“WHERE ARE YOU taking me?” Gabby asked Tony as they turned down a gravel road in the small town of Vacherie. When she’d met him at his apartment earlier that day, he said he had a surprise for her, but they’d been driving for more than an hour and—while she relished getting to spend extra alone time with Tony—Gabby was starting to get antsy.
“Okay, I guess we’re close enough,” Tony said, keeping his eyes on the road. “Remember at Thanksgiving when you described your dream wedding? The antebellum mansion and old oak trees?”
In the two and a half months since Thanksgiving, she had let herself relax into her role as a bride. Her new method of handling her situation was willful denial—it was all tomorrow’s problem. Willow had helped her set up her Pinterest board, which was now covered in floral arrangements and pictures of peach-colored bridesmaid dresses. Gabby had even gone old school and bought up all the bridal magazines Walmart had to offer. There was still a little voice inside her head screaming that she was a fraud, but it grew quieter with each day that passed without anyone finding out her secret.
“Yeah.” She looked out the window as the car turned onto a narrow oak-tree-lined street.
“Well, I found it!” A large white house appeared in the distance. He glanced up at her and smiled, his dark eyes crinkling around the edges. “I thought we could check it out and see what you think.”
Gabby gasped as they made their way closer. A path lined with towering, ancient live oak trees led to a large, majestic antebellum home straight out of Gone With the Wind. Imposing two-story Greek revival columns framed the mansion’s wraparound porch and balcony. Moss grew on the oaks, the lawns were perfectly manicured, and green shutters bordered each window. She looked back at Tony, speechless.
“What do you think?” he asked, pulling into the small parking lot on the side.
“It’s straight out of my dreams,” Gabby replied. In fact, she had a photo of a home just like this in her wedding book. But that—along with everything in the wedding book—had always seemed like a far-off fantasy, a wedding for a different, luckier girl. Her heart swelled.
Tony grinned. “Good.”
As they got out of the car, a petite young woman in a beige tunic dress and cowboy boots came briskly down the path, carrying a clipboard and iPad. “Tony and Gabrielle?”
“That’s us,” Tony said, shaking her hand.
“I’m Missy, the event coordinator. It’s nice to meet y’all.” She ushered them toward the mansion, sliding a headset over her sleek black bob as she walked. “We have a wedding tonight and the bridal party will be here in twenty minutes, but that should be enough time for you to get a feel of the place.”
They followed her up onto the porch, and with a grin, Missy instructed them to turn around and look out onto the front yard. Gabby’s jaw dropped. The view was even more beautiful from here. The lawn seemed endless, rolling across the horizon, and directly in the center of her view were the incredible, enormous oak trees. They bowed together as if kissing, forming a moss-laden path.
“So, this is where most of our wedding ceremonies occur,” Missy said, gesturing to the porch and yard. “Gabby, you would walk down the oak alley from the back.” Gabby could picture it already: she would be in an elegant, flowing gown, walking slowly down the aisle. Maybe Tony’s father would agree to escort her and give her away. Tony would be waiting for her at the altar, flanked by his brother and all her best friends. “And then all of the guest chairs would be in the yard facing this porch.” Missy put her hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Tony would be waiting for you right here.”
“Oh my god, it’s perfect,” Gabby said as she surveyed the setting. It was a dream she didn’t want to wake up from.
Missy opened the large front door and they passed through the hall into an intimate seating area adorned with gold and silver antiques and a large chandelier. “This is where the groom’s party would get ready and hang out before the ceremony.” She nudged Tony’s arm. “And indulge in some prewedding mint juleps if they’d like.”
Across the hall was an even bigger room with a cozy fireplace. The chairs and sofa were covered in blue velvet, and the small round coffee table was set with floral teacups. “And this is the bridal party area.” Gabby could see Claire, Laura, and Madison in there, helping her into her gown and toasting her with a glass of prewedding champagne. Willow would be a bridesmaid, too, and she’d fit right in with Gabby’s friends. Maybe Tony’s mom even would lend her a family heirloom as her “something old.”
They followed Missy to a reception room in the back of the mansion, which must have once been a formal ballroom. It was decorated for the upcoming wedding, each table covered in white linens, gold dishes, and cutlery. The centerpieces were overflowing with lilies, and the dance floor glowed under soft lighting. Gabby put her hand on her chest. It was stunning.
“How many people does it hold?” Tony asked.
“You can comfortably fit two hundred people in the reception hall for a sit-down dinner,” Missy said. “But if you decide to have the reception outside, we can set up a tent and easily triple that number.” She turned her gaze directly at Tony, assessing him shrewdly. “I’m sure your family has a large invite list.”
He nodded then turned to Gabby. “What do you think, babe?”
She looked around. This was exactly what she’d always pictured for a wedding and now she could reach out and touch it. “I love it.”
“Great!” Missy started tapping on her iPad. “Well, I do want to let you know I’m pretty much booked solid for the next two years,” she said. “But I do happen to have one spot available for April fifteenth of this year.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Big cancellation. It was supposed to be a five-hundred-person wedding, but the bride’s mother was so controlling that the groom called it off, and the couple eloped to Vegas.” She shuddered. “I know the date is only a little over a month away, but since it happened so recently, I would imagine that all their vendors are still available.”
Tony’s smile widened as he put his arm around Gabby’s waist. “What do you think? Should we reserve it now?”
She looked around the room one more time. “It’s so . . . perfect,” she breathed.
Tony squeezed her gently. “Then it’s done. We’ll book it,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“Okay, great!” Missy said, tapping her iPad with a stylus. “We’ve got a lot of things to discuss, but unfortunately I’ve got a bridal party coming in five minutes, so we’ll have to schedule another meeting to finalize all the details.” She handed Gabby her business card. “I have the date saved—you just have to put down a nonrefundable five-thousand-dollar deposit by Monday for me to keep it for you guys. Sound good?”
Gabby nodded her head slowly, the word nonrefundable echoing in her mind. A deposit made the wedding feel real, and while this was what she wanted, the guilt she’d worked so hard to keep at bay since Thanksgiving came rushing back. What if something happened—what if Tony found out about everything—and they had to cancel it? A pit grew in her stomach.
“No problem,” Tony chimed in. “We’ll have it to you first thing Monday.”
“Perfect!” Missy hugged them both. “We’re gonna make sure this wedding is so magical, you’re going to feel like you’re living in a dream.”
Gabby flashed a nervous smile. It wasn’t the dream she was worried about. It’s what would happen when reality set in.