As defeated as Lexi felt right then, she reminded herself why she was doing this. She wanted to be accepted by her in-laws. And for the first time, she felt like she was finally making that happen.
Later that afternoon, the front door opened, and Lexi looked at her watch. Lord, they had been at this all day.
Seth walked in looking tired in his scrubs. He threw his backpack on the floor and looked around the room at the mess they had made. “What’s going on?” he said.
Lexi ran over to him and gave him a kiss on the lips. “Hi, babe!” She quickly ran her fingers through his messy brown hair to tame it before she introduced him to Martin. “Seth, this is the amazing wedding planner I was telling you about!” She grabbed her fiancé’s hand and led him to the corner of the main room, where Martin was talking over the floral order with Nancy.
Lexi cleared her throat. “The groom has arrived!”
Martin and Nancy looked up. Nancy ceremoniously hugged her son.
“So lovely to meet you,” Martin said, shaking Seth’s hand while giving him a once-over. “You’ll look like a GQ model in that Tom Ford tux I just picked out for you.” He winked.
Seth shot Lexi a look.
She could sense his discomfort. “Martin and his team have already done so much for us,” she said, rubbing Seth’s arm. “Oh, you’ll love this—a baker who’s been on Cake Wars is making your groom’s cake!”
“We were talking earlier about doing a golf-themed cake—maybe a replica of the eighteenth hole you’re getting married on,” Martin exclaimed, clapping his hands. “What do you think?”
Seth looked over at Lexi. “But I don’t really play golf,” he said quietly.
“I know, silly,” she said, waving him away. “Martin and your mom just thought the theme would fit nicely with the venue. I think it’d be classy, too.” She knew Seth would want his cake to have something to do with animals, and she probably should have argued a little harder for her idea of the dog-shaped one—especially after her bridesmaid puppies got the boot—but Martin did make a good point that an animal-shaped cake might not be as appetizing. “But we can talk about that tonight,” she said, rubbing his arm. “It’s ultimately up to you.”
Seth let out a small grunt and began walking to the stairs.
“And we still have more decisions that need to be made if you want to help,” she said, following him. “I can’t decide. Do you think green napkins will go with the peach centerpieces?”
“I don’t care about any of this!” he snapped as they reached the top of the stairs.
Lexi stopped on the landing and looked up at him, taken aback by his attitude. “What’s wrong?” she asked with a strained smile. Whenever she was really uncomfortable or upset, she did the opposite of what most normal people did and flashed an inappropriate yet completely involuntary smile. Funerals had always been really awkward for that reason.
Seth walked into the bedroom, and she followed him. “Talk to me,” she said, sitting down on the bed and patting it for him to join her. He let out a deep sigh and sat down next to her.
“Look, I’m sorry,” he said, shaking off his tennis shoes. “I just feel like everything’s changing so quickly. Like I said last night, doesn’t all this wedding stuff feel… a bit much?”
Lexi tried not to act too defensive. “What’s bothering you about it? Is it the groom’s cake? Because we’ll make it whatever you want.”
“It’s not the cake,” he said, running his hands through his messy hair. “It’s all of it.”
Lexi gulped. “You don’t want the wedding?”
“I’m just saying, I feel weird about it all. This isn’t me. This is the kind of stuff I wanted to leave behind when I left home.” He leaned back on the bed. “My mom’s not pushing you to do any of this, right?”
Lexi put her hand over her heart. She was going to have to do some damage control. “No way, babe. I can’t believe you would even think that I’d let her have that kind of power over me.” Okay, maybe a little. “I’ve always wanted a big wedding, and it’s been really fun hearing your mom’s ideas and planning it with her.”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t it feel a little much to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on one night?”
“It’s not just one night,” she reminded him, putting her hand on his arm. “This is one night we’re going to remember for the rest of our lives.”
He let out a slow exhale. “Why does it have to be so complicated, though? You have Sergeant Wedding down there barking orders and doing all this ridiculous stuff to plan it. Can’t we just get married on a hill at sunset, and improvise the rest? Why does the entire town have to be there to see this happen?”
Lexi sat back down on the bed with it finally sinking in that Seth just didn’t get it. He didn’t care about the details. He didn’t understand this was her moment. It wasn’t just about the lavish party. This wedding was not only her way of proving to his parents and everyone else that she was worth something, but proving it to herself, too.
“Having the perfect wedding has always been my dream,” she finally said. “I’ve wanted this my whole life, and now I finally have the chance to have it.” She stared into his hazel eyes. “Do you want me to be happy or not?”
With that, Seth nodded and kissed her forehead. “I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.”
CHAPTER 18 Callie
Given how many years she resisted wearing heavy makeup, Callie was surprised at how powerful a swipe of red lipstick made her feel. She took a final look in her bathroom mirror. Sleek hair… check. Smoky eyes… check. Rosy cheeks… check. She flashed a small smile, proud of how she actually managed to re-create the look from the salon in New Orleans. Her stylist would be proud.
But as confident as she was in her appearance, there was still a part of her that felt nervous about Wynn knocking on the door any moment to pick her up for their date. No guy had ever made her feel this way before. Even though the feeling was uncomfortable, she tried to remember it was a good thing she felt this way. Like Garrett had told her during that conference a few years ago, being nervous just means you’re doing something new. And new was good.
She heard a knock at the door and took a deep breath. She smoothed her hands down the black crepe jumpsuit she had picked up in New Orleans after one too many mimosas at Sunday brunch. She and Hanna were trying on bridesmaid dresses for Lexi’s wedding, but her sisters also begged she try this on for her date with Wynn. “You’ve got the height and legs for it,” Hanna had insisted while they all squished together in the dressing room clearly built for one person. “And it makes your butt look wow-za!” Lexi had said, jokingly fanning herself.
Callie opened the creaky door. It was already eight o’clock, and the sun had just set, leaving the sky outside her apartment navy blue with soft fading streaks of light. It had been raining all day, but thankfully, it had stopped right before he got there.
Wynn stood in front of her, his tall athletic figure highlighted by the fluorescent glow of the flickering outdoor light. He was wearing a blue suit, probably the same one he had worn for work that day. His Ivy League haircut looked neatly combed and soft enough to run her fingers through it, but stiff enough to stay put through a wind gust. A slow flirty grin formed on his face as his eyes moved down her body. “You look beautiful,” he finally said, locking eyes with her again.