Beach Wedding (6 page)

“How are you holding up?” I ask sympathetically. “I’m
guessing you didn’t expect your wedding to turn into a
three-ring circus like this.”

“Oh, it’s OK. I’m getting used to it by now.”
She waves at Nick and Neil, who are skulking in the shadows with
their camera equipment, filming.

“That’s right,” I realize. “You must have
been living like this for a few years now. I bet you know those guys
pretty well.”

Pixie giggles. “I don’t even notice them most of the
time, is that weird? They just kind of blend into the background.
They’ve seen me naked, like, a million times. They even came
and shot an episode while I was at the gyno having my PAP smear.”

“Wow.” I nod slowly. Pixie’s boundaries are way
different to mine. “That’s… close all right. How
does Clyde feel about it all?”

“He’s super-great. He’s always had the paparazzi
following him, and he loves the attention. He’s like a big dog,
my Alsatian. Isn’t that right, Buster?” Pixie strokes her
bulldog and beams fondly as Clyde signs a couple of aging fans’
chests.

“Well, as long as you’re both on the same page…”
I guess they really are a match made in heaven. “But remember,
this is
your
wedding. I’m here to give you the day of
your dreams, so don’t worry about Marcie and the network
calling all the shots. I’ll make sure you get whatever you
want.”

“Oh, I’m sure Marcie knows what’s best,”
Pixie says brightly. “To tell the truth, I haven’t really
thought about it all that much.”

“Your wedding?” I’m surprised. Even the most
laid-back bride has given it half a thought. After all, there’s
a lot of room on the scale from ‘casual’ to ‘total
Bridezilla’. “You must have some ideas of things you’d
like. Music, maybe. Or colors and a theme.”

Pixie shrugs. “Not really. That’s what you’re here
for, right?”

“Right,” I echo, still kind of confused. “Well,
just let me know if you think of anything.”

“Thanks, Ginny.” Pixie suddenly hugs me. “I knew
you were the right pick. Buster had a good feeling about you, and
he’s never wrong. Are you, babes?” Buster barks, and
starts struggling in her arms. “You want to go walkies?”
Pixie asks, “Let’s do it!”

She takes off, heading for the water. She sets the dog down, and the
two of them frolic in the surf. Clyde heads on out to meet them, and
soon he’s spinning Pixie around while she shrieks with
laughter.

It’s sweet and innocent, and I can almost believe that this
wedding might turn out to be a good thing – until I see Nick
and Neil edging closer, rolling camera. Marcie loiters nearby,
instructing them on the best shot. I wonder if Pixie and Clyde knew
all along, and went out to give them good footage.

So much for the reality in reality TV.

By the time Pixie and Clyde wade out of the ocean, it’s getting
late.

“We’re going to head back now,” Marcie announces.
“The couple are filming in New York in the morning.”

“I think I’m going to stick around for a couple of
days,” I tell her. Running out on my aunts as soon as I arrive
would be plain rude, even if I’d love to just ride out of town
without laying eyes on Luke again. “I can start scouting for
vendors and wedding prep.”

“Good plan,” Marcie nods. “I have meetings with
the network in the morning. We’ll get a schedule and budget
together, but I’ll need you working this exclusively for the
next month at least. We’ll have a tight deadline to get this
wrapped.”

“I’ll do my best.”

I wave them all off, and stay outside to call Theo. “Tell me
you haven’t wrecked my business single-handedly?” I ask,
joking. I can hear music and voices in the background, like he’s
out partying.

“I tried to do it in a single day, but I must be sloppy. You
still have a few clients left standing.” His voice is teasing.

“Don’t joke! I feel like I’ve been gone years.”

“Relax, everything’s fine. The Bankhursts are off
touring lakefront gazebos tomorrow, and the DeShawns met with the
wedding cake people today. Everything’s on track.”

I let out a sigh of relief. At least my life back in NYC is still
running according to plan.

“So, how did the big meeting go?” Theo asks eagerly. “Are
we a go on the Dalton-Ross-Kincaid extravaganza of classy glitz?”

“They approved the filming,” I tell him, resigned. “Not
just for one episode, either. Marcie’s got her heart set on a
whole season of Pixie and Clyde in Pelican Key Cove.”

“That’s great! And it means you’ll be down there
for weeks, right?” His tone turns charming. “And in
desperate need of a reliable, extraordinarily handsome, and capable
assistant by your side to help things run smoothly.”

“You’re right,” I tease. “Do you have anyone
you know for the job?”

Theo sighs. “Do you want me to beg? Because I will. I have zero
pride, you know that.”

“Not something to boast about.” I’m enjoying this.

“You know you need me. Jody and the team here can take care of
the rest of business. Please?”

I laugh. “OK, OK, you can come. I’ll book you a
flight—no, wait,” I think of something. “You do
want to be useful, don’t you?”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this?”

“If we’re going to be down here a month, I’m going
to need a car. I don’t suppose you feel like driving mine down,
do you?”

“Since when do you have a car?”

“Since always. I keep it in storage. It’s not practical
for the city, but it would be great here.” I feel a little
guilty, but he did just beg to help me out.

“Sure. A road trip could be fun.” Theo doesn’t
sound that torn up. “I’ll do it. Just tell me it’s
not some beat-up old Honda. I have standards, you know.”

“Then you’ll love this,” I assure him. “It’s
a vintage old convertible.” I leave out the part where it’s
bright pink. “Anyway, I’ll be home in a couple of days,
we’ll figure the rest of the details then.”

“Cool-io. And Ginny?”

“Yup?”

“Congrats. I told you, this is going to be big!”

Theo hangs up, and I stay a moment, breathing in the salt sea air.
It’s cooler now, thank god, and the shadows of palm trees sway
softly in the breeze as the distant ocean crashes against the shore.

I can understand why Marcie wants to shoot here; it really is a slice
of paradise on earth. The only problem is, paradise comes with a
whole heap of baggage.

I head back inside to grab my purse, and see Wes over by the bar. I
raise my hand to wave ‘hi’, and then I see Luke standing
next to him.

Our eyes lock. For a moment, he almost smiles; it’s like the
past ten years haven’t happened, and he’s catching my eye
across the room, ready to send a private look just for me. My heart
beats faster gazing into those blue eyes, but then the past catches
up with him. His face tenses, the warmth replaced with a cool
distance. He looks away.

I want to flee as fast as my flip-flops will carry me, but I remind
myself that I’m an adult now. Running away from the problem
isn’t going to make this wedding project any easier. I need to
face this head on.

Bracing myself, I go over to join them. “Hey,” I say
brightly to Wes.

“There she is,” Wes grins. “Congrats on your pitch.
You had everyone eating out of your hand.”

“Almost everyone.” I shoot a glance at Luke.

“I’m going to get another round in,” Wes says.
“Ginny?”

“Not for me, I’m just heading out.”

“Aw, come on!” Wes urges, “You can’t just
bail so soon. C’mon, one more drink.” He turns to flag
down the bartender before I can object, leaving the two of us alone.

“Hi,” I say quietly to Luke, trying to ignore the sound
of my hear thundering in my chest. “It’s good to see
you.”

Luke takes a slow swallow of his beer, and nods. His eyes drift
over me. “I heard you were back in town.”

“It was a last-minute thing,” I say, anxious. “These
clients had their heart set on a small-town wedding, and, well, here
we are! I wasn’t planning on coming back, believe me.” I
give a nervous laugh, but Luke doesn’t crack a smile. Oh boy.
“Are you good?” I ask, wishing I didn’t care about
the answer as much as I do.

He gives a lazy shrug. “Can’t complain.”

“Good.” I say, awkward. “That’s really good.”

There’s silence.

I hate this, it feels so wrong to have this distance between us.
There was a time when Luke was the person I felt closest to in all
the world. We could spend hours together, talking and laughing, or
just sitting out in comfortable silence by the beach. But there’s
nothing comfortable about the space between us now, and what hurts
most of all is the knowledge that I did this. I broke us apart, and
there’ll be no fixing that.

Wes barges back with a pitcher and some glasses. “Hey, you know
what I remember?” he says enthusiastically. “You owe me a
game!”

“What?” I turn back, still reeling from Luke’s
silent treatment.

“A game of pool. I was on a winning streak, if I remember
right. C’mon, what do you guys say?”

Luke finally cracks a smile. “Your memory’s getting
rusted if you think you ever had a winning streak.”

“Them be fighting words.” Wes grins,

“Just try me, old man.”

It’s clear from their easy banter that Luke and Wes are still
good friends. I’m glad, but it’s also a reminder of what
I missed, skipping town like that and leaving my life here behind.

They start to head over to the pool table. I linger back, unsure,
until Wes beckons me. “C’mon, Ginny. I’m going to
whip your ass too.”

“Sure,” I laugh, joining them. “You might actually
stand a chance. I’m pretty out of practice these days.”

“No pool hustling up in the big city?” he teases.

“Not so much.” I take a glass of beer and swallow half of
it in one go. I’m definitely going to need some liquid courage
to make it through tonight, especially with Luke watching me with
those blue eyes of his from across the table.

“The gang’s all here,” Wes says happily. “Except
Jules. You stay in touch with her?”

I shake my head, and feel another pang of regret. “No, we
drifted apart. You know what happened to her?”

“I see her around sometimes, back for the holidays, that kind
of thing.” Wes racks the balls. “We’re going to
need a fourth.”

Luke snorts. “You mean you can’t beat the two of us
single-handedly?”

“Hey, I’m trying to make it a fair fight.” Wes
scans the room and sees someone. “Man, I was meaning to talk to
Kenton about the Rostra next week. Why don’t you guys take the
first match?” Before we can reply, he hands off his cue to me
and leaves us to it.

I silently curse Wes for landing me in a dark corner with Luke. If it
was anyone else I’d suspect a set-up, but Wes is way too
oblivious to have noticed the tension between us. As far as he’s
concerned, everybody’s still the best of friends.

I look over to Luke. “Do you want to break?”

He shrugs. “Be my guest.”

OK then.

I line up my shot, and break – badly. Luke smirks, and promptly
pockets a ball. He runs the table for three shots, then bounces a
ball out of the pocket with too much force. “Your turn.”

I search for something to say, but I come up empty. Why is this so
hard?

Because you need to tell him sorry, but you don’t know where
to start.

I focus on my game instead. And the beer. To my surprise, I’m
not so rusty. All those years hustling with Jules must have imprinted
somewhere on my muscle memory, because by the time Wes ambles back
over, I’ve got just a couple of balls left to sink.

Wes whistles. “She’s handing you your ass on a platter,
Luke. You just going to stand around and take it?”

“No, I figured I’d drink some, too,” he says,
easy-going.

“No early morning at the site?” Wes asks.

I pause, surprised. “You’re still working construction
with your dad?”

There’s a beat. “Pops passed six years ago,” Luke
answers easily.

My stomach crashes to the floor. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I
had no idea.”

Luke meets my eyes, but this time he nods sadly. “Thanks.”

My mind races. I don’t know why my aunts didn’t tell me.
Maybe they thought I wouldn’t care.

Maybe Luke thought so, too.

“I didn’t know,” I say again. “I’m
sorry. He was a great guy.”

“Yeah, he was.”

I miss my next shot, and Luke steps up to the table. “So, are
you carrying on the company?” I ask, covering my embarrassment
with another swallow of beer.

Wes laughs. “You haven’t heard? Our boy Luke’s gone
big-time—oww!” Luke turns, whacking Wes in the gut with
his pool cue.

“Hey, sorry, man. Didn’t see you.” Luke looks back
at me. “I’m still working. It’s like you always
said, I’d wind up fixing roofs and spending my life with my
feet up in front of the TV.”

I flinch. I remember that fight; we had it way too many times in the
end. I was so restless to get out of town, but Luke couldn’t
care less. He had everything he needed right here—why would we
ever leave? He couldn’t understand my desire to travel and make
a life outside of Pelican Key Cove, and I couldn’t understand
his complacency.

Now, Luke makes another easy shot. “So, planning weddings,”
he says, changing the subject. “That’s what passes as a
job these days?”

“It is a real job!” I protest. “There’s a ton
of work involved: finding venues, sourcing flowers and wedding cakes,
choreographing the whole ceremony.”

“Hey, you don’t need convincing me,” Wes speaks up.
“My sister’s getting hitched next year, and I never hear
the end of it. Pink or blue, silk or satin. Good for you if you can
keep that rabble in check.”

“I like it,” I shrug, still on edge. “When it goes
right, it’s the best day of someone’s life. The walk, the
vows, the—”

“Kiss.” Luke finishes for me. His voice sounds deeper,
and I see the memory in his face as our eyes meet again. “You
always loved the kiss best of all.”