Beautiful Boxset: Beautiful Series, books 1-4

by Anderson, Lilliana

  Stephanie reaches over and places her hand on top of mine. “Honey, there are very few women who get exactly the wedding they want. Look at my wedding – I ended up fighting with my mum who completely took over my planning. Gary’s parents invited half the world and it ended up costing us a fortune to entertain over a hundred people of which we only knew around forty of them. Focus on the fact you’re marrying the man you love. Forget the rest, it’s all for show anyway.”

  I sigh again. “I know. I know, and they are taking into consideration what I want. But the time constraint is making it hard to work everything out and a girl has dreams, you know?”

  “Well, speak up then Nomes,” Paige says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “Be heard. If you don’t like the way things are going, say no. If you want to wait, then wait. Elliot and I didn’t have any of this drama in our wedding. It was sweet, small and simple.”

  “See, that’s the problem. With Theo’s family and the industry we’re in, it could never be small and simple.”

  “Wasn’t Marcus and Lisa’s small and simple?”

  “Yes. But look at the trouble that caused. We want to bring the family together. Not push it further apart.”

  “OK, well, what do you want us to do?” Stephanie asks.

  “Well, for starters, I think we need to ditch these coffees for champagne.”

  Paige laughs. “That’s a great idea. You’re getting married. This is supposed to be fun and magical.”

  “That’s right,” Stephanie adds. “And you know what Nomes, I spent a year planning my wedding, and it was the most stressful year of my life. And it was all for one day! That’s it! You’ll be so glad once you’ve married your man and all that stress is over.”

  “You’re right. I need to put Theo’s psycho mother out of my mind and focus on the fact that I love Theo, and I want to be his wife – whether it’s in three week’s time, tomorrow, or ten years from now. Marrying him is what I want.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Stephanie says. “Now, let’s go and meet Lisa to get fitted for these dresses. It’s time to have fun with this wedding of yours.”

  * * *

  The bridal boutique we’re meeting Lisa at isn’t far from where we were having coffee in Double Bay. It’s one of those fancy boutiques that only let you in if you’ve booked an appointment.

  When we arrive, Lisa is out front talking on her phone. She grins and waves at us as we approach and finishes up her call by the time we’re in front of her.

  “How are you?” she asks, giving me a friendly hug and a cheek kiss before moving along and doing the same with Stephanie and Paige.

  In the couple of years that Lisa and Marcus have been together, we’ve become quite close. She’s one of those fun, easy-going girls who fits in with any group.

  She met Paige and Stephanie when we all went out for my birthday not long after she married Marcus. Paige was very cool, but Stephanie almost died giggling when she first met her. She treated her like royalty because she’s a fan of Lisa’s father’s music and was obsessed with Lisa when she was still called Leisel and was dating movie star, Jonathan Masters. “You are. The bravest woman I have ever met,” she’d gushed, referring to Lisa’s gutsy choice to park Jonathan’s car in his living room after she discovered he was cheating on her.

  Lisa smiled and took it all in her stride, but you could tell it wasn’t something she wanted to spend a lot of time talking about. Thankfully, we moved on from that topic of conversation and we’ve all been friends ever since.

  Lisa finishes greeting everyone then returns to my side and loops her arm through mine. “Let’s go inside. They’re all set up for us. There’s even champagne,” she smiles, leading me toward the door.

  An impeccably dressed lady in a tailored skirt suit greets us at the door as if we’re long lost friends.

  “Come in, come in. I understand we have a time limit so I’ve collected all the dresses we have in your size.” She motions toward a rack full of ivory silk and organza. “Have you decided on the colour for your bridal party?” she asks me.

  I smile at the question. For some reason, I had thought that I wouldn’t have much of a choice when it came to colour for the bridal party. I thought it would just have to be whatever we can get that fits.

  “Purple. I want them wearing purple,” I say, exchanging glances with Lisa. It is possible that this wedding is going to look like a music sheet covered in Ribena, but I don’t care. I am obsessed with purple as a colour, and music is both Theo’s and my passion – so they’re both going to be heavily represented on our special day.

  Her smile widens. “We have some beautiful Vera Wang dresses in amethyst that are to die for.”

  My eyebrows shoot up. “Vera Wang?” All I can think is how much that’s going to cost everyone. I know that no one is hard up for money, but still, I can’t expect them to pay out for a designer dress that will only be worn once.

  Lisa steps in. “Relax. They’re not as expensive as you think, and besides, Marcus is covering this. I don’t even want you to think about the prices. Just have fun, OK. Here, have some champagne, relax. Choose whichever you prefer.”

  I take the flute of gently fizzing liquid from her hand and let out my breath as I nod and take a sip.

  Suddenly, I wish that my mother could be here with me too. But she and dad are overseas right now. They’ll be back in two weeks, so they’ll make the wedding. But still, I’m sure she would have liked to be here just as much as I would like her support.

  When I called my mum and told her the wedding was happening within the month, she was both elated and disappointed. I’m her only daughter, so she’d love to have more to do with the preparations. But with the timing, that’s just not working out. I am, however, calling her frequently to keep her abreast with our plans, and she’s expecting photos of this fitting to be sent to her so she can at least be a part of this remotely.

  “OK,” the shop assistant says with a clap of her hands. “Who wants to go first – bridesmaids or bride?”

  “Bride,” the girls all chorus together before I’ve managed to form a word.

  I tilt my glass back and let the champagne flow straight down my throat in a single gulp. “Why do I feel so nervous all of a sudden?” I ask, touching my hand to my cheeks as they flush pink.

  “It’s perfectly normal,” Stephanie assures me. “I think I ran around pink and blotchy for a good six months before my wedding day.”

  I stand up and hand her my phone. “OK, make sure you take photos to send through to mum,” I tell her.

  “Definitely,” she grins, holding my phone against her chest as she watches me disappear into the dressing room with the first dress from the rack.

  The first one is a column dress in ivory silk that is very simple in design but when I try it on, I think it would be best suited to a much taller woman than I.

  “It’s pretty. But it reminds me of one of those silky nightgowns,” Stephanie says as she holds my phone up to me.

  “Try the next one on sweetheart,” I hear from my phone, and immediately I realise it’s my mother’s voice.

  I move over to Stephanie as fast as I can in the too long dress and beam happily when I see my mother’s face on the screen. “I FaceTimed her so she could be here,” Stephanie tells me.

  “Hi mum,” I say, getting all teary when I see her face.

  “Hello darling,” she smiles. “You look beautiful.”

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” I gush.

  “It’s the wonders of modern technology. Now, go and try on the next dress. I can’t wait to see it.”

  I nod and head back into the fitting room where a dress with a pink beaded bodice waits for me. It’s form-fitting right down to my thighs then trumpets out so it swishes as I walk.

  When I open the door, it’s to a couple of wolf whistles from the girls. It’s a beautiful dress, but I’m worried that it makes me look too cut in half. “I think this is another tall girl dress tho
ugh,” I comment.

  “Not at all. You look gorgeous, Nomes,” Paige says as she snaps a picture with her phone.

  “How about you try this one?” Lisa says from beside the rack of dresses she’s been searching through. “It’s a lot of tulle. But it fits your theme.”

  In her hand, she holds out a white princess styled wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline and fitted bodice with purple applique flowers that scatter part of the way down the flared skirt as if they are falling.

  “Oh, that is just gorgeous,” I hear my mother say from my phone.

  I smile. “It is, isn’t it?” I look around at the faces of my closest friends and see the agreement on their features.

  “Try it on,” Paige urges me.

  The attendant takes the dress from Lisa’s grasp and hangs it in the dressing room for me as I follow behind her and remove the dress I have on as she helps me into the new one.

  “Almost a perfect fit,” she comments as she zips me up. I smooth my hands over the wide skirt and look at myself in the mirror. “If you think it’s too much but like the style, we have the same where the applique flowers are white and there’s a silk purple belt that goes with it instead.”

  I shake my head. “I like this. It’s classic but with a little ‘me’ thrown in the mix,” I tell her.

  She nods, then opens the curtain so I can show everyone else.

  “That’s the one,” Stephanie says immediately.

  “That is just stunning,” exclaims my mother while the others all make their own comments in agreement.

  “It’s perfect, isn’t it?” I agree, looking at myself in the floor to ceiling mirrors in the main area.

  “So that’s it then – the Enzoani is ‘the one’?” the attendant asks with a smile.

  I nod. “Definitely. This is ‘the one’.” I turn around and look to everyone else. “Did you check out the bridesmaids dresses yet?”

  “We did,” Lisa says. “And we all really like this one.” She moves over to another rack and pulls out a lamé woven cocktail length dress. Underneath is a purple silk slip that is covered with a sheer black lace. There is beading and fine edge work around the v-neck and the hem. A strip of tulle ties it at the waist and all up, it looks very contemporary and elegant all at the same time.

  “I love it. I want one to wear on stage at the next concert,” I comment, reaching out to touch it lightly. “They’ll look gorgeous on all of you.”

  “We don’t have all the sizes here. But we can definitely order them in and have them properly fitted within the week if we put a rush on it,” the attendant says.

  I take another look at the wedding dress in the mirror. “This was a lot easier than I thought it would be,” I comment.

  “Purple is very ‘in’ right now. You chose a good time to get married,” the attendant informs me as she moves around taking the measurements of each bridesmaid.

  I can’t stop smiling as I look around the room. It’s starting to feel like this was all meant to be.

  “But what about the black lace? Isn’t black bad luck at a wedding?” Stephanie points out about the bridesmaid dresses.

  “I don’t believe in that shit, Steph. Besides, we’ll need someone with a little black to match Mrs Bailey,” I reply.

  “Hey, no mention of Cruella DeVille today, OK?” Lisa says.

  “Cruella DeVille - is that what you call her?” I laugh.

  Lisa smiles and nods, then holds her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. “Don’t tell anyone though. I even have the theme song as her ringtone,” she tells me with a wink.

  “Bullshit,” I laugh. “What are you going to do if she hears it?”

  “She won’t hear it. You don’t call people when you’re in the same room as them.” She shrugs, reaching out to touch one of the purple applique flowers on my dress. “This dress is absolutely stunning by the way,” she says.

  I reach out and hug her suddenly, causing her to freeze a little in surprise before relaxing in my arms. “Thank you for all of this. It really means a lot to me.”

  When we pull away, she’s wiping at her eye and waving me off like it’s no big deal. “It’s nothing. Just go and get out of that dress. We have a meeting with the wedding planner after this.”

  Pressing my lips together, I smile at her and nod before turning to Stephanie and taking my phone from her so I can say goodbye to my mother before I get changed.

  “I can’t wait to get home. You’re father is really looking forward to walking his little girl down the aisle,” she tells me before we say our goodbyes, and I return to the change room to get dressed again before heading to the wedding planner with Lisa for what is supposed to be a very exciting afternoon…

  Eight

  “I’m sorry. Even with the list of locations you gave me, we just can’t organise it that soon,” Gail Warner, the wedding planner Marcus has hired for us says.

  “What do you mean you can’t do it?” Lisa demands. “You were told that this was to be held within a month when you were hired.”

  “I understand that. But, looking over this guest list, there isn’t a single venue in Sydney that can cater to a wedding this size at such short notice.”

  “Then pick a venue interstate,” I blurt out, getting caught up in the urgency of it all. “We have all the legalities taken care of. We just need a venue.”

  “So we’re talking ‘destination wedding’ now?” Gail asks as she taps at the keyboard of her laptop furiously. Her head shakes slowly from side to side as she purses her red lips and flicks her finger over the scrolling wheel of her mouse. “There!” she says suddenly. “There’s one place in Queensland. But it’s hurricane season up there. You could end up having the whole wedding evacuated.”

  Lisa immediately pulls out her iPhone and starts going through the extended weather forecasts for tropical Queensland. “This site lists the forecast for a month in advance. There’s just stinking hot weather up there at the moment,” she states.

  “Weather forecasts are hardly accurate. But if you’re willing to take the risk then I’ll book it now.”

  Lisa and I exchange glances and at the same time, we say, “Book it.”

  “OK,” Gail smiles. “I’ll book it today and get all of these invitations printed and mailed express by tomorrow. I’ll also work through this list you’ve given me and see what we can and can’t do in time. You may have to make a few concessions. But I think, if we can get on this ASAP then we can definitely get this done in time.”

  We spend a bit more time working over the details of a destination wedding and leave with a list of things that we’ll need to give Gail by the end of the week, such as music choices, food choices and our chosen cake flavour (the cake is a no brainer – I want chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate).

  By the time I get home, I’m exhausted, and I still have to find the energy to practice our set list with the band. When I get home, I drag my way through the door to our garage studio and collapse onto the barstool that sits near my practice amp.

  “Hey,” Jack says from next to the drum kit where he’s talking to our drummer, Rob. He waves ‘hi’ too. I half smile and wave back.

  “How’s it goin’ Nomes,” Lachlan asks, looking up briefly as he plucks at his bass.

  “Alright,” I reply. “This wedding stuff is exhausting though. Did you guys sort out your tuxes today?” I ask as I open my violin case and pull out my fiddle.

  “Yep. Theo just had to stop off at some jeweller about your rings. He said to start without him if he wasn’t back by the time you got here.”

  I raise my hand to stifle a yawn as I nod, knowing he wasn’t back yet from the text he’d sent me earlier. “I’ll cue up the backing track,” I tell them. “So what kind of suits did you get?”

  “No way,” Jack says with a shake of his head and a crossing motion of his arms. “I don’t even know what the fucking protocol is, but I’m not going to be the one who causes you bad luck by blabbing about shit like that.
”

  I grin. “Not that I believe in that stuff, but it’s supposedly bad luck for the groom to see the dress. Not for the bride to see the tuxedos or suits or whatever.”

  Lachlan presses his lips together. “Hmmmm. I’m not sure about that. But just know that he chose something that will make you happy.”

  “Yeah,” Jack adds. “And also know, that it doesn’t make me happy at all.”

  “It’s not that bad. I like them,” Lachlan retorts.

  “They’re suits, Lach,” Jack points out, and I can’t help but smile. I’ve never seen Jack in anything other than jeans and a t-shirt since I’ve known him. “But for you Nomes, I’m willing to look like an uptight twat.”

  “Awwww, Jack!” I grin, walking over to him and wrapping my arms as far around his neck as I can reach on my tiptoes.

  “Hey you two – no canoodling while I’m not around,” Theo says from the doorway as he walks in with Marcus right behind him.

  “Hey guys,” Marcus says.

  “So, how was your day?” I ask Theo eagerly.

  He grins. “Good. We sorted out our suits and I found these awesome rings for us.”

  “You chose the rings without me?” I ask, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

  He notices and laughs. “Hey, trust me. You’ll love them,” he assures me with a wink.

  Marcus nods in agreement. “You will. They’re awesome.”

  With that, Marcus says a quick goodbye and leaves us to our practice. The band works on the set list for our upcoming tour until it’s almost midnight, stopping only for a quick meal before getting right back to work.

  When we finally crawl into bed, we’re both beat. “This wedding and tour business is really wreaking havoc with our sex life,” I say, cuddling into Theo’s side as I lightly trace the details of the tattoo that covers his ribs. It features the music of the first song we wrote together. The song used to be unfinished and the tattoo ended in flames. But after we wrote the rest of the song, he’s had the tattoo altered with the rest of the music, and the lyrics to the song. And now the flames are covered with a guitar, a violin, and piano keys.