She stood there frozen, wanting to say something, but no words came out. She was angry, but more than anything, she felt ashamed. Her opinions weren’t even worthy of a consideration.
“This is ridiculous,” Seth said, his face turning red with anger. She had never seen him this mad. “You can’t make decisions without Lexi. She’s the one footing this bill. And for God’s sake, she’s the bride.” He crossed his arms and glared at Martin and his mom.
Lexi’s eyes shifted back and forth over the four of them. They all stared back at her, like they were waiting for her to intervene. She felt caught in the middle.
“I’m sorry we didn’t consult you, Lexi,” Nancy finally said. “It just seemed like something you would have wanted, and we didn’t want to bother you with another decision to make this close to the wedding.”
Lexi took a deep breath. Her eyes were now darting back and forth between Seth and Nancy. They both stared at her like they were waiting for her to choose a side. She quickly pondered what to do.
Finally, she spoke. “It’s all right,” she said softly. She figured she’d rather be secretly mad about it than for Nancy to be mad at her. “I think the upgraded chairs will be nice.”
“Fabulous,” Nancy said.
Seth let out an audible, disappointed sigh.
Lynn stayed quiet.
Just then, her planner’s phone dinged with a text message, and he glanced at it quickly with a Cheshire-cat grin. “I have a little surprise for you,” he announced with a little hop. Lexi noticed a scheming expression on his face.
On his show, Martin always gave the bride a gift before the wedding. It was usually something tongue-in-cheek that had to do with the story line of their episode. Like ballroom dancing lessons to the bride who had no rhythm and a honeymoon trip to a dude ranch for the bride who insisted on wearing cowboy boots with her dress. Lexi couldn’t imagine what he would give her. Was it the chocolate fountain? She secretly hoped so.
As he walked back through the clubhouse to get the surprise, the rest of them grabbed an open table on the terrace.
“Can’t believe the big day is almost here.” Nancy tapped on the glass-topped rattan table with her red-painted nails. It was as if their awkward dispute a few minutes earlier had never happened. She then leaned back in the cushioned chair and rested her elbows on the armrests. “I just wanted to thank you for letting me be a part of this,” she said with an earnest expression. “Lexi, I feel like I’ve gotten to know you so much more, and, well, I just couldn’t imagine my son marrying anyone else.”
Lexi’s heart clutched. Everything she had gone through—all of the time, all of the stress, and all of the sacrifices with the wedding planning—it was all worth it for this moment. Getting her mother-in-law’s approval meant everything to her. Sure, Seth always rolled his eyes at his parents’ pretentious ways, and he warned Lexi about letting Nancy interfere too much, but deep down she knew he wanted this. What son didn’t want his wife and parents to get along well?
“And we’re so lucky to have Seth officially be a part of our family, too,” Lynn said. “That’s the best part about this wedding, in my opinion—seeing you two build your life together.” She smiled.
Lexi reached over and grabbed Seth’s hand. He interlaced his fingers with hers, and everything felt right again.
Martin walked back outside, sashaying down the terrace with a woman by his side. She was wearing a chic blue floral shift dress, and her brown hair was in a low chignon. Something about the woman felt a little more cosmopolitan than the regular local crowd, Lexi thought. Who was this woman and why was she her gift?
“I’d like y’all to meet Clara Bradley.” Martin put his fingers to his mouth. “I’m so excited to be the one to tell you this.…” He looked like a kid who was just granted permission to reveal a secret. “Clara is a reporter for Southern Living magazine.”
Lexi’s mouth dropped. She loved reading that magazine at the salon when she was in between clients. In fact, half of the clippings in her wedding binder had come from Southern Living Weddings. What was a reporter from there doing here?
“They’re going to be covering your wedding for the magazine!” Martin said, jumping up and down.
“No way!” Lexi exclaimed. Her wedding was going to be featured in a magazine? She thought back to the months before she had won the lottery. She barely had enough money to buy a wedding magazine, let alone be featured in one. It was surreal thinking of how her luck had changed so quickly. She couldn’t wait to tell everyone.
“Martin has shared all the plans with me,” Clara said, sitting down next to her. “This is going to be the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever seen.”
Lexi felt speechless as she exchanged happy glances with Nancy and her mom from across the table.
She couldn’t believe it—her dream wedding was turning out to be even bigger and better than she ever could have imagined. “We couldn’t have done it without Martin,” she boasted. He obviously knew what he was doing if Clara was impressed.
After they all chatted for a few minutes and gave their orders to the waiter, Clara placed a silver hand-held tape recorder on the tabletop and opened her notebook to a crisp page jotted with some bullet points. She reminded Lexi of Callie, so professional and serious. “Mind if I ask you guys a few questions for the story?”
“Go right ahead,” Lexi said, trying to maintain her composure. She looked at Martin, who was calmly sipping the glass of sweet tea the waiter had just brought him. He must have done a thousand of these interviews over the years.
“So, Lexi, I know you recently won the lottery.” The woman rested her hands on the table. “Can you talk a little about how that played into the wedding planning?”
She pondered the question for a second. “I mean, it obviously increased our budget significantly,” she said, twirling her straw around her iced tea. “I had gotten engaged right before we won, and I dreamed of having a big fun wedding. The second I found out we had the winning numbers, I knew what my first splurge was going to be, and I have no regrets.”
Martin leaned forward. “I also want to add that we kind of played off her new fortune with the wedding theme, ‘Southern Glitz.’ You’ll see elements that represent her down-home roots, like a whiskey tasting bar and good old-fashioned Cajun food, but then there will be lots of glitz and glamour woven in with details like sequined tablecloths and crystal chandeliers.”
Lexi loved that explanation. She hadn’t even realized Martin’s deeper meaning behind the theme.
“That’s great.” Clara jotted something down in her notebook. “So, what specific details are you all most excited about?”
Martin raised his hand eagerly. “Oh, I think the cocktail hour is going to be one to remember. We’ve got a jazz trio to entertain guests, and a street artist from New Orleans will be there to create elegant illustrations of the event that people can take home as souvenirs.”
“I love that,” Clara said. She and Martin then looked at Lexi for her answer.
She tried to think of one, but there were so many ideas popping into her head. Her dress was beautiful. The five-tiered magnolia cake was going to be gorgeous. And the venue, too—it was going to be so picturesque saying their vows under the kissing oak trees on the eighteenth hole. She pictured Seth standing next to her looking handsome in his designer tuxedo. Of course, Seth. She thought back to what her mom had said. As cheesy as it was, he was the thing she was looking forward to most on the wedding day. “I just can’t wait to see my fiancé when I walk down the aisle,” she said, rubbing Seth’s arm. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him lowering his head like he was embarrassed.