The Trouble with Marrying a Movie Star (26 page)

By the time Andrew received the news, Erin had received a call from Miles mother asking why there were news vans across the street from her home. Needless to say, our presence could have caused a nightmare for Erin. It's nerve-racking enough, getting married, but to have added stresses….

At least this happened to Erin, who could handle anything, but I felt horrible. Our family and friend's lives were always inconvenienced by us somehow, and I knew that it wasn't fair to them. This was a career for Andrew, but with it came all of the added unwanted extras. I had said that I would take all of him, including the fame, but our family and friends didn't sign up for that.

Good thing we had an incredible support system behind us.

Andrew immediately made arrangements for extra security during the time that we were here, and had even called Wade for some assistance. He was still on leave, but he insisted on coming down for the weekend—I think it was more Taylor who had insisted. She adored Erin and wouldn’t want anything to mess up her day. She was upset that she couldn't attend the wedding, but we said that we would send a live video feed of everything from our phones.

So, a simple last-minute search for some nail polish had evolved into a group trip with two bodyguards. We each had our own. Connor had brought his team over to handle security. He was doing preparations of some sort, and sent us out with the new guys.

We eventually found the store and bought the perfect shade of pink. Then, Erin headed back to Miles's parent's house to get ready for the rehearsal dinner while I went to meet Andrew at the hotel.

Erin had picked out the most beautiful accommodations for everyone and had reserved the entire fifty-two-room hotel. It oozed old world southern charm with some new world flair. Vines grew along the entire outside of the hotel, and soft jazz filled the courtyard, reminding you of the city's romantic allure. The hotel was located several blocks away from the busy and notorious Bourbon Street; in a quiet neighborhood, in an antique district. Even with the occasional paparazzi lurking about, the hotel offered a quiet sanctuary.

I heard lazy notes chiming from the piano keys when I walked into the small parlor. The memories of the night that Andrew had proposed to me flooded my mind. I leaned against the doorway, watching him as he slouched over the keys, pecking haphazardly at them with his fingers. I scanned his entire body, stopping at his beautiful face. He hadn't shaved for a while, and his five o'clock shadow only added to the total package being presented in front of me.

He took my breath away.

He would always take my breath away.

Andrew played a few more notes and then suddenly looked over in my direction. The biggest smile graced his face—I loved that I could still make him smile like that—and I walked over to him.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you," I said leaning against the old piano.

"I'll always take any interruption you can give me."

"Was that an Andrew original?" I asked with a drawn out southern accent.

"Well, yes it was Ms. Moore." He added his own southern take. "Care to sit down?"

I sat next to him and started to play over the keys in front of me. Andrew showed me a few chords, and we played a little tune. It was nice to laugh together again, and enjoy each other's company. It seemed that we had been missing that in our relationship for a while.

We both looked towards the doorway, hearing the heavy footprints of the security guard pacing in the hallway. "I'm afraid to ask how much all this security  coss—although price is no object for Erin's happiness," I emphasized nudging his arm.

He smiled. "You don't want to know."

"Well, the fact that you took care of all of this so that my best friend could have her perfect day…that means a whole lot to me."

We stared at each other for a moment—I could swim in his eyes—but then; I remembered why I was there. "I'm going to need that ring back."

Andrew smiled bigger making my heart swell even larger than it already was.

What I didn't think through, was the fact that our entire family would be in one place, and my ring finger was bare. They threw questions at me. I tried to explain that we were engaged, but neither parents understood why I wasn't wearing my engagement ring. Which only caused more questions, and all this happened at Erin's wedding mixer. I finally said that I had left the ring with Andrew to be resized. They all looked at me like I was crazy, and asked why I didn't say that in the first place. But, Rebeca gave me a knowing look.

I knew Andrew hadn't mentioned why we had fought, just that we were trying to work the kinks out. But, Rebeca had suggested that we go to pre-marital counseling, which I was all in favor of. Andrew, on the other hand, wondered why we couldn't fix things ourselves. I asked him to think about it, which he agreed to. I stated that many engaged couples goes through it, so why not us? And just because we are a "celebrity" couple, doesn't mean we don't go through the same crap as everyone else and more.

He understood.

It was the big day, and what a beautiful day it was. Erin and I had gone to the spa that morning with her mom. We had a light lunch at a little café. Well, she had a light lunch. I had a shrimp po-boy, and I tore through that bad boy. I loved the food in New Orleans and had eaten like a pig since I had arrived.

Miles's family dished out the southern hospitality. I should say the ones that approved of this marriage. I won't speak of the little altercation at Miles's parent’s home with his racist cousins. The extra security served their purpose that day. But the rest of the family had made sure that we, “Yankees," had experienced everything the south had to offer which was a hell of a lot.

Erin even combined some of Miles's southern traditions into the wedding. They will be walking down the street with a Dixie land band escorting their guests to the reception. The reception will be grand, and Erin was serving southern fare mixed in with her favorites. Sadly, I was more excited about trying the food than the ceremony itself.

The moment Erin's veil was placed over her face; we both looked at each other and cried. We were good until it got closer to the time for the ceremony to begin. When Erin put on her dress, the first tears fell. She had dreamed about this moment all of her life and had planned it for just as long. Erin was radiant, and in spite of the fact that her mom was already tipsy, and her dad was griping about the bill, it was a perfect day, and she deserved every bit of it.

We positioned ourselves at the door, waiting as the procession started down the aisle. When it was my turn, I was amazed by the amount of people in attendance. The guests had to go through a bit more security than a normal wedding in order to enter the venue. To be honest, they had to go through
a lot
more.

Security was positioned along the road and on site. Media vans and paparazzi lurked around, trying to get shots while harassing guests with questions as they arrived.

If that wasn't bad enough, each guest had to show ID. If their name wasn't on the list, they did not gain entry. I won't discuss the little misunderstanding with Miles's Grammy. All in all, it went smoother than anyone had anticipated.

As I continued to walk down the long aisle, I couldn't help thinking about my upcoming wedding. The last week had opened my eyes to everything involved in the large production of a wedding, and the more I saw, the more I wanted something small. This type of wedding was Erin. Everything about this wedding
screamed
out Erin, and it was perfect for her. For me...if it were only Andrew, me, and the justice of the peace, I would be fine with that.

As I approached Andrew's row, our eyes locked. I smiled at him, and he winked. He looked sexy as hell in his light gray suit, and I felt a little light-headed for a second. Our eyes stayed locked until I walked past him.

The ceremony was beautiful, and many happy tears were shed. Andrew and I had snuck glances at each other throughout the entire service. There were times that I wanted to know what he was thinking. He would have these moments when I
really
wanted to know what was in his head.

After the ceremony, we danced out of the venue, and into the air-conditioned tented reception hall. The dinner would be outside while dancing was inside. When Erin had first told me about this arrangement, I reminded her it was going to be hot. She scoffed at me and said the tent was attached to the building. I didn't care what it was attached to, as long as there was air-conditioning.