She kisses my nose. “To be continued. Let’s go get this thing locked and loaded.”
Chapter Eleven
Arianna
“Looks like Bryan’s been busy,” Chase says as we step off of the boat onto the rose-petal-dusted dock lined with hurricane lanterns. Chase puts his hand on my lower back. “We should go find everyone. Bryan texted me last night and said he only has a few hours before he has to head back. He has an event at the White House later this week, and apparently all hell broke loose and he needs to get to DC. I hope we can still wrap everything up today so we can send out the save the dates tomorrow.”
He presses on my lower back to lead me down the dock, but I stay where I am. “Hey, before we go?”
He turns around to face me. “Yeah?”
“Bryan’s probably going to hit us with a million ideas and concepts. Let’s just be really careful not to let him talk us into anything we don’t want. Our wedding is going to be about us, and that’s how it should stay.”
He wraps his arms around my waist. “You and I are the only ones who matter here. No one else. Not Bryan, or our agents, or my parents, or the press. Just you and me.” He leans down and kisses me.
“I couldn’t have posed a better picture myself. You two are a photographer’s dream come true.” We turn to see Bryan looking down at his camera as he walks toward us. “Once the boat took off and it was just the two of you with the sunrise over the ocean as the backdrop, man! That’s the money shot. We’ve got to use that somewhere.” He gives me an air kiss, then shakes Chase’s hand.
“When did you get here?” Chase asks. “I thought you were coming over with us?”
“I got in yesterday. Since I only have a few hours this morning, I wanted to get everything ready so we make the most of our time.” A look of revulsion flashes across his face. “I slept in a tent last night. On the ground! That’s how much I love you two.” He looks at his watch. “Oh my, we’ve got to shake it. Let’s get a move on.” He gestures to the dock as we follow him. “This is how the dock will look when the guests arrive. Holly and Ned are debating installing poles, and if they do, we’ll hang the lanterns off of them, but I kind of like the simplicity of them on the ground.”
As we walk up the path toward the main house, Bryan prattles off his plans. Flower pots here. Cases with maps of the island and schedule of events there. If the weather doesn’t call for rain, there will be a photo booth and giant world map where people can post their pictures on the parts of the map they’re from. Directional signs that, instead of geographic landmarks, will be more like a time line. Ten thousand thirty-seven days since we met. Two hundred ninety-nine days since we got engaged. Three thousand six hundred fifty-two days since our first kiss.
When we reach the main house, Ned and Holly rush out. Ned gives me a hug, then shakes Chase’s hand.
“Welcome back!” Holly says as she gives me a hug. “I have so much to show you! Wait until you see everything!”
After a quick exchange of pleasantries, Ned suggests the men head toward the golf course while Holly and I look at the new curtains in the lobby. I’m about to protest—I care a lot more about the golf course than I do about curtains—when Holly hooks her arm through mine and pulls me away.
Holly says, “Let me show you what we’ve done.”
Rather than showing me just the stupid curtains, she walks me around the property, showing off the progress they’ve made. The golf course redesign is well underway. Two pools have been built, along with waterfalls and a lazy river. The marble will be installed in the lobby tomorrow and the first eight floors of guest rooms will be dry walled later this week. I would have thought they’d wait to put in the marble until the very end, but I’m sure they have their reasons
Holly tells me about the plans for the garden as we walk to the highest point of the island, where the ceremony will be. I gasp when we reach the crest of the hill. They’ve set up an aisle lined with white lotus flowers separating rows of chairs. Chase is talking to Bryan under a stunning white flower arch at the end of the aisle, overlooking the ocean.
“We wanted you to have a sense of what everything will look like on the big day,” Holly says. She motions toward the aisle. “Go ahead. Walk down. See what you think of the view.”
Chills run through me as I walk down the aisle toward Chase. He glances over his shoulder and notices me. A gigantic smile spreads across his face as he turns to watch me.
Suddenly this feels very real. We’ve been talking about the wedding for months. Practically every day involves a call or an email about some detail. But despite all the fuss and frenzy surrounding the subject, the wedding has just been this far-off-in-the-future event with a life of its own. It hasn’t really sunk in that it’s my wedding until right now.
This is happening. It’s really happening! I’m going to marry Chase! Butterflies fill my stomach as excitement surges through me. I haven’t felt this naturally energized since my last big tennis win. It’s the best high in the world.
Damn it! Why didn’t I listen to Chase? If I’d tried harder, we could have found a way to pull this together more quickly. Why did I insist we needed to wait? What are we waiting for exactly? I don’t want to wait until April. I want this now. Today.
With each passing second, his smile grows wider and my pace quickens. By the time I reach the end of the aisle, I run into his arms.
“Where’s a marriage license when you need one, huh?” he whispers.
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
“You want to ditch all this fancy wedding shit and run off to Vegas? We could be married by dinnertime.”
“Oh no, you don’t!” Bryan shouts as he storms toward us. “I heard the V-word and don’t you even think about it.” He puts one hand on either of our shoulders and looks back and forth between us as he lectures. “You’re getting wedding fever, right? You just want to do it now and you don’t care where or how or who’s there. You just want to do it ASAP. Let me tell you this—you will regret it. All those bubbles you’re feeling, the excitement, the thrill. In a Vegas wedding, that feeling lasts for about five seconds. Then you instantly regret rushing it. I’ve heard the same sad story a million times. But when you plan the wedding of your dreams, you’ll feel that rush every time you look back on it for the rest of your life. April will be here before you know it, and you’ll be so happy you waited. I can tell you two are the real deal. That honest-to-goodness, once-in-a-lifetime romance that will withstand the test of time. That kind of love deserves a proper celebration. Rushing off to Vegas would be like serving Beluga caviar with Cool-Whip. A crime against nature!”
Chase and I look at each other and reluctantly nod. With how far we’ve come, with everything we’ve fought against to get here, it’d be a shame for the culmination to be some cheesy Vegas wedding.
Bryan squeezes Chase’s shoulder. “Plus, your mama will hunt me down and kill me if I let you elope.” He pulls his iPad out of his satchel. “Stop thinking about Vegas and get your head in the game here. Let’s talk flowers.”
Bryan goes over his plans for the floral arrangements for the ceremony. He tends to go over the top, and I have to rein him back in every so often. I prefer understated elegance. The view is breathtaking on its own. Cluttering it up with thousands of floral arrangements seems like a shame. I want to embrace the simplicity.
When we finish talking about the ceremony, we walk back to the main building. Holly and Ned have put out a spread on the patio overlooking the ocean.
Bryan pulls two folders out of his bag, then hands them to us. “Now that we have the ceremony pinned down, let’s go over everything else. If you look in your packet, you’ll see the schedule. Guests will arrive on Tuesday. They’ll check in at the front desk and be given one of these.” Bryan reaches into his bag, then slides a red velvet pouch across the table. “Holly and I have been working on this for a few weeks, and I’m really excited about it.”
I open the pouch, and a white g
old or maybe platinum compass slides out. “I don’t follow.”
“A treasure hunt. It’s a great way to introduce the guests to the island and it’s another activity to keep everyone occupied. When guests check in, they’ll be given a compass and a clue, which will lead them to the next clue and so on. There’ll be twenty-five clues in all, so it should take them four or five days to find them all. We thought it was perfect for the two of you because no matter where your lives took you, you always found your way back to each other.”
“Aww, that is so sweet,” I say.
Chase glances at the clue. “What do they get at the end? What’s the treasure? It had better be good if it takes twenty-five clues to find.”
“Since you signed on to be Cartier’s poster girl, they’ve decided they want to outfit your wedding. They’ve offered a Cartier gift pack that includes cuff links, a bracelet, and his and her sunglasses. They aren’t giving it to you for free, but you’ll be paying next to nothing. People will be talking about these swag bags for the next decade.”
“Is all that really necessary?” Chase asks, looking at the pricing sheet. “I’m already giving them a five-day, all-expenses-paid vacation. Do I really need to give them sunglasses too?”
“When Cartier offers you all of that for bargain basement prices, you accept. We couldn’t get sunglasses at Target for this price. Now, let’s move on to the schedule.” Bryan hands us each a folder. “Tuesday will mostly be for check-in and letting people get settled. We’ll have a sandcastle-making contest on the beach. I’ve hired last year’s national sandcastle competition winners to come and give a few lessons. Tuesday night we’ll have a bonfire and roast s’mores.” He wrinkles his nose in disgust. “Your mother has insisted on karaoke, but feel free to override her.”
Chase snickers. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. It’s Pop more than Mom. He thinks he missed his calling as a country singer. It wouldn’t be a Brennan family get-together if he didn’t sing ‘Friends in Low Places’ or ‘Thunder Road.’”
“Your mom will get in ‘Strawberry Wine’ and… um… what’s the other one she always sings?” I look at Bryan. “I’m the odd man out in this family. I avoid country music at all costs.”
“‘She’s In Love With The Boy,’ that’s her jam,” Chase replies.
I point at him. “That’s the one.”
Bryan holds up his hands. “All right, karaoke stays, I suppose. Moving on, Wednesday’s the flag football tournament, which will be spread out over lawns one, two, and three. Two weeks before, guests will be sent a link to sign up for teams. We’ll have jerseys with names embroidered on them for all team members. Lunch will be typical barbeque fare: gourmet hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, sausages, etc, all served field-side. Lots and lots of beer. Based on the number of expected teams, the tournament should go for most of the day. Dinner and trophy presentation will be a clam bake on the beach.
“Thursday is the Bride versus Groom golf tournament. Dinner will be a Great Gatsby themed party, with surf and turf and plenty of martinis.” He smiles at me. “Or fruit-infused water in a martini glass for non-drinkers.”
“There’s a trophy for the golf tournament, right?” I ask.
Bryan looks at his iPad. “Yes. God forbid you two do anything that doesn’t involve a trophy. Longest drive. Longest putt. Lowest score. Since you do have a number of professional golfers playing, I worried there was a chance neither of you would win it, so I ordered a trophy just for the lowest score between the two of you.” He winks. “Do I know you two or what?”
I blow him a kiss. “Thank you, Bryan.” I turn to Chase. “That trophy is mine.”
Chase scoffs. “Dream on.”
“You can stop that right now,” Bryan scolds. “Stay on point. We don’t have much time. Friday, we’ll have ten boats taking guests out on fishing expeditions. For those staying on the island, there will be croquet and bocce ball. The bridal party will be back for sunset for the rehearsal. The rehearsal dinner will start at eight that evening. Luau theme. Grass skirts, leis, drinking from coconuts. We couldn’t get Jimmy Buffet—he’s on tour in Australia—but we do have an offer to Jack Johnson.”
“Oh, he’ll be perfect,” I reply.
“No. No way,” Chase says firmly.
“Why? I love Jack Johnson. I have, like, four or five of his songs for the reception playlist.”
He points at me. “That look right there. Whenever one of his songs comes on, you always go, ‘Oh, Jack Johnson’ and get that look on your face. I’m not dealing with that at my wedding. The only man who’s going to make you make that swoony face is me.”
He’s got me there. The second I hear a Jack Johnson song, I get melty. Putting my finger under his chin, I tilt his face toward me. “I only get swoony because every song he sings reminds me of you. That face I make is because the words remind me of how much I love you and I’m overcome with love and happiness and warm fuzzies. I’m sorry if I’ve ever made you feel otherwise, but I would really love to have him at our wedding. Not because of him, but because of the feelings his music sparks.”
He sighs. “It would make you happy?”
I nod enthusiastically.
“Fine. But I’d better not see you make goo-goo eyes at him, or I’m throwing him off the island.”
I kiss him. “Thank you.”
“Good. Now that that’s settled.” Bryan flips a few pages in his packet. “The reception will be on lawn three, presuming your football games don’t tear it up too badly. Weather permitting, I’d like to avoid using a tent. This view is just too beautiful to obscure. Ari, to keep in line with your clean simplicity, we’ll use various types of string lights and paper lanterns to decorate the space. All white flowers—orchids, hydrangeas, roses, peonies, lilies, and gardenias in sea glass vases.” He holds up a finger, then gets up and walks to a stack of Rubbermaid bins across the courtyard. After opening and closing a few, he pulls out a square box, then carries it to the table. He slides the box towards us, then removes the lid to reveal really beautiful plates and bowls that are the most stunning shades of blue and green. “I found sea glass dinnerware that will bring a little color to the tables. Centerpieces will be designed to bring out the color of the sea glass. The whole table will pop!” He looks at his watch. “The boat will be here any minute, so we need to wrap this up. Do you two have any questions?”
He’s just thrown so much information at us, it’s hard to process it all. I’m sure as soon as he leaves, I’ll have a million questions, but at the moment, I truly feel as though he’s listened to every word we’ve said to him and put them all into the plan. I can’t think of one thing he’s left out.
I look at Chase. “I’m good for now. Are you?”
“The save the dates will go out tomorrow?” Chase asks.
“Yes.” He walks back to his bins, then returns holding a slatted wood box that’s about the size of a case of wine. He sets it in front of us. The wood looks weathered and warped, like a pirate’s chest. “Open it.”
Chase flips open the metal latch, then opens the box to find sand, sea shells, a conch, a little sea weed, and a starfish. Buried in the sand is an antique-looking bottle with a cork top.
“It’s kinetic sand,” Bryan says. “Least likely to make a mess. These are the most elaborate save the dates I’ve ever done, but they are so much fun! Go ahead. Open the bottle.”
Chase pulls out the cork, then tips the bottle upside down. A scroll slides out. The light tan color and burnt edges make it look like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Chase unrolls the scroll. It gives the date but no location information.
“We’re doing our best to keep the location under wraps for as long as we can,” Bryan explains. “The invitations won’t have location information either. Just dates. People will RSVP for the length of time they’re going to join us, and then a week before the wedding, we’ll send them their travel itineraries. It’s expensive, but it keeps the information from leaking. With the amount of a
ttention you two are already getting, security needs to be our top priority. If you haven’t seen them already, the crazies are going to start coming out of the woodwork. We have to be careful.”
I laugh. “Yeah, we have a little experience with crazy.” I take the scroll from Chase. “They came out beautifully, Bryan. Thank you.”
A boat horn blows three times.
“There’s our ride. Come on, you two, let’s get back to the mainland. I’m starting to go into the DTs without cell service and WiFi.” He snaps his fingers. “Load up the boxes, boys! Papa has to get to the White House. Obama needs me!”
Bryan directs Ned and Holly’s work crew as they pack his bins and boxes onto hand trucks, then take them down to the dock. Ned sidles up to Chase and pesters him with fantasy football questions, and Holly hooks her arm through mine as we walk toward the dock.
“Are you happy with how everything is coming together?” she asks.
“Everything is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s really going to be perfect.”
She puts her arm around me. “Well, having you as our first guests is beyond our wildest dreams. Ned and I will never truly be able to thank you for taking a chance on us. We’re going to go from some obscure little island to a big-time luxury resort all because of you. We owe you everything.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” I say with a smile. “Bryan, Chase, and I scoured the earth for a place that met our needs within the timeline we wanted, and we came up empty. Chase and I were about to rent out a cruise ship, that’s how desperate we were. But then we found you, and now everything is perfect. It was fate, us coming together. I’ll get the wedding of my dreams, and you’ll get the opening of yours.”
“Shake a leg,” Bryan shouts from the boat.
Chase takes my hand. “We’d better board before Bryan has a coronary.”
We quickly say good-bye to Ned and Holly and hop on the boat. I lean on the rail of the boat and watch the island shrink into the distance as we sail back to the mainland.
Love To Love You (Love/Hate #3) Page 11
