Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (8 page)

“Fine,” she reluctantly agrees.

“Fantastic!” exclaims Stephy. “Jennie, let’s
get these measurements, and we will have to rush them. We are down
to four weeks.” She hurries off with Jennie talking a mile a
minute.

“Sorry,” I whisper to Sienna.

“It’s fine; Abby made a good point. The gowns
are really pretty, and we want to make your day as perfect as
possible even if that means giving in to the stepsisters’
demands.”

“OK. Now that we have that worked out.” Ellie
rushes back. “Let’s talk about the shower. Do you have a date?”

“Um, yes we do,” Sienna says cautiously.
“It’s in two weeks, and we are having it at the Korral House.
Everything is pretty much done and invites are going out this
week,” she adds. Just then, her phone rings, and she picks it up on
the first ring. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so excited to
take a phone call.

“Oh. Well, what about the bachelorette party?
I think a trip to Vegas is necessary, don’t you think? I have a
friend at the Bellagio.” Ellie grabs her phone and starts looking
through her contacts. “I can call him right now and get it
scheduled.”

I really was hoping this subject wouldn’t
come up. Sienna, Abby, and I were planning a quiet spa weekend
before I asked the stepsisters, and now I have no idea how I’m
going to get out of this.

“That’s really sweet, Ellie, but we haven’t
really planned anything just yet other than the possibility of a
spa weekend somewhere. Honestly, I’m not sure if I will even have
the time for a trip; the big day will be here before we know
it.”

“What?” she exclaims. “That’s insane. You
need to have a girls’ weekend before your wedding. One last weekend
before you’ll be the little wife.”

“That’s funny, but I don’t think anyone would
think of me as a little wife.”

“You know, Madie, your fiancé travels quite a
lot. Aren’t you ever concerned about that? He’s gone a lot,” she
says innocently.

I can’t believe that she would actually imply
that Cole would cheat; she hardly knows him.

“Ellie, if you are implying that Cole would
cheat, you couldn’t be more wrong. He travels because that’s his
career and he loves it. He has begged me to travel with him for
some time, but I have my own career.” Ugh, I stop myself because I
realize I don’t need to give her an explanation and I refuse to let
her get to me again.

“Whoa, Madie. Why are you getting so
defensive? That’s not what I was saying at all,” she says
innocently. “I was actually saying that because he is always
traveling, what’s wrong with you taking a few days to travel with
your best friends.”

She’s so full of it and that was exactly what
she was referring to.

“Please let me do this for you. My friend
Frankie can hook us up.” I admit I’m torn because there is a small
part of me that really wants to take her up on the offer. I mean, a
hook up at the Bellagio? That would be so awesome even if it means
spending a weekend with them.

“Let me just run things by Sienna and Abby,
and I will let you know,” I say finally.

“Well, hurry!” she says firmly. “It’s really
short notice, so I will go ahead and call Frankie to give him a
heads up.” I sigh because I know she has no intentions of giving
up.

I can see through the front store window that
Sienna is still on the phone. She is slowly pacing back and forth.
I wish I could somehow eavesdrop on her conversation because I’m
dying to know whom she is talking to. My attention is suddenly
pulled away from Sienna and her mysterious call when Stephy returns
to the fitting area still talking a mile a minute, and I can see
that poor Jennie is probably on the verge of quitting her job just
to escape. I don’t blame her one bit, although I’m sure Stephy is
not the first obnoxious woman she has dealt with.

Sienna’s return interrupts my thoughts.

“So, are we done here?” she asks. “I have to
go in to the office to take care of a few things.” I’m about to ask
her who was on the phone when Ellie interrupts us.

“Oh good, Sienna. I was just talking to
Madison about the bachelorette party. I put a call in to my friend
at the Bellagio. We’re going to Vegas!” She starts clapping.

“Really? We—as in all of us.” Sienna raises
her eyebrows as she points to each one of us.

“Of course! We are Madie’s bridal party and
her best friends. Seriously, you’re a wedding planner you should
know this. It’s our responsibility to do this for our Madie.”

Ugh! She’s so fake! Is there a trash can
nearby? I wonder what Ellie would say if I started vomiting in the
middle of Alexa’s Bridal and her $10,000 dresses? I have never
thrown up in a public place. Well, except that one time I almost
got sick on the Ferris wheel at Disneyland, but I think that’s a
regular occurrence for a theme park, not a bridal shop. I can see
that Sienna is patiently waiting for an explanation from me. Maybe
it would be easier to just throw up because that would change the
subject for sure.

“Thanks, Ellie, that’s sweet. I told you that
we would talk about it and see if we can swing it,” I say with a
swift glance at Sienna.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“Ellie, you’re so right. I’m in!” Sienna
exclaims. I have to admit my mouth drops open because I’m surprised
by her excitement, especially without discussing it.

“Perfect!” she says excitedly.

I wait until my cousins finally leave to ask
Sienna what she was thinking and why she just agreed to go on this
weekend away with them. We must have been thinking the same thing
because a hookup at the Bellagio is way too good to pass up. So I
guess we are going to Vegas with the evil stepsisters. Now if only
we can figure out a way to ditch them?

Chapter 5

I love date nights. I hope that even when
Cole and I are old with grandkids that we will still go on dates.
After the stressful week that included the matching bridesmaids’
dresses and the planning of an unwanted Vegas trip, I’m ready for a
night out with my man. I tell Cole all about my morning, and he
thinks it’s hilarious.

“I’m so glad you find all of this so funny,”
I say with a scowl. “Honestly, though, do you think I should be
worried about this? These girls are becoming immersed in our
wedding. It’s stressing me out.”

“Well, we could always get married on the
beach in Hawaii.” He gives me a wink. “I would hate to see you so
stressed out.”

I never would have considered that before,
but maybe that’s not such a bad idea. I don’t say anything though.
I don’t want to give him the impression that I like the idea
because then he would never drop it.

“Honey, it’s not happening, so give it up.” I
lean over the table and kiss him. For a few seconds I think we
forget where we are. Ew. I don’t want to be one of those people who
makes out in a restaurant. I quickly excuse myself to use the
restroom. As I make my way through the restaurant, I see a very
familiar face seated nearby. I’d know that face anywhere, it’s Ace
Eckelund and he is not alone. He has a girl with him?

“Madison! How wonderful to see you!” He
practically jumps out of his seat and kisses me on both cheeks. I’m
slightly taken aback by his accent even though I’ve heard him speak
hundreds of times. I mean, really, how hot is that?

“Hi, Ace, when did you get back in town?” I
ask while glancing in the direction of his dinner companion
(date?). I’m about to go into overprotective bitch best friend mode
but Ace answers the burning question before I have a chance.

“Madison please meet Allyson; she is from our
Scotland division, and we’ve just moved her to the States.” Allyson
says hello and shakes my hand while she continues to size me
up.

“Welcome to California.” I give her a warm
smile even though I already know what this girl is up to. She
seemed extremely interested in who I was, and once she found out I
was off the market she seemed more at ease. Just then, the
lightbulb goes off in my head and now is my chance to ask Ace about
the wedding.

“Ace, can I talk to you about something
really quick? I promise,” I say, looking at Allyson who is clearly
becoming more and more annoyed at my interruption. I wave at Cole
who is on the phone; he shakes his finger at me because he knows
what I’m up to.

“Does Sienna know you’re back?” I ask when we
walk away from Allyson’s eye rolling.

“She does. We spoke earlier today. I suppose
she hasn’t told you?” he says with a smile. He knows that I’m
notorious for sticking my nose in their business.

“Noooo, but that’s not why I wanted to talk
to you. Long story short, I asked my cousins to be in our wedding
party so our numbers are uneven. My grandmother will probably throw
herself down the stairs if I don’t correct this. Sooo, Cole and I
would love to have you in our wedding. Please! You will probably
save Grandmother’s life.” I stop and give him an innocent
smile.

“Oh.” He looks surprised. “I am honored you
would think of me. You know I have to ask, does Sienna know about
this? I’m really trying to be careful; I promised her we would take
things slow.”

“She doesn’t yet, but I will tell her. She
won’t care. So what do you say?” I’m practically begging, although
I’m sure I’m not the first woman to beg Ace Eckelund for
something.

“Mr. Eckelund, you aren’t trying to move in
on my girl are you?” Cole joins us and slaps Ace on the back.

“Of course not, mate. It’s great to see you.”
Ace gives Cole a man hug. Or that thing guys do that’s a
combination of a handshake, chest bump, back pat, and hug. Does
anyone know what that is called? I just call it the man hug.

“Good thing because I would never be able to
compete with the accent and the abs. Seriously, I can see your six
pack through your sweater.”

Ace laughs and shakes his head. I take a look
and I don’t believe it, you really can.

“Babe, I just asked Ace to be in the wedding.
I’m waiting on the answer,” I say, giving Ace a look.

“Very well, I will do it IF you tell Sienna
right away. I don’t want her to feel like this was planned behind
her back and I wouldn’t want to upset her.”

“I promise! Thank you!” I give him a hug.

“Whoa, whoa. No hugging this guy, he’s a
magnet for women.” Cole pulls me away from Ace and smiles.

“Fantastic. I’m sorry, but I must get back to
my meeting.”

Oh yeah, poor Allyson. I almost forgot about
her. I look over to see her fidgeting with her hair and her dress.
Hmmm . . . Sienna better watch out for that one.

“Who’s Allyson?” Cole asks when we get in the
car.

“Trouble.” That’s the best answer I can think
of.

When I get home, Sienna is on her laptop
busily typing. Hopefully she’s in a good mood. I tell her all about
my date night, including the almost full-blown make out session,
and then I tell her about running into Ace. That grabs her
attention immediately.

“I need to tell you something but promise me
you won’t get mad at me.” I beg her as I grab her hand. She quickly
pulls away because, let’s face it, it’s never good when anyone says
that.

“You know, since Ellie and Stephy have joined
our party, we needed a few other groomsmen, so we asked Ace. Cole
thinks he’s a great guy, and we thought he would be a great
addition.” When I finish talking, I wait for Sienna to react or not
react or do something.

“Why would you do that?” she shouts at me. I
can tell she is pissed, really pissed. ”I know what you are trying
to do. I told you things are going fine with us.”

“I’m not trying to do anything,” I yell back.
“There’s nothing wrong with asking him, and I didn’t do it just
because of you.” This is partly true because we all really like
Ace. “You know I love you, but you are being really stupid about
this. Ace really wants to be with you; he is an amazing guy, and
you better get off your butt before you lose him.” Yikes. That was
harsh; I’m going to regret that later.

“Stop! Just stop! You have your own life, so
stay out of mine.” Sienna picks up her laptop and runs to her room.
She’s careful not to slam the door because one time she did and I
teased her for acting like a teenager. We laughed about it
later.

So, that didn’t go well at all, which of
course I expected. Hopefully she gets over it in time for my
shower. It’s probably not ideal to be fighting with your wedding
planner. Maybe I should Google it? What to do when fighting with
your wedding planner/best friend? Rule #1—Stay out of their love
life.

The next morning I wake up in a bad mood, and
I’m tired. Sure enough, at two o’clock in the morning, I was
regretting what I said to Sienna, and then at three o’clock I
realized that I forgot to tell her about Allyson from Scotland.
She’s already gone when I get up, and that’s probably a good thing
because even though I feel bad, I’m much too stubborn to admit it
just yet.

When I get to the salon my co-worker Caycee
is busy telling everyone about her nightmare client from the
morning. I really like Caycee; she’s a newbie, as in right out of
school. I love her enthusiasm, and it’s refreshing because many of
the other stylists I work with are completely jaded.

I’m getting ready for my first client of the
day when Caycee comes over and sits in my chair.

“Madie, have you ever just hooked up with a
client after their appointment?” she asks with a mischievous
grin.

“What do you mean? Like a regular client or a
walk-in?” I ask. Of course, I already know the answer because she’s
new and has no regular clients.

“Does it matter? It’s just that he was so
cute. Is that bad?” Hmm . . . I’m not sure if I should say anything
since I haven’t had the best of luck giving love advice in the last
twenty-four hours.

“Why are you asking me?”

“I was just wondering if you ever have?” she
says innocently.