Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2)

by Melissa Baldwin

  “No. Well, not exactly,” she hesitates. “I’m just saying that maybe there’s a chance that this isn’t her fault?”

  Baby Ace starts crying, so Abby gets off the phone. When I get home, I refuse to sit around and do nothing, so I make cookies and do something I hardly ever do: I eat cookies, a lot of cookies, and then I throw up.

  I completely lose track of time, and I’m in the middle of tying ribbons on cookie bags when Sienna finally comes home.

  “Hey,” she says softly. She looks completely exhausted. I can tell by her body language that she hasn’t gotten anywhere with the wedding.

  “I guess you don’t have any good news for me?” I ask knowingly. She shakes her head and frowns.

  “I’m so sorry. I spoke with the director today. They are investigating it, but I guess in the meantime there was another event booked.” She looks away, but I can see the tears welling up in her eyes.

  “It’s not your fault,” I remind her. I swallow hard; I don’t want to start to cry because it will make Sienna feel even worse than she already does.

  “So, um, what do you suggest we do now?” I ask. “What about all of the guests? The DJ, all of the plans?” I suddenly feel overwhelmed; it looks like Cole may get his wish because a Hawaiian beach wedding is looking better and better all the time.

  “I wanted to talk to you about that; we’ve been working on a few options.” She sits down and pulls out her phone. “We can have the wedding at a country club. It’s a beautiful place, but it will be a tight fit with the number of guests that are expected. There’s also another venue we are working on. I’m just waiting to hear back from them about availability.” I try my best to pretend that I’m not completely devastated about all of this.

  “I’m sure either location will be great,” I say unconvincingly. “Tell me what we need to do; we only have two weeks.” Sienna scrolls through her phone.

  “As soon as you choose the venue, we will switch everything. I have Craig and Nicole ready to contact the guests, and honestly they won’t even know the difference.” She rubs her forehead. “I know this isn’t how your wedding was supposed to go, and I feel absolutely horrible about it. I promise I will do everything I can to make it a beautiful day.”

  “You don’t need to feel bad about anything. None of this is your fault,” I reiterate.

  While Sienna and I are talking, I miss several calls from Grandmother and my mom. I knew it wouldn’t take long for them to find out. I decide to let every call go to voicemail because I know I’m not prepared to talk to any of them. My phone rings again, and I’m about to turn it off when I see it’s Susan calling. Cole must have explained what’s happened. It’s time for me to be honest with myself and everyone else that our wedding plans have changed.

  “Hi, Susan. How are you?” I try to sound as cheerful as I can.

  “Honey, I just got a strange call from Cole,” she says. “Please tell me what’s going on with the wedding.”

  I tell her the whole story from start to finish except conveniently leaving out the Ellie part. I get choked up a few times, but I manage to do it without becoming hysterical.

  “I have never heard of an event being canceled at the last minute. What about the deposit? This is absurd.”

  “I don’t know what’s happening,” I reply. “It’s being investigated, but we don’t have time to wait. Sienna is working on a new location. They will inform all the guests of the changes as soon as we have it set.”

  “Oh dear. “ She sounds completely in shock. “How are you holding up? I can’t imagine how you must feel. Honestly, I’ve been so impressed with Sienna. I’m shocked she could make this kind of a mistake.”

  I don’t want her to think badly of Sienna, so I decide to explain everything that happened with Ellie.

  “Oh my goodness, how could she do this? I know most families have problems, but I never could imagine something like this. It’s very disappointing,” she exclaims. Ahhh, finally someone is not suggesting that Ellie is innocent. I ask her if she thinks I made a mistake with my confrontation.

  She doesn’t say anything at first. “No, I don’t think you made a mistake,” she answers finally.

  “I’m not convinced that your cousin is behind this, but I’m proud of you for being honest about your other feelings.” She continues, “I think you’ve been holding in these feelings for a very long time. You have a lot of issues with both of them as well as your grandmother and even your parents to some extent. The time had come to be honest.”

  Wow, I never thought about that. “I still haven’t spoken with my grandmother; that will probably be the most difficult part. No doubt she’s already heard Ellie’s side, and she’s come to her own conclusion.”

  I can’t continue to stress about this because that’s what got me into this whole mess. If I had stood firm on my own feelings, then I never would have let them talk me into asking them. For the first time in a few days, I start to feel better. I thank Susan for listening before we hang up.

  Sienna goes to bed early but not before I hear her on the phone. She must be talking to Ace; I overhear her say something about this being damaging to her company. I keep forgetting how this will affect her. I guess losing a wedding at such a high profile location can’t be good for business. As devastated as I am, I need to remember that other people are being affected also.

  The next morning when I wake up, I feel a little better, at least emotionally. All of those cookies definitely did a number on my stomach; that was my first and last time I will be stress eating. I vow never to do that again.

  I’ve managed to avoid all calls from my family, but I know I can’t do that forever. I just don’t know what to say, or rather, I do know what to say, but I’m not sure how to say it. Ugh, I think I need professional help.

  The best (and easiest) place to start is with my mom. When I call her, it doesn’t start out good. She yells at me for making a scene in a public place and not talking to Ellie about it at first. I try to explain that I was in the heat of the moment.

  “When are you ever going to take my feelings into account?” I say to her, my voice starting to crack. “You pressure me to ask them to be bridesmaids. But you failed to realize that we haven’t spoken in months or maybe even longer.”

  “Honey, that should never matter when it comes to family,” she insists.

  I’m more frustrated than ever; I guess this is never going to change. This will be a battle for the rest of my life, unless I want to completely cut ties with all of them. Sad to say that there have been many days in my life that I have considered that.

  “Mom, stop!” I yell, and I start to cry. “I’m your daughter. For once, can you be on my side? Think back to all those times I came to you when they would do something mean to me. Please try to put yourself in my shoes.” Mom doesn’t say anything. Maybe she’s actually thinking about it, but I’m getting more and more frustrated.

  “Of course you don’t have anything to say,” I say sadly.

  I hang up on her because I’m not getting anywhere, and I don’t want to say something I may regret later. Well, that didn’t go well at all, but I don’t care. I made a vow to myself last night that I wouldn’t let any of them bully me ever again. I have to do something productive; this is not a positive start to my day. I have a wedding in two weeks and no place to have it. The most important thing is marrying Cole; I will worry about everything else later. There is only one place I have to be today.

  When I get to Sheer Happiness Events, I can see Sienna and Craig busily working through the window. I sent Sienna a text that I would be coming by to discuss everything. She seemed happy that I was coming in, so I’m praying that means that things are looking up.

  “There’s the blushing bride-to-be,” Craig announces when he sees me. “Can I just tell you that I’m amazed at how you are keeping yourself together with everything that’s happened. I thought you were going to completely fall apart.”

  I guess he doesn’t know
anything about my public verbal attack on Ellie because I’m pretty sure that could count as falling apart.

  “I appreciate your faith in me, Craig,” I say with a smile. “I’m hoping you guys have good news for me?”

  I notice Nicole look up from her desk. She gives me a friendly wave. I don’t know her well, but Sienna says she’s great.

  “Craig, leave her alone,” Sienna says, hitting him on the arm. “Madie, we do have good news for you. We found a location that I think would be fantastic.” She runs into her office and emerges with some pictures. She shows me a picture of a beautiful beachside resort. It’s definitely not as elegant as the Four Seasons but it’s very nice.

  “What do you think?” she asks nervously.

  “Wow, it’s really nice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this resort before.”

  I start to look through the brochure. The lobby is very tropical, with big palm trees and lots of hot pink everywhere. It’s bordering on tacky—the only things missing are plastic flamingos. On the other hand, the ballroom is amazing. It’s bright and airy; part of it has a glass roof that reminds me of a green house. The best part is the balcony extends out over the sand and overlooks the ocean.

  “What is this place?” I ask her. She gets an excited look on her face.

  “It was an old hotel that was abandoned. The new owners just opened a few months ago after a massive renovation. They’re only using it for events, so it will not be a hotel anymore. I know the lobby is hideous, but it’s available the night of your wedding. What do you think?”

  I look through the pictures one more time. “It’s perfect,” I exclaim. Sienna and Craig high-five each other, and Nicole cheers from her desk.

  “There is one tiny little issue,” she says as she holds two fingers together. I don’t like the sound of that. Usually when Sienna says that it’s really a bigger issue than she is letting on. “They have no catering staff. So we will have to find a caterer, but I have made a few calls so hopefully I will hear something back.”

  This is just great. There will be no food at my wedding; my guests will starve. We will have to go to Costco and get lunchmeat platters, and we will have to serve pigs-in-a-blanket. Don’t get me wrong, I totally love pigs-in-a-blanket, but I just didn’t want to serve them at my wedding.

  Oh well, we have no other option at this point, so I tell Sienna to book the resort anyway. I call Cole to tell him the half-good news, and he pretends to be upset about us not eloping, but I can tell he doesn’t care either way. He tells me as long as he marries me and we can start our life then he’s happy. I’m instantly reminded of what really matters, just him and me exchanging our vows.

  “I miss you so much,” he whispers, his voice getting deeper. “I will be home tomorrow night, and all I want to do is hold you.”

  My heart does a little flutter and I walk outside to talk to him in private. I’m not the kiss-and-tell type of person, and I don’t need the staff of Sheer Happiness Events hearing my personal conversation.

  “So, what can I do to help?” I ask when I come back inside.

  “You OK? You’re looking a little flushed,” Craig says, giving me a wink. “It was getting a little hot in here. Why did you walk outside? It was just about to get good.” I knew he was listening.

  “It was getting hot and it got hotter, so I had to leave. Some things are private,” I say with a sultry tone. As expected, Craig wants to know every detail.

  “That’s no fair; we needed a good love scene to lighten the mood around here.” Craig pouts as he stomps off. I give a little chuckle, and I see Sienna smile.

  I spend the rest of the afternoon at Sheer Happiness. Sienna divided the guest list between Craig and Nicole. I thought they were going to have to call all two hundred people, but they’re designing little note cards with “Change of Venue” on them. She also found a caterer to do the food, but unfortunately, it will be a more casual buffet style, not quite the four-course dinner as planned. Grandmother is going to pass out when she hears of these changes. Well, that’s if she hasn’t disowned me after my fight with Ellie. She may completely boycott my wedding now, and considering my conversation with my mother, she may not be there either.

  “So, I guess Vegas is out?” Sienna says after Craig and Nicole have left for the night. With everything that has happened, I totally forgot about Vegas. I guess this was one way to get out of it.

  “Um, yeah, I would say so. Oh well, even though it would have been fun to be in Vegas, I’m wasn’t looking forward to an entire weekend with the evil stepsisters.”

  I can tell that Sienna is disappointed; she was really looking forward to the royal treatment at the Bellagio.

  “I’m sorry,” I say as I put my arm around her. “I know you’re bummed, but we will do a trip some other time. With everything going on I couldn’t leave town now anyway.”

  I don’t want to admit it to Sienna, but I’m disappointed too, not about the Vegas trip but about not having one last weekend with her and Abby. She must have been reading my mind though because she suggests we at least do a spa day, which was part of our original plan anyway.

  “I know it’s not Vegas, but it will be fun, and because we won’t be roommates any more after next week . . .” she trails off and looks away. “Anyway, I will get it scheduled,” she adds, clearing her throat.

  And there it is, that weird awkwardness that has never happened with us until recently. We haven’t really discussed moving or the house; it’s been the elephant in the room for sure, and I still feel horribly guilty even though I know I haven’t done anything wrong.

  “I know, I’m sorry,” I say as I turn my head to avoid looking at her. I don’t want to start crying.

  “Madie, please don’t be sorry for starting your life with Cole. You deserve it and don’t let anyone try to get in the way of that.”

  I know she’s referring to my family, and she is 100% right. Sienna is the best friend I could have ever hoped for. I want her to find happiness, too.

  “Same for you! You have to let yourself be happy, let your guard down.” I see a small smile spread across her face.

  “You mean with Ace, right?” she asks knowingly. Duh, of course I mean with Ace, but I decide not to say another word. Even I’m getting sick of harassing her about it.

  I go to use the bathroom; while in there, I hear voices and then yelling. I open the door but hang back and listen. I don’t believe it, it’s Ellie. She has a lot of nerve showing up here.

  “She hasn’t called any of us back. I can’t believe she would do this to us,” Ellie exclaims innocently.

  “She actually accused me of getting the wedding canceled,” Ellie adds. “What does that even mean? Is the wedding really canceled?”

  Poor Sienna, I can’t leave her out there to take their abuse alone.

  “Can you excuse me for one second, please?” I hear Sienna say. She comes into the bathroom.

  “You need to stay here,” she whispers. “I’m going to talk to her and see if I can get to the bottom of this. Maybe she will let something slip.”

  “No way,” I whisper back. “I’m not leaving you alone with that.” I point to the front lobby. I can tell Sienna is up to something; she has a gleam in her eye.

  “Just stay here and be quiet,” she demands. I attempt to argue, but she quickly runs back to the front. I lean my head to the door so I can hear what’s happening. There isn’t any more yelling, so it’s hard to hear what they are saying. I hear Ellie say that she didn’t do anything and that I’m acting like a spoiled child. Crap! I hate not knowing what’s happening. I finally hear the door chime; she must have left. I practically run out into the lobby.

  “What happened and why did you tell me to stay in the back?” Sienna looks completely worn out, and I know the feeling. Sienna rubs her face in her hands.

  “Long story short, she went on and on about how horrible you acted after everything they have done for you. Also something about breaking special family bonds, blah
, blah.” She rolls her eyes.

  “Yeah, I heard her say I was acting like a spoiled child.” I frown and fold my arms like, well, like a spoiled child. They should talk, I think to myself.

  “Just try to ignore her,” Sienna says as she walks around, straightening up the office. “Ellie insists that she isn’t behind this.”

  I knew she would deny it, and she will continue to, probably forever. Sienna stops what she’s doing, and I can tell she’s thinking about something.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Honestly?” she asks carefully. “I’m not sure she did this.”

  What? She can’t be serious. What kind of mind control do these girls have? Somehow, they manage to manipulate everyone in my life. Truthfully, I’m not that surprised because they’ve been doing this since they were kids. Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore anyway.

  “OK,” I say nonchalantly. “I don’t care about who did this anymore. My wedding is going to happen. It may not be how I planned it, but sometimes things don’t turn out the way we want, right?”

  Sienna doesn’t say anything, but she nods in agreement. She knows this better than anyone. The truth is, whether or not Ellie is responsible for this, it was time for me to confront her, just like Susan said. Maybe I should’ve gone about it in a different way, but at the time it was the only way I knew how to express how I felt.

  “You can do what you want, but maybe you should think about it for a few days and then sit down and talk to her.” She moves away from me after she says that, which is silly of course.

  “Yeah, I’ll think about it,” I say doubtfully.

  Chapter 10

  No! This can’t be happening again; we found a new place for my wedding. Why is the door locked? I’m trying to get inside but there’s a huge deadbolt on the door.

  “I told you she would mess this up, Grandmother,” Ellie says.

  “Yeah, mad Madie can’t seem to do anything right and just look at her dress,” Stephy adds, giving me a disgusted look.

  I look down to see my wedding gown covered in tomato sauce. No, no, no . . . this can’t be real. I was thirteen when I sat in that plate of sauce.