He wiped his polka dot handkerchief across his sweaty forehead and turned to his assistant. “Dixie’s got it all under control.” He snapped his fingers at the woman and motioned for her to get going.
“No,” Dixie said sharply, crossing her arms. Dixie stared at Martin for a long moment. “You’re the planner. You figure it out.” With that she spun on her heel and walked away.
Lexi’s jaw dropped. What the hell just happened?
Martin ran after her into the hallway. “Dixie!”
Lexi and her sisters ran over to the doorway to eavesdrop.
“I’ve been working for you for a year now, and you know my name’s not even Dixie!” the woman screamed. “Why do you insist on calling me that?”
Lexi covered her mouth in shock.
“Why are you doing this to me right now?” he asked, the anger rising in his voice.
“Let’s see.… You’re rude to me, you take me for granted, you belittle me in front of clients all while depending on me for every single detail behind the scenes.” Her voice was shaky but stern. “Oh, and I haven’t slept in four weeks because I’ve been working twenty-four hours a day on this insane wedding that has ultimately turned into a shit-show.” She began to walk toward the stairs and yelled out, “I’m not going down with you this time, dude!”
Lexi looked at her sisters. They seemed just as stunned as she was.
Was Martin Castleberry a crock?
He finally walked back into the room, and shook his head. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” His forehead vein was bulging. “Some people are just not professional.…”
Callie interrupted him. “Okay, but we don’t have time for this right now. Did the baker drop off what was left of the cake?” she asked with a take-charge attitude.
He nodded. “But it’s completely disfigured.”
Everyone in the room was silent.
“Take me to it,” Callie suddenly demanded. “We can do something with it, I’m sure.”
“What should we do about the band?” Hanna asked Callie, who looked to now be the one in charge.
“Take my phone and see if someone can hook it up to the sound system. There’s gotta be a wedding playlist streaming somewhere.”
Lexi sighed. If only Martin and Nancy would have let her hire the local DJ she wanted in the first place.…
As her sisters ran out of the room with Martin, Lexi put her head on her mom’s shoulders, wondering if she should laugh or cry.
“Well, look at the bright side,” her mom said gently. “It probably can’t get any worse than this.”
As if on cue, Nancy rushed into the room breathlessly. “Lexi! We have a problem with the flowers.”
“Oh god, what now?” she moaned.
“The florist dropped off all the flowers, but there are no corsages for me and your mom.” Nancy looked over at Lynn and frowned.
“That’s the emergency?” Lexi said in a sharp tone. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and she had no time or energy to placate anyone other than herself right now.
Nancy clearly detected the venom in her voice. “Well, it’s my day, too,” she said, holding her shoulders back and crossing her arms.
Lexi narrowed her eyes, seething at the fact that Nancy seemed to think this day even remotely revolved around her. Seth was right. She should have never let his mom get involved.
The two stared at each other in angry silence for a few seconds. Even though no words were spoken, they said everything they needed to say with their glares.
Finally, Hanna interrupted. “Ummm, guys…” Her sister stood by the window, her forehead creased with worry. “The tent is buckling.”
They ran over to the window just as a big gust of wind knocked over some of the decorations under the terrace. The monogrammed guest book flew out onto the yard, along with a bouquet of flowers and several empty chairs. With things strewn all over the wet grass, it was starting to look more like a frat party than a wedding. Lexi’s breathing felt shallow, and her head began to spin with dizziness. This was not how this was supposed to go.
Lexi yanked the curtain shut and let out a scream. When she opened her eyes, Nancy and her mom looked stunned. She remembered that afternoon in the salon parking lot when Nancy had caught her screaming. But right now, at this moment, she didn’t care who saw.
“I have to see Seth,” she said.
“You can’t see the groom before the wedding!” Nancy yelled out after her. “It’s bad luck!”
Lexi ignored Nancy’s comment, gathered her train in her hand, and walked briskly down the carpeted hallway to find Seth. She needed him to tell her everything was going to be okay.
She barged into the room where the guys were getting ready. “Seth!” she screamed as she scanned the dimly lit room quickly for her groom. All of the men, each wearing black tuxes, looked at her in shock that she was in there. Her eyes darted from the expensive lounge furniture to the pool table to the sleek black bar in the back. There he was, sitting on a stool, holding a longneck beer bottle. His tux fit his body perfectly, making him look taller and leaner than he normally was. His hair was freshly cut and slicked back in a side part, just the way she loved it. And his lips curved into a sweet smile as he saw her enter the room.
But his smile quickly froze as she made her way to him.
“What’s wrong, babe?” he asked, putting his hand on her cheek.
“What’s wrong?” she cried. “Have you seen the weather? Have you seen how our wedding is completely ruined? My guest book is drenched. My aunt’s high heel is stuck in the mud. The cake is disfigured. Your mom is mad about the flowers. I’ve got people texting me telling me they can’t make it because the roads are flooding, and the people who are here are about to witness the most disastrous event ever!” She slammed her hand on the bar. “This was supposed to be the best day of my life, and it’s turned into the worst!”
Seth’s eyes grew big. Lexi looked back at him and started to fall into his arms. The only thing that could make her feel better right now was a hug from him. But instead he backed away from her.
“Who are you right now?” he said angrily.
She looked up at him, confused.
His eyes narrowed with disgust. “You are not the girl I wanted to marry.”
“Seth…” she stammered. “What are you talking about?” Her legs felt weak, and it had nothing to do with the weight of her dress.
“I can’t do this,” he said quietly.
“No,” said Lexi. The breath felt knocked out of her. No.
“Maybe this storm is a sign.” His voice was shaky. “Maybe we shouldn’t get married.”
Lexi stiffened. “What?”
He clenched his jaw and then lowered his head. “I said, I don’t think we should get married.”
His words still didn’t feel real. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry.” He turned away from her and started to walk toward the door.
“Seth, wait.… You can’t leave.” She reached her hands out to him, but he didn’t turn back around. “Seth!” she shouted again, but he was already out the door. She wanted to chase after him, but at the same time, she felt frozen and immobile.