“What?” I blurt, thinking that there has to be more people sober for this.
“They have the men who are going to be putting the finishing touches on the ceremony space,”
Clarabella informs me. “All we have to do is make sure no one’s boobs are falling out and all private areas aren’t showing.”
“Can we pick a dress?” Zara says, sticking her head out of the office.
I follow Sofia into the room and see that all my hard work from before has paid off. What was once an office is now filled with twenty mirrors all around the four walls, with tables of makeup in front of them and antique chairs. In the middle of the room are small round tables with benches so people can sit. “This is…” She looks up at the elegant chandelier hanging there.
“This is nothing,” I state, pointing at the door that leads to the reception space. “You should see in there.” I glance at Clarabella. “Now, if you don’t need me, I have to make sure everything is in place for the ceremony and the reception.” I look at Sofia. “You are my first client.”
“Well then, I guess I’m in the best hands,” Sofia replies, smiling at me. We have gotten very close in the past nine months, and I consider her my best friend. She has even helped me out babysitting Avery when I was stuck.
“I’ll see you soon,” I tell her as I turn and walk away from her and straight into the barn.
I barely make it out of the door when I hear shouting on the side. I walk over and see Casey and Matthew looking down at the shotgun in Casey’s hand. “I think as soon as they say I do, we do the gun salute.”
“What the hell are you two doing?” I storm up to them.
“We are going to shoot off the guns at the end,” Casey informs me. “We have enough guys.” I hold up my hand while he talks.
“Immediately no! There is no way you are doing that. I am drawing the line.” I look at Casey.
“And you don’t even know how to hold a gun,” I hiss at Matthew, who just rolls his eyes.
“Yes, I do. Look,” he says, running over to the far end of the field.
“Oh my God, is he actually going to shoot a gun?” I ask Casey, looking around to see if there is anyone I can reason with.
“Don’t worry, I gave him a gun that fires blanks,” Casey reassures me, laughing, but all the laughing stops when we hear the shot being fired. “Dumbass,” Casey says, shaking his head.
Matthew runs back to us. “You see, it’s fine.”
“I see nothing of the sort!” I shout at him. “You.” I point at Casey. “No guns. You.” I point at Matthew. “No nothing. I want you to go help set up the ceremony space.” I point to the side where the rest of the guys are working. “If I even see a gun, I’m telling Billy and Cooper.” I mention their dads to them.
“Buzzkill,” Matthew grumbles, handing the gun back to Casey as he storms away, with Casey following him.
I close my eyes and look up at the sky. “This better be perfect.”
stefano
. . .
“Y ou have reached your destination.” The woman’s voice fills the car. “Your destination is on the right.” I look out of the window at the huge house on the side. Cars line the whole street in both directions. People look like they are running around in a panic. I spot my cousins and I can’t help the smile that fills my face. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen them last.
“Finally,” Jenna huffs from beside me, “I feel like we’ve been in this car for five days.”
I look over at her. “It’s been two hours.” I shake my head.
“Two hours since we got into this car, you are forgetting driving nine hours before this.” She opens the car door and steps out, stretching as she looks around.
“I wasn’t going to miss this wedding.” I open my own car door and step out, the humidity hitting me right away. “They grounded all planes in San Francisco because of the fog, what did you think was going to happen?”
“I didn’t expect you to say, let’s drive to Vegas and take a plane from there,” she huffs again, and I close my eyes, wondering if bringing her was a mistake. We’ve only been dating for over a month.
“You could have stayed back.” I open the trunk, grabbing my luggage. “I told you I was only going to be here for three days.”
“How would that look to your family if your girlfriend decided to skip the wedding?” She pushes her blond hair behind her ear before folding her arms over her chest. “It would look like I don’t want to see them.”