The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  “Because that’s the world we live in. I can’t help that my name holds influence. It just does. I don’t think you deserve anything less than Bekah on your wedding day. In fact, you deserve much more than her. I’m simply asking you to try this…for us. Please.”

  “Fine,” she said, only because he was pleading with her.

  A part of her just wished that something had changed during those two years since she had agreed to get back together with Ramsey. They were better but still, he hadn’t told her about the planner. How hard would it have been to just tell her?

  It was probably as hard as it had been for her to just tell Jack she had gotten engaged, yet she still hadn’t.

  That thought sprang her into action, and she moved forward down the hallway. The wedding planner had stopped at her door, pretending not to listen during the exchange. Lexi wondered how many other women had breakdowns and freak-outs during the earliest stages of planning.

  Sherri ushered them into her immaculately decorated office. The room had soft sand-colored accented in varying shades of green and supplemented with plants to make the room feel more natural and inviting. Lexi and Ramsey took the seats opposite Sherri, waiting for her cue.

  After giving a lengthy introduction about the company, Sherri turned the spotlight on Lexi. “What is your vision for this, Lexi? I’d love to know what your dream wedding looks like. I’m in the business of making dreams come true,” she said with a big toothy smile.

  Lexi just stared at her. What did she want her wedding to be like? She had no idea. She thought most weddings were the same. She had been in a few, and they had been all right, but most had been expensive and rather annoying. She knew she didn’t want their wedding to be anything like what her friends had done—and absolutely nothing like Bekah’s. Lexi wasn’t really sure how to articulate that though.

  Sherri waited for Lexi to say something. When she didn’t, Sherri asked another question, “Do you see this as a big event, small event, beachside, or intimate night wedding? We can do whatever works best for you. I know with the Bridges, the guest list tends to get pretty long, so it might be good to think local. Of course, it’s your choice though. I’m here to make your wedding a reality.”

  “I don’t know,” Lexi finally answered. “I haven’t thought about it.”

  “How long have you been engaged?” Sherri asked, turning her attention to Ramsey.

  “Almost a month,” he answered immediately.

  Sherri clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and then stood. “I have another idea. If you’ll follow me,” she said.

  They left Sherri’s office behind and tailed her into a large open room with an oval table taking up the center and several large bookshelves filled to the brim with magazines, booklets, and folders.

  “Feel free to have a seat. I think it might be better just to show you what we have done in the past, so we can get a grasp for your tastes.”

  Lexi plopped into a chair and stared at the massive collection of books. How many weddings had they done? How much work really went into them?

  “The first things we really like to focus on with clients are the date, the color palette, the number of guests, and the venue,” she said, picking out a big three-ring binder for each thing she mentioned. “So much of our design work is captured online for your viewing at any time. I’ve handpicked some of the company’s favorites for us to glance through.”

  “Okay,” Lexi said softly.

  Her palms started to sweat, and she had no idea why. Her palms never sweat. When she had been in gymnastics, she had never had to use as much chalk as the other girls for that very reason.

  “Now, the date—I’m sure you’ve already discussed when you would like the wedding to be. At least a year out is ideal, but a season would do.” Sherri flipped to a page with a picture of weddings in each of the four seasons.

  Sherri looked at her, but Lexi turned to Ramsey. They hadn’t discussed this.

  “Summer?” Lexi asked, biting down on her lip.

  “Or fall,” he offered.

  “Summer or fall next year then,” Sherri said. It was clear that she was glad they were making progress.

  The rest of the session went in much the same fashion. Sherri pulled out everything from thousands of different color palettes, to swathes of garments, to images of large weddings and small weddings and beach weddings, to massive cakes…and the list went on.

  Her opinion was asked over and over again, and Lexi frankly didn’t have an opinion on much of it. The longer she sat there, the more her hands became clammy. Then, it got worse. The back of her neck felt sticky with sweat. Her forehead beaded. She felt her throat begin to close up as if it were swollen. Her stomach twisted like she might be sick, and it took everything in her to sit through one more question about her taste on anything.

  Lexi pushed her chair back abruptly and stood. “I, uh…need to use the restroom,” she said. She twirled her hair around her finger and then threaded it behind her ear.

  Ramsey and Sherri looked at her with concern in their eyes as Lexi extricated herself from the stifling room and rushed down to the restroom. She thought she literally might be sick, but the farther she got away, the better she started to feel. It was like the time when she had walked with Bekah into the jewelry store in the mall. Her whole body had protested.

  She splashed some water on her pale face and tried to get herself under control. It made no sense that she was this tense from looking at color palettes. She even liked Sherri. She was straightforward but determined to figure Lexi out, even when she gave Sherri practically nothing to work with. But how would Lexi be able to get through this process if sitting in a wedding planner’s office made her nauseated?

  She rested her head in her hands and held back the tears. She felt ridiculous and wished she could make it all go away. Why did she have to make this all so difficult? Chyna had been so enthused. All of this would be better with her best friend here to hold her hand and walk her through her anxiety. Every time she looked at Ramsey when she felt like this just made it worse, like she was letting him down.

  Taking a deep breath, she straightened out her hair and walked back down to the room. Sherri and Ramsey were chatting calmly as if Lexi hadn’t just stormed out. He was always so collected with other people. They had their moments, but country club born and bred made him eternally polite. He never said the wrong thing. Sometimes, he would go on and on and on while he was getting his thoughts together or when she threw him off guard, but still…he always said just the right thing.

  She swallowed her pride, knowing that she would continue to say the wrong thing on a pretty regular occasion, and stepped into the conference room. “Thanks for waiting for me.”

  “Of course, dear,” Sherri said, leaning her hip against the table. “We were just discussing costs and such. Nothing for you to worry about.”

  Costs. Nothing for her to worry about. That was for Ramsey to deal with.

  “I think we’ll take a few days to think about it, Sherri,” Ramsey said. He walked over to Lexi and put his arm around her shoulder.

  “Of course. Half will be due when you decide, and I’ll need a date to make sure I don’t already have something booked,” she said with that same toothy smile.

  “Thank you so much for your help,” Ramsey said.

  “It was wonderful to see you again, Ramsey, and to meet you, Lexi.”

  “Nice to meet you, too,” she said.

  Ramsey steered her out of the office, down the hall, and out of the boutique.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw Sherri talking to Eve and laughing. Lexi wondered if they were talking about her…if they were wondering how long Lexi and Ramsey were going to last after Lexi’s freak-out. She didn’t want to think about that. It wasn’t healthy for her already fragile psyche.

  Lexi remained silent on the drive back to their condo. She felt pretty foolish. She had been so worried about looking and acting the part that she had comp
letely lost it. She knew that wedding planning wasn’t always easy, but they hadn’t even picked out a wedding date yet. The only things that she really knew were that Ramsey was the groom and Chyna was going to be her maid of honor. Lexi was going to need to get her stuff together if they wanted the wedding to be a reality.

  Ramsey took an unexpected turn, and Lexi raised her eyebrows.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Just the long way home,” he said with a smirk that suggested he wasn’t telling the truth.

  “Oh, really?” she asked. “This seems like really far out of the way.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The way his eyes gleamed told her otherwise, but she decided to let it go and wait to see where he was taking her.

  About fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of Morelli’s, and Lexi laughed.

  “Ice cream?” she asked.

  “You looked like you needed some,” he responded before getting out of his car.

  Morelli’s was a local Atlanta ice cream shop that had opened relatively recently and won the hearts of everyone around. With an old-school style walk-up menu and over thirty flavors that changed daily, Morelli’s was the best place in town, and it had been rated best ice cream in Atlanta almost since its inception.

  Even in the chilly October weather, the place was still packed, and they filed into line. Once they reached the front, Ramsey ordered a scoop of the butter pecan with a cone, and Lexi chose the coffee fudge almond.

  Cones in hand, they walked over to a bench and sat down.

  “So…what do you think?” Ramsey asked after a minute.

  “I like her,” she admitted.

  “You do?” He didn’t seem convinced.

  She took a deep breath and stared down at her ice cream. Seriously, it was heavenly. “She seems nice and put-together. She knows what she’s doing, and she I think she’s genuinely interested in what I want…what we want. You’re very comfortable with her, and that means a lot, too.”

  “I am. She’s very professional.”

  “I know. I can tell. I was very worried that she would expect me to be Bekah, but she didn’t treat me that way at all. I won’t have time for everything she mentioned, and I don’t know two things about putting a wedding together,” she told him, finally looking up at him. “Plus, I don’t really want to sit through another one of those meetings again.”

  Ramsey burst out laughing. “That’s my Alexa right there,” he said, leaning forward and kissing her lips. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too,” she murmured softly.

  “And you’re sure you want to hire her? I only want what’s best for you.”

  “Yes,” she said, nodding slowly. “Let’s do it.”

  Lexi yanked the door open to the courthouse and strode through the double doors. She had just gotten out of work, so she fit the lawyer profile that afternoon in a gray pencil skirt suit and cream blouse. She had left her jacket in the car, but her dark brown leather messenger bag was slung over her shoulder. The only thing that would identify her as out of sorts was she had pulled most of her dark brown hair into a messy bun at the back of her head earlier that day, and it had fallen out with loose tendrils framing her face.

  She didn’t think anyone would recognize her where she was headed anyway. Her office worked on corporate matters, not family law.

  Jack had frantically called the day of her meeting with the wedding planner to let her know that a temporary hearing had been set up to decide immediate circumstances before an official court date could be held. The court had expedited the case to be heard only three days from then. Lexi had been shocked that they had moved it up so quickly. That typically only happened in extreme cases when children or money were involved.

  Lexi wondered if Bekah had bought off the judge. If that had happened already, this really wasn’t going to go well.

  Jack had spoken to the attorney she had gotten for him, but Jack hadn’t called Lexi for advice. She had given him everything that she had on that front and then some. But the way he had spoken to her…the need in his voice…it had pierced her heart.

  “I wasn’t lying when I said that I didn’t have anyone else. I’m living with Seth right now, but I can’t talk to him about this. What would he understand about a broken marriage? He and Sandy are the picture-perfect couple,” Jack had said.

  “I’m just trying to stay out of it, Jack,” Lexi had tried to tell him.

  She hadn’t told him that she was keeping a promise to Ramsey. Sure, she had never actually told Ramsey that she would stay out of it, but she had felt obligated to do so. It had been an unspoken agreement of sorts.

  “I know. It’s just that this is the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through, and it feels like I have a transmittable disease or something. None of my friends want to get caught up in this, and I still have to go into work every day at Bridges. I don’t know why I thought you would understand that, Lex. You’ve just always understood me,” he had said softly.

  “Jack,” she had groaned, “it’s not that I don’t understand.”

  He had sighed heavily on the other end. “Forget I asked, all right? I know you have your own life. I doubt Ramsey wants you involved in this. If I know him, I’d bet he asked you to stay out of it.”

  Lexi had remained silent.

  “I see. And here I thought, we were past all of that.” He had sounded defeated…like he had hit rock bottom.

  “Jack,” she had whispered. She had hated the desperation in his voice.

  “I mean, I was there for you this summer when you had nowhere else to go. Chyna was in her own state of bliss and a thousand miles away. That’s what friends do for each other.”

  She had swallowed at the memory that sometimes hit her again like a sucker punch. Just when she had grown complacent—no, not a good idea to think about that.

  “All I’m asking is for you to be my friend now…when I need you,” he had said softly.

  She had felt glad that she couldn’t see those pleading blue eyes again. She had almost told herself that she had imagined the way he had talked to her in her office when he had told her about the divorce. He hadn’t wanted her. He had only been relying on a friend—a friend he needed again now.

  “They won’t let me in the courthouse, and it’s a terrible idea for me to be there anyway,” she had told him.

  “Meet me after?”

  So, that was how she had ended up walking into the courthouse directly after work. She turned down the hallway toward the family court area and took a seat outside. Jack should be out any minute. She was a bit surprised they weren’t already done. These things didn’t take that long. It was usually the mediation and actual trial that took the most time.

  She tapped her foot on the tile floor and looked down at her watch. Any second now.

  As if on cue, the door opened, and Bekah walked out. Lexi scrambled to her feet. She didn’t want to be sitting if Bekah said anything to her. Lexi didn’t want Bekah to be able to look down at her at least.

  Bekah’s lawyer followed. He looked familiar. He was probably one of the attorneys Lexi had investigated when searching out one for Jack. The lawyer nodded at Lexi and urged Bekah to keep walking, like he knew it was in her best interest not to stop.

  Bekah didn’t listen.

  “What a surprise!” Bekah said. She looked at Lexi smugly as if she had expected her to be here.

  Lexi didn’t like falling into Bekah’s plans in any way. “Bekah,” she said curtly.

  “Do you really think this is the best place for you right now?”

  “Around you? No, not particularly,” Lexi responded dryly.

  Bekah bristled, which was highly entertaining. Lexi liked to see her uncomfortable. She was just a little too perfect with her long blonde hair, perfect chunky bangs, and baby blues. She had on a rather innocent-looking pink dress and modest heels. Lexi assumed Bekah was playing the victim card just by her appearance.
>
  “Let me just give you some friendly advice,” Bekah said, stepping forward toward her.

  “Just what I always wanted.”

  “If I were you, I’d stay away from Jack.”

  “Is that so?” Lexi asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “You shouldn’t even be here right now. What does Ramsey think about all this?”

  “The best part about all of this, Bekah, is that it’s none of your business,” Lexi said. She shot her a big fake smile before turning her back and walking away.

  Jack appeared in the entranceway a minute later. He didn’t look happy. Things must not have gone well. Lexi hadn’t thought they would.

  “What happened?” she asked, concerned.

  “She won.”

  “It’s not over.”

  Jack pulled out a paper. “I don’t even know where to start—exclusive use of the marital home, exclusive use of the motor vehicle, freeze on all joint accounts, payment of her attorney’s fees. Christ, her fucking attorney fees—when she’s a fucking vice president of Bridges,” he growled. “Plus, I still have to pay my half of the house and utilities—the house I can’t live in.”

  Lexi knew that wasn’t the worst they could have done. Every single day, she was thankful that kids weren’t involved. Money could be spent and earned. It was just a piece of paper that people valued. What really mattered, money could never touch. It could make things easier, but it was such a fragile aspect of life. It was something that people so easily allowed to make or break their happiness.

  “It’s okay. It’s not the worst it could be, and you’ll have time to plan a defense before you go to a full trial, if it comes to that.” When it comes to that.

  Jack shook his head. “My attorney is talking to the judge. He wants to meet with me after this to discuss the impact and strategy going forward. So, I guess I can’t even see you, but thanks for showing up.”

  “Of course,” she said softly.

  She stared up into those blue eyes and just saw defeat. How had Bekah done this? She was destructive. Lexi wanted to go back outside now and beat her to a bloody pulp for every person she had hurt from her games and manipulation. That kind of person did not deserve to walk around the world with a chip on her shoulder as a vice president of a huge company. She deserved nothing less than to be buried six feet under—in the same way she was doing to Jack.