“I know you have awards season starting soon and I thought I would give you something for that, although I imagine you can be loaned anything you want.”
He opened the box to find a pair of round white gold cufflinks with little diamonds inset in them.
“I’d rather wear these because they’re from you, and they’re mine, just like you.”
He leaned over and kissed me.
“Merry Christmas,” I said, using the American phrasing of Christmas wishes.
“Happy Christmas,” he replied in the British manner.
After our private Christmas celebration, we headed off to Will’s parents’ home so that the two now-merged families were able to spend Christmas together.
Everyone was dressed in some form of red and green. I went with a forest green blazer over black pants and blouse. Will matched me to some degree in a dark green silk shirt and black slacks. I found it funny that both my father and Will’s father had on silly Christmas-themed sweaters.
Gifts were exchanged and they were overkill on almost everyone’s part, with little Emily particularly happy with her spoils. It was a happy day for all as both families seemed to mesh very well.
When I awoke the next morning back in Hampstead, Will was already awake and watching me. I got up as had been my custom and got my appearance together before returning to bed. Of course, he already had a look at the hair and smeared eye makeup before I woke up. But at least I can brush my teeth.
As I climbed back into bed, Will smiled and said, “We’ll be leaving later today for the place where our reception will be held.”
“Are you going to tell me where that is?”
“I think I can now.” He told me the name of a famous hotel in London I had heard of, but had never visited.
“Overboard, as usual.”
“My mother did it.”
“I know where you get it from then.”
“We wanted to stay in London to ensure that everyone could come on such short notice without having to travel. I think you’ll like it.”
When we arrived at the hotel, I marveled at the art deco surroundings. I imagined, at that moment, that our reception would be spectacular considering the venue.
We were booked into one of the penthouse suites for the next two nights. The suite was enormous, constructed and furnished in the art deco style like the rest of the hotel, and had a spectacular terrace. It would have been nice to spend time outside when heavy coats weren’t required.
“We’re having an impromptu party a little later this evening here in the suite.”
“We are? Who’s coming?”
“Not a large group. Stephen, Kate, Colin, Gemma, Emma, James, Kelly, Matt, Pete, Susan, Damon and his girlfriend, Niall, Pam, Katherine and Mark. I think that’s everyone.”
“Are we going to see our parents?”
“Tomorrow, for lunch.”
“Is tonight a casual affair?”
“Very. I thought it would be nice to get some of the people I thought would have been in the wedding party together.”
“Sounds like fun. What are we going to do until then?”
“What we always do in a new place.”
“Good plan.” I kissed him and we were off to it.
Since there were going to be so many of us, we ordered heavy hors d’oeuvres, figuring that everyone could pick at dinner over time since the dining table in our suite only seated four.
Our guests started arriving in groups, the first of which was Kelly and Matt, likely because they were staying in the hotel and didn’t have far to come.
“Nice room,” Kelly said as she entered, a little awestruck by the size and splendor. Many apartments weren’t as large as our suite.
“How’s yours?”
“Not quite as big as this, but big. So’s Mom and Dad’s. You didn’t have to do all that.”
“Don’t blame me. Blame him.” I pointed to Will as he walked into the living room.
“Blame me for what?”
“Their room is on the large side.”
“If this isn’t the occasion to do something like that, when is?”
I shook my head.
Next in the door were Stephen, Kate, Colin and Gemma. Stephen and Kate were staying with Stephen’s family and Colin and Gemma were staying with Colin’s family. I was certain that Will had tried to twist their arms into allowing him to put them up as well, but they appeared to have resisted, citing family obligations.
After that, Emma and James arrived.
“My dress fits perfectly,” I said as Emma walked in the door. “Thank you so much. From what I can tell, it’s perfectly in keeping with the décor here.”
Emma smiled broadly. “You’re very welcome. You’ll be beautiful tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but the dress will be anyway.”
Emma rolled her eyes.
Pete and Susan arrived next followed closely by Damon and his new girlfriend, Sarah.
“Where are Niall and Pam?” I asked as they walked in the door and after being introduced to Sarah.
“They’re coming in a little while. Pam just got in today and I imagine Niall wanted to spend a little alone time with her before coming here,” Damon said and winked.
I knew that Niall had specifically asked that she come and that he and Pam had kept in touch, but I didn’t think it was like that. Pam had made it sound all very casual. It surprised me. Now I was really anxious to see them together.
Katherine and Mark arrived next. I was worried that Katherine might feel a little uncomfortable in this crowd as she might be treated differently. I needn’t have worried. Kelly and Matt were the only ones who didn’t seem to know her. Will ensured that they were introduced properly. Kelly behaved perfectly, treating Katherine like she was just another one of Will’s friends. I was relieved.
Finally, Niall and Pam turned up, hand-in-hand, both looking very happy to be reunited. I’m sure my eyebrows were raised when I greeted them at the door. Niall wasn’t as eager to greet me as he had been in the past despite the fact that he said, “Hello, gorgeous,” as he did so. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time to ask questions. I’ll have to corner Pam later.
Will played host and bartender, ensuring that everyone had a drink and were all introduced. While Will did this, I went around the room to greet everyone myself. Pam had gone off to the restroom by the time I got to Niall. I noticed that Niall didn’t hug me so tightly this time.
“You look happy,” I said as we hugged.
“Well, if I couldn’t have you . . .,” he spoke in my ear.
“Funny. You don’t look too unhappy about that.”
“Not now, anyway. After we met and until just recently for that matter, I was gutted thinking of you with Will. It’s a good thing I didn’t know about your breakup at the time or you might’ve had me in Los Angeles.”
“Pam’s my best friend. Be good.”
“Promise. I’ll be quiet now.”
Once Will had served everyone drinks, he and I sat down on the floor of the living room since there weren’t enough seats for everyone. Will put his arm around me while I leaned against his shoulder. Between the seating and those of us on the floor, we were all sitting in somewhat of a circle around the central space of the living room.
Pete started off the conversation with a toast to us and then asked, “So how is married life?”
I just then realized that Will and I were the only married couple in the room. It seemed strange to me to be married.
“Perfect,” Will said as he put both arms around me and his head into the space between my shoulder and my neck, and hugged me tightly. I smiled and nodded in agreement.
I could see that everyone was thinking at that moment that they wished they would have what we did. I had always considered myself extremely lucky in finding someone like Will, but it really hit me at that moment. If it weren’t for the roomful of people, I would have turned around and really kissed him. Instead, I put my hands
on his hands that were still holding me and squeezed.
“So I heard you two were broken up for a while?” Of course, it would be Niall who would bring up an unpleasant topic of conversation and in front of everyone.
I felt Will flinch before he answered, “Yes. It was my fault. The paparazzi were creating terrible problems for Shannon, endangering her when she was driving, causing problems for her at work, and harassing her all the time. I thought that maybe she would be better off without that, without me, so while I was away on the Midnight 4 shoot, we broke off our engagement. I couldn’t live without her and we got back together not long after I returned to L.A. Not a lot of story there, Niall. Thanks for bringing it up though.”
I wish I could have seen behind me to catch a glimpse of Will’s expression to match the sarcasm because I am sure it was murderous.
Pam added, “Well, I was one of the ones trying to console Shannon during that time. She couldn’t live without you either. We all took turns taking her out every night so she wouldn’t have to be alone. She was a total train wreck.”
Again, I could feel Will flinch.
Katherine chimed in this time. “Well, I was with Will during the Midnight 4 shoot. He wasn’t a lot of laughs then either. He spent all his free time in his room or trailer alone, probably curled up into a ball. The makeup artists complained about the bags under his eyes. And trying to get happy scenes out of him was like pulling teeth.”
I decided to end this tragic topic of conversation. “It’s all good now though. See, both of us are happy.”
“We’re happy for you,” Gemma said. “Colin told me the night you met that you two would get married, didn’t you?”
Colin, sitting close to Gemma on the sofa, responded, “Yes. When Will started making all the arrangements for their first date, I knew he was done for.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Really.”
“I’ll be right back.” I stood up, grabbed Will’s hand and led him in the direction of our bedroom. I closed the door behind us and kissed him hard.
“What’s this for?” he said as he tried to come up for air.
“I don’t know. Hearing about how you feel about me just does this to me. I can’t help it.”
“Not that I’ll complain, but if we do what you seem to want to do, they’ll hear us. I’m sure they think we’re doing it already.”
“We can go out in a minute. No one will think you’re that fast. Let’s just do this for a minute.”
After a minute or two, I could go back, but Will could not, at least not immediately. I decided to make a quick appearance and check in on the group. When I entered the living room, everyone was so engrossed in various conversations, they barely noticed my return. Pam and Niall appeared curiously missing.
I returned to the bedroom. “I think we’ll be fine for a little while.”
Will sighed with relief and curled his finger toward me. “Good. Come here. I need you.”
“Is that all I am to you?”
“Wasn’t it you who brought me back here?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
“I’m not.” He kissed me and we tried as hard as we could to be quiet and quick about it.
Will returned to the living room first, promising to try to act like he had been there a while. I put myself back together and joined everyone not long thereafter.
“Did the plan work? Did they notice we had been gone that long?” I whispered in Will’s ear.
“I don’t think they noticed at all. They’re too busy talking about the fact that Niall and Pam are MIA.”
Niall and Pam shortly thereafter tried unsuccessfully to return unnoticed. They clearly came from the bedroom on the opposite side of the suite from our bedroom. It didn’t help that Pete and Damon had noticed their absence and had started the group talking and looking out for their return.
When they entered the living room, everyone stared and I could sense the embarrassment in both Niall and Pam. Niall looked down at the floor and Pam flushed. I looked at Will with a pleading look for him to help them.
Will said, “Sorry Shannon and I took so long. We want to toast all of you and thank you for coming.”
“You were gone?” Colin asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, looking guilty. It seemed to work and the spotlight moved off of Niall and Pam.
Pam walked over to us after the toast, “Thank you for saving us.”
“It’s okay. We know exactly how you feel. What do you think we were doing on the other side of the suite?” I smiled mischievously. “So, now you have to tell me what’s going on between you and Niall. You never mentioned it was like this.”
“Well, it wasn’t. I had sex with him the night before we left for home last summer, but I treated it like a summer fling. We talked a handful of times since then on the phone and sent a few e-mails and texts, but nothing serious. He would ask me about you and Will and, of course, I couldn’t tell him since I figured that was up to Will. Then, when I got off the plane today, something just clicked between us. So, you see, what you’re seeing now is brand new for both of us so it’s no surprise you didn’t know. I didn’t know.”
“Well, I’m happy for you. I hope it works out.”
“So do I. He is . . . Wow!”
I looked at Will as I said, “I definitely know how that feels.”
Since the next day was going to be a big day, everyone cleared out just after midnight.
“We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon,” Kate and Gemma said as they left. Kate was planning on doing my hair and makeup and Gemma would help and make sure all was well with my dress.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
When everyone had left, Will and I sat on the sofa in the living room together to decompress for a few minutes.
“That was fun,” I said as I put my head on Will’s shoulder.
“Yes, it’s nice to be surrounded by family and friends, and with you, of course.” He leaned his head on mine.
“Thank you for including Kelly, Matt and Pam.”
“You’re welcome for Kelly and Matt, but you’ll have to thank Niall for Pam.”
“I know you invited her at his request, but still, it was nice of you. It looked like Niall appreciated it very much.”
“Yes, it appears he got the ginger-haired girl he always wanted. I’m just glad he focused his attention in Pam’s direction finally.”
I tried to ignore the insinuation, uncertain as to how much Will knew of its truth. “Well, they’ve been sort of together since we were engaged. I mean he did stay in her room the night of our engagement party.”
“Apparently, only to get away from us. At least that’s how it was then, I’m told. I haven’t really talked to Niall until recently, but I did speak to Pete.”
“Hmmm.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot how dense you can be. In this case, I’m sure it’s on purpose. If it makes you feel more comfortable . . .”
“It does. I know you do it too. I’ve seen you act like you don’t notice when someone is interested in you.”
“Hasn’t happened in a long time.”
“Yeah, right. Are you going to pretend you don’t notice if I start acting like I’m interested?”
“Absolutely not. I’m not crazy.”
The next day, we had lunch with our parents in one of the hotel’s famous restaurants. I was so excited, anticipating that evening’s reception, my appetite was virtually non-existent despite the excellent fare. My mother and Will’s mother spent almost the entire meal talking to each other. They seemed to get along famously. Our fathers did as well. Will and I held hands under the table and stared at each other, anxious to get back to the room for a private celebration before having to dress for the reception.
When we returned to the room, we had about two hours of alone time before we needed to start getting ready for the reception. Neither of us thought that it was enough time, but, eventually, we had to let go of
each other and dress for our reception.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Will and I made a formal entrance into the reception as scripted by Margaret. I was wearing a long white form-fitting strapless dress with silver and pearl details and all the jewelry Will had given me, including my new art deco bracelet. Will wore a designer black tuxedo and the cufflinks I had given him for Christmas.
Everyone was standing and applauding us as we entered the room filled with about 200 guests, a number of whom I was surprised to recognize. Not only were the group from our engagement party so many months ago, my family, and our roommates in the Palisades present, there were a handful of Will’s fellow actors and the director from All Castles Are Grey, the O’Neill brothers, a handful of British actors and actresses I had never met, but recognized, and Katherine Sullivan and Mark. It was a testament to Will that this many people came on such short notice during the holidays. I stared at the crowd clapping for us in amazement.
The room was breathtaking, decorated in white and silver in the art deco style with white flowers on every table. I looked over at the beautiful wedding cake on a table in the back corner on the opposite side of the entrance to the room, white with silver Wedgwood-like embellishments as well as candied pearls and surrounded by flowers.
Will held my hand as he led me to the head of the room to a table behind which his parents and mine were standing on either side of two empty seats reserved for us. We kissed and sat down. That was the first time I noticed the photographer and videographer, both of whom were being very discreet.
Will’s father remained standing to speak first, picking up a microphone that had been placed in front of him and turning it on.
“Thank you all for joining us to celebrate the marriage of Will and Shannon. Will, your mother and I could not be happier in your choice of bride and I know that Shannon makes you as happy as we have ever seen you. Shannon, we could not imagine a more perfect partner for Will and a better addition to our family. Welcome. I wish you both a long and happy life together. Cheers!”
Iain turned off the microphone and handed it to my father next. I knew that my father’s casual speech would sharply contrast with Iain’s more formal tone. My father turned on the microphone and gave his toast.
Away From the Spotlight Page 35
