know you’re right,” I say stubbornly. “I
hate when you’re right.”

“Stephy seems fine, is she always like that?”
he asks.

“Yes. She would be OK on her own. She’s
actually really into her own life and usually just follows Ellie’s
lead when we are all together. If she does have an opinion about
anything she has never said it out loud.”

“Are you two coming?” Susan interrupts our
whispering. “Now is not the time for you to be making out.”

“Mom! Please!” yells Cole.

“What? I know what making out is, your father
and I still make out all the time,” she says with a smile. “There’s
nothing wrong with it
if
you do it at the proper time and
place, not at a dinner party.” Cole starts making gagging
noises.

OK. What just happened? I’m not sure how we
got on this subject. I think I would rather be getting dental work
without Novocain than having a discussion about making out with my
future mother-in-law.

“Um, is dinner ready? I probably should get
in there with my family.” I hurry to the dining room to escape one
awkward situation in order to enter another.

Dinner is delicious, of course. All three of
my family members compliment Susan throughout the meal. After we
finish dinner, we hang around the table just talking. Finally,
Ellie asks Cole all about his career. I’m surprised it took her
this long because she has been sizing him up for most of the
evening.

“So, how does one become a professional
comedian?” Ellie asks. “I mean, other than going to comedy clubs or
watching those horrible late night TV shows, I don’t know much
about it.”

“At first, we were not thrilled with his
choice,” Susan says, taking a sip of her wine. “But he’s happy and
that’s what matters. He loves to make people laugh, and he is good
at it,” she says fondly.

“Ah yes, we know all about that,” Grandmother
says. “Our Madison was a good student, but she decided to leave her
studies to pursue cosmetology. She is very talented of course.” It
always amazes me how she adds that in every time she mentions my
career choice. It’s as if it’s her disclaimer for admitting her
disappointment.

“Do you see how perfect we are for each
other, Mads?” Cole says, putting his arm around me. “We are both
the black sheep of our families!” he exclaims.

At that moment, all of the awkwardness kind
of fades away. Leave it to Cole to lighten the mood. He leans over
and kisses me on the cheek, and I feel better instantly.

Susan and Grandmother go on and on about how
neither of us are black sheep and the rest of the night goes
smoothly. Ellie and Stephy give me a quick hug good-bye and tell me
they’ll be dress shopping and will send pictures. After they leave,
I help Susan clean up in the kitchen.

“Thank you for everything tonight,” I tell
her.

“Of course, dear. It was a lovely evening,”
Susan says as she puts dishes away.

“Yes, it was nice,” I say unconvincingly.

“Now, you just sit down so I can talk to
you,” she demands. Oh no! I pray this is not the make out
conversation again.

“I want to tell you a story,” she says
immediately. I’m really not sure where she’s going, but I
reluctantly sit down on a barstool.

“I got engaged before my sister Emily. She’s
two years older than me, and she clearly wasn’t happy for me. She
pretended to be, but she really wasn’t and everyone knew it. I know
this was true because here I was, her little sister getting married
first and that really bothered her. None of our other family
members wanted to choose sides, so they just ignored the situation.
Of course, it got better over time; Emily did in fact get married a
few years later. The part I remember the most was how she made me
feel throughout my engagement. At that time, I was convinced she
was out to sabotage my wedding and my life. I thought every comment
and every move she made was to destroy my special day. After months
of being convinced of this, my wedding day was indeed perfect and
yours will be too.” She stops abruptly and gives me a big hug.

I can tell that she thinks I’m overreacting
to my cousins. If only she knew our history. I consider telling her
everything, but I made a promise to myself to move on from the
past. I decide to give her a short and sweet response.

“The three of us haven’t always been close,
but I’m really hoping that our wedding will change that,” I say
with a big smile. Now I just need to make myself believe it.

After a little bit more lecturing from Susan,
Cole somehow manages to calm my nerves again and reminds me that
his mother means well. And I really, really hate when he’s right. I
hate to have to pry myself away from him, but I need to go
home.

Sienna is packing boxes when I arrive home.
She’s extremely methodical (and annoying) with her packing. I would
prefer to just throw things in boxes, then neatly unpack and
organize my new place.

“So, tell me how the big dinner party went?”
she asks eagerly. “Did Susan and Grandmother Grace become
besties?”

I shift some things to the side and fall down
dramatically on the couch. I barely take a breath as I tell her all
about the night from beginning to end. She laughs as I cringe over
the make out conversation.

“Madie, are you sure you’re really OK with
your cousins being in the wedding?” I’m quiet for a few minutes as
I contemplate my decision. “Yes, I am, I think,” I say finally. “I
need to do this for my family and for me. I
need
to get over
it and move on.”

“So, while we’re on the subject, please,
please, please decide on these centerpieces,” she begs. Just then,
she produces several pictures of ideas we had previously discussed.
She pulled them out so fast; I have no idea where they came
from.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with,” I say as I
quickly grab them out of her hand. “I have enough stress without
your OCD.” We both start laughing as I look through the pictures,
and she returns to her annoying method of packing.

The next morning I wake up to my cell phone
ringing. I glance at the time and see that it’s not even seven
o’clock. When I find my phone, I see I have two missed calls from
Ellie. This is really not how I wanted to start my day. I listen to
the voice mails a few times before I fully wake up. I wonder if I’m
dreaming or hallucinating because I think she says something about
needing to contact Sienna and Abby to discuss my shower and
dresses. Just then the phone rings, she’s calling again. I answer
on the first ring.

“Hello.”

“Good morning, Madie, it’s me. Sorry to wake
you. I know you probably sleep late, but I was just way too excited
to wait to talk to you.” She’s talking so fast; I don’t even get a
chance to say anything.

“I really need to talk to Sienna. I have all
these ideas for the shower. Also, how about we go to Vegas for your
bachelorette party? I found the perfect dress for all of us. I
really think we should match.”

“Whoa, whoa!” I interrupt. “Ellie, I really
appreciate your excitement. Maybe I can have Sienna call you back
later? I just woke up.”

“Madie, the clock is ticking. I know you well
enough to know that you’re probably procrastinating,” she says
firmly. Great, not only do I have Sienna on my back, now Ellie too.
I sigh.

“Actually, I decided on centerpieces last
night,” I say proudly. “As far as the dresses, I told you that you
can pick out your own as long as it’s in the color scheme.”

“About that, I really think we all need to
match,” she interrupts. “Just have Sienna call me, and we will get
this taken care of.” Once again, she did not hear a word I said.
Rather than try to argue with her, I agree and quickly get off the
phone.

I go to the kitchen to make some oatmeal. I
start to stress thinking about our conversation. Sienna, Abby, and
I were already planning a spa weekend in lieu of an official
“bachelorette party.” My wild party days are long over, and the
idea of a weekend with my cousins makes me want to poke my eyes
out. The question now would be how to get out of this. I could make
up some elaborate story, or I could take the easy way out and let
Sienna handle it. At that moment, I decide take the easy way out
and get my day started.

As I drive to work, I start to daydream about
my wedding. I can visualize every aspect of my perfect day, and
then I picture Ellie there, standing near me and my heart starts to
race. I start to wonder if I need professional help. Sienna went
through a time when she was convinced that she needed therapy.
Although, if she doesn’t get over herself and admit she wants to be
with Ace, I may have to commit her myself. Which reminds me . . . I
pick up my phone and call her.

“Hello,” Sienna answers on the second
ring.

“Hey, do you have plans tonight?” I ask
immediately.

“No, why?” she asks cautiously.

“Let’s go out! How about Venice? Do you think
we can get in?”

Venice is a fabulous local restaurant with a
band, dance floor, and amazing food. Sienna has a love/hate
relationship with it. She had her last anniversary date there with
her ex, but it’s also the place she met Ace for the first time.
Ace’s family is also pretty connected there. Hopefully, if I can
get her out, I can really encourage her to move on with her life.
And selfishly, I would rather focus on her life right now than deal
with my own family issues.

“OK. But Venice, really?” she groans.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Come on, it
will be fun,” I beg.

“Fine. I will check to see if we can get a
table.”

I can tell she’s not super excited about
this, so I decide to address what we are both thinking about.

“Do you think Ace will be there? I haven’t
seen him in a while.”

Sienna is quiet for a few seconds.

“Is that what this is about? Me and Ace?” she
says finally.

I can tell when she’s irritated with me
because it happens a lot. Especially when I try to stick my nose
into her relationships. This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be
the last. As her best friend, I think it’s my right.

“Seriously, don’t freak out on me. I just
asked you a question,” I reply. “You haven’t mentioned much about
him lately.”

“Ace is fine. We spoke a few days ago; he’s
still in London for work. I just told you that,” she says
nonchalantly. “He should be back in another week or so. Does that
answer all of your questions?”