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Alex was impressed with how Mona had gotten into wedding planner mode in just twenty-four hours. She came armed not only with the stack of bridal magazines but lists of caterers and florists, as well. Alex skimmed the stack Mona set in front of her with the promise to focus on them momentarily. Right now she was more interested in their honeymoon destination.
“We’re really staying in one of these huts on the water?” Alex asked as she flipped through the Moorea brochure Slater showed her.
“They’re bungalows,” Slater informed her. He pointed at the layout of the resort. “Mona and Chris are staying here.” He showed her the placement of their accommodations. “And over here, all the way at the end of this walkway over the water, this one is the most private. That one is ours.”
Alex sat close to Slater, the two of them were joined poolside by Mona and Chris for brunch. She sipped her mimosa and shared a smile with him. “It looks absolutely beautiful, I can’t wait. How did you hear about this?”
“Kathleen told me about it.”
Kathleen walked out at that moment with a platter of French toast. She beamed at Alex as she placed the food on the table. “Can I see the ring again?” Alex happily lifted her hand for inspection and grinned from ear-to-ear as Kathleen oohed over her ring.
“Have you been to Moorea, Kathleen?” Alex asked.
“Oh, no,” she answered. “My daughter went there on her honeymoon and had the best time. That was five years ago, and she’s still talking about it. Slater asked if I had any thoughts or ideas for your trip and I suggested this.”
“You knew about the engagement?” Alex asked with wide eyes.
“Mm-hmm.” Kathleen nodded with a smile. “Any time you walked into the room, I would peek at your left hand. I was beginning to think he was never going to ask.”
“You and me both,” Mona muttered.
Alex directed her attention to the brochure and pointed to the line of bungalows. “If Mona and Chris are staying there, and we’re staying all the way over here, who’s staying in all of these bungalows between us? Paparazzi?”
Slater shook his head. “Nobody,” he replied. “If I can reserve all of them, they’ll be empty.”
“Really?” Alex asked in shock.
“Yeah.” He nodded and spoke quickly before she could. “We’re not inviting a bunch of people to come with us.”
“But it seems like such a waste!”
“It’s not a waste, Alex,” Chris chimed in with his two cents. “It’s about privacy. Word gets out you two are there, you won’t have much of a honeymoon. You make Slater fill those bungalows with people we know, it’ll turn into business whether you like it or not.” He shrugged his shoulders slightly as she continued to stare at him. “It was my idea.”
“And a good one,” Slater stressed, as he agreed with Chris.
“Just go with it, Alex,” Mona advised. “You don’t use your celebrity status enough. This definitely calls for it.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Alex agreed, then turned when she heard her name called loudly behind her.
“Alexandra!” Annette cried as she arrived with Ben. She rushed to the table and embraced her. “Oh, honey! Congratulations!” Annette smiled at Alex. “Let’s see it. Oh!” Annette gasped when Alex showed her the ring and took her time to admire the sparkle. She turned to Slater for a hug. “Good job, and congratulations. I’m very happy for both of you.”
“It’s about time you two,” Ben said as he hugged Alex and shook Slater’s hand. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Alex gestured toward the table. “Sit down. Are you hungry, do you want a mimosa or coffee?”
“All of the above sounds fantastic to me,” Ben replied. He thanked Kathleen as she set place settings in front of him and Annette.
Mona reached into her bag and presented Alex with a notepad. “I asked Annette and Ben to start on the guest list. Take a look at it, Alex.”
Alex’s eye skimmed the sheets of paper in front of her. “How many people are on here?”
“One hundred so far.”
Alex glanced at Slater with a grin. “Told ya. At least a hundred.”
“So much for small,” Slater replied.
“That is small,” Mona said around a mouthful of French toast. She took a sip of her mimosa. “You know how it is, Alex. You can’t invite this person without inviting that person, and so on. People get their feelings hurt very easily over this stuff.”
“There won’t be time to send invitations, how are we going to get everyone here?” Alex wondered.
As Mona thought of another person to invite, she took the list from Alex and jotted the name down. “I was hoping that our managers could work on that tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Slater asked.
“Tomorrow I have wardrobe arriving with wedding dress options, and honeymoon apparel-”
“How the hell did you arrange for that tomorrow?” Alex shook her head in awe as Mona gave her a confident smile.
“I used my celebrity status,” she replied. “While you’re selecting your dress, I was hoping Ben and Annette would start making calls and inviting the guests.”
“Do you think people will keep a secret that long?” Alex worried.
“I think so,” Ben stated. “Those on the list know this is exclusive, so they’re not going to do anything to jeopardize the relationship they have with you. I’m not worried about that. It’s after the wedding we’ll have to worry about.”
“Which brings me to the biggest thing on my mind.” Annette took the moment to interrupt. “Alex, you know I’m all about a statement. This isn’t going to be kept private once it’s done.”
“I know,” Alex said with understanding, all eyes turned to Slater as she asked him, “What do you want to do about that? You want to let the word get out or make an official announcement?”
Slater shocked the group, and himself a little, with his response. “I want an official announcement.”
“You do?” Alex asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded his head, then repeated himself. “Yeah, I do. Ben, as soon as we get on the plane for Moorea, I want you to release the information. Choose a few pictures from the wedding, I trust you on which ones, and let the media enjoy the news.” He put his arm around Alex and pulled her close. “This is information I don’t mind everyone knowing, Allie.” He looked at Ben. “Just don’t let anyone know where we are for our honeymoon. We’ll deal with that when we get home.”
“I can only imagine how many interview requests this is going to create,” Annette thought out loud as she made notes in her planner.
“Oh!” Alex snapped her fingers as a thought came to her. “I want Ronnie to do my makeup.”
“Done,” Mona stated. “Along with wardrobe coming tomorrow, I have Ronnie coming, too. I figured you’d choose her. She said to tell you, ‘Oh my God, congratulations!’” Mona mimicked Ronnie, while Alex giggled at the impression. “She’s coming to discuss bridal looks and to bring you some cosmetics you’ll probably want but don’t need. Wardrobe people are bringing everything from resort wear to swimsuits, to shoes and jewelry and of course, dresses.”
“See if Ronnie can arrange for a hairstylist to be here the morning of the wedding.”
“Of course,” Mona agreed as she jotted the note down. “I’ll have her bring an esthetician, as well.”
Alex and Mona began to chatter away about details. Alex glanced around the pool and the space with the lounges. “After we finish breakfast, let’s walk around out here and get a feel for the setup,” she suggested.
“Sounds great. This is going to be fun spending Slater’s money,” Mona declared.
“Go ahead and max out my credit card, it’ll be worth it.” Slater winked at Mona and snagged a piece of bacon out of Alex’s hand as she had it halfway to her mouth. “I don’t know why you’re going to look at honeymoon clothes, Allie. I’m planning on keeping you naked the whole time.”
Alex playfully swatted at him and turned to Mona. “Speaking of spending money. Can we get Mr. Cartier here soon? I need to buy Slater a wedding ring.”
Mona reached into her purse for her cell phone and pulled up her contacts. “I’ll see if he can come tomorrow after wardrobe. Might as well make a day of it.”
Chris looked at Mona in shock as she held the phone to her ear. “You have the guy programmed into your phone?”
“Priorities, my dear,” Mona said as she gave his cheek a gentle pat. “Well, hello, Mr. Crawford,” she purred into the phone. She paused while Peter’s enthusiasm to hear from her was audible over the phone. “Yes, the engagement finally happened. Now we need the groom’s ring.” Mona made the arrangements with Peter and hung up the phone with a grin. “This is fun!” She finished her mimosa and passed her glass to Chris for a refill as she perused the guest list. Her voice was serious but sincere as she addressed Alex. “There’s one thing I’m not sure of, that you’ll need to decide.”
“What’s that?” Alex asked as she accepted a mimosa refill from Chris.
“Well, we have the wedding party. Chris is going to be the best man.”
“Aw.” Alex smiled at Slater then pointed at Chris with a stern warning. “No bachelor party.”
“There’s no time for one, but if I did throw him one, it would be purely chaste,” he said innocently.
“Yeah right,” Alex muttered, then nudged Slater with her elbow when he laughed with Chris.
“Don’t you still owe him a lap dance?” Chris wondered.
“Yeah,” Slater agreed with him. “I never did get that sexy striptease.”
“Gentlemen...” Mona held up a hand to stop their juvenile chatter. “Time is of the essence, I need focus.” She looked at Alex once more. “I’m going to be your maid of honor.”
“Of course you are,” Alex said with a soft smile.
“Who’s going to walk you down the aisle? I mean, I don’t know how to say this without sounding insensitive, but you don’t have any family. I have your family lawyer John Murphy on the guest list, I know you always say he was like family growing up. Minus handling the divorce for you, you haven’t really been in touch. Do you want John to give you away?”
Alex shook her head. “First, you’re wrong in saying I have no family.” She looked around the table, and her eyes misted over. “All of you are my family. Second, I already know who I want to give me away.”
“You do?” Slater rubbed her shoulder as she nodded and blinked tears out of her eyes. “Who?”
“It’s something I’ve thought of many times over the years. I always told myself that if I was lucky enough to finally marry you, there was only one person, in my eyes, worthy of the honor.” She reached around Slater and put her hand on the arm of the person in mind. “Ben, would you walk me down the aisle?”
Ben jolted and swallowed his coffee quickly. The hot liquid scorched his throat. “Wait, what?” he sputtered, then reached for his mimosa to cool the burn. “Seriously, Alex?”
“Yes.” Alex reached for his hand and squeezed with reassurance. “You were the line of communication between us for so many years. You deserve a lot of credit, Ben. Who knows where we would be if you hadn’t kept us in touch the way you did? I would love it if you would walk me down the aisle.”
Mona finished her mimosa and smiled with Chris. “I think that’s perfect.” Her pen hovered over the page as she waited for Ben’s response.
“Um...” Ben cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry.” He blinked quickly to ward off the emotion that suddenly filled his throat. “Um,” he said again, as he coughed softly and wiped at his eyes. “My allergies seem to be acting up,” he stated and brushed a tear away that had escaped then looked between Alex and Slater. “I would be honored, thank you.”
“Awesome,” Mona praised and made the note on the list.
Emotion was heavy at the table at Alex’s request. As they all composed themselves, Alex turned to Slater. “What kind of wedding ring do you want?”
“I saw a few and pointed them out to Peter, I’m sure he’ll show you. Surprise me.”
“Ok,” Alex chuckled. “What about your wedding wardrobe?”
“Eh.” He shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.” He laughed with Chris when Alex rolled her eyes and groaned. “Just tell me when to be there, baby, that’s all I need.”
Alex began to look through a floral section of a bridal magazine. “I want lilies and roses.”
“What kind and what color?” Mona asked as she efficiently jotted the request down.
“Stargazer lilies and white roses,” Alex replied. She turned the page to see a picturesque setup and tapped the magazine with her finger. “I want these white chairs; they’ll look good here. Any chair that’s on an aisle, I want a small flower arrangement on it with the lilies and roses.” She stood up suddenly and walked to a spacious area at the end of the patio. “I want an ice sculpture.”
“A what?” Mona asked, shocked.
“An ice sculpture. Right here.” She put her hands on her hips decisively. “On the champagne table.”
“What kind of ice sculpture?”
“A big one. I want it in the shape of the Heart & Soul logo,” Alex decided.
“Holy shit,” Mona breathed. “We’ve awakened Bridezilla.”
“And I want large holes drilled into the back of the sculpture that will keep the champagne cold. Do you think we can get that in two weeks?”
“I think this is our cue to leave,” Slater said to Chris and stood up from the table. He walked to Alex and slid his arm around her shoulders. “Whatever you want, baby. Mark and Drummer are meeting us at Chris’s to get some final touches done, and this time, that’s what’s really happening. We’ll be back in a few hours.” He pulled her close for a kiss, the two of them sighed together as Alex held on tightly.
“You two are disgusting,” Chris teased and winked at Mona.
“Fuck you,” Slater said good-naturedly and flipped him off. He kissed Alex again before he turned to Ben. “Sorry to leave you with the women.”
Ben glanced at Mona. “How did I get roped into this again?”
“You’re a good guy,” Mona informed him as she said goodbye to Chris. “Plus, you and Annette have all the contact information. Let’s get the guest list finalized and then tomorrow you and Annette can make the calls.”
“You’re really going to make me come tomorrow?” Ben groaned.
“Please, Ben?” Alex rushed to his side and batted her lashes playfully. “There’s so much to do and you and Annette are so efficient and so smart and-”
“Ok!” Ben held up a hand to stop her chatter. “Of course, I’ll be here.” How could he say no to Alexandra Lorraine?
––––––––
The next day while Ben and Annette sat at the kitchen table working in tandem with their phone invitations, Alex and Mona descended on the rolling racks set up in the formal living room like seasoned shoppers. They fell into the secret language of women.
“What do you think about this for the flight?” Alex asked as she held up a casual sundress.
“That’s good. It’s comfortable and pretty. Oh! I love this, what do you think about this bikini?” Mona held up a bright blue two-piece swimsuit.
“I think it’s perfect.” Alex snagged the hanger out of Mona’s hand. “For me.”
“Oh!” Mona snickered. “You little bitch, I wanted that.”
“Too bad,” Alex said playfully. “I’m the bride, I’ll decide.”
Mona selected another suit. “What about this, will you let me have this?”
“Yes,” Alex decided while she eyed a lacy nightgown. “What do you think of this?”
“That’ll look perfect.” Mona admired the pink lace nightie Alex held up. “On the floor, because you know that’s where Slater’s going to throw it when he rips it off of you.”
“Oh, this would be perfect for a dinner out.” Alex admired a flowy dress as she held it up to her body.
The stylists thought of every detail. Empty rolling racks were personalized for both Alex and Mona. There was a mirror in the corner. A circular pedestal was placed in front of it for Alex to step on when it came time to try on dresses and see how the garments would fit. They took their time on the honeymoon attire. The two of them were happy with the clothing, shoes, and accessories they had on their individual racks. Halfway through the selections, Ronnie showed up. She sat with Alex and discussed her look for the big day and surprised her with new colors and products to take along with her.
Mona looked at the caller ID when her cell phone rang. “I have to get this,” she stated as she slipped on her newly purchased headset and clicked on the phone. “You better be calling me with the news I want to hear,” she threatened the caller in her greeting. “What do you mean you can’t do it by next Saturday? That’s what we agreed upon. Look...” She held up a hand as she interrupted the caller. “I expect a call back within the hour. If you can’t have an ice sculpture in the shape of Heart & Soul’s logo by ten a.m. next Saturday, I’ll give my business to someone else.” Mona took off her headset with a huff and snapped her phone closed.
“An ice sculpture?” Ronnie questioned.
“Mm-hmm,” Alex nodded. “It’s for the champagne table. It’s going to be perfect.”
“I think I scared them into making it happen,” Mona informed Alex. She checked an item off of her list as she nodded to the stylists. “It’s time for dress selection now.”
“Oh,” Alex breathed and held a hand to her stomach. “I don’t know whether to be nervous or excited.”
“What are you nervous about?” Mona wondered.
“Well...” Alex chewed nervously on her thumbnail while she watched the picked-over racks being removed from the house, and anticipated the arrival of the dresses. “What if I don’t like anything they have?”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry.” Mona patted her shoulder in reassurance. “I requested a mix of traditional, non-traditional, fancy, casual, you name it. It’s all going to be presented to you shortly.” She stepped back as the last rack was brought into the room.
“If you ever decide that you don’t want to act anymore, I think you should give wedding planning a shot. You’re a natural.”
“It’s actually been a lot of fun. Plus...” She gave a little shrug. “It’s probably the only chance I’ll get to plan a wedding like this.”
Alex didn’t like the thought of that. The dresses behind her were forgotten as worry came over her features. “How can you say that? You and Chris are inseparable. Does he not want to get married?”
“Oh, we’re getting married.” Mona patted Alex’s cheek to calm her worries. “But we’ve already decided when that moment comes, we’re going to Vegas.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Cliché as it is.”
“So,” Alex wondered as her eyes scanned the array of dresses in the room. “What are you and Chris waiting for?”
“We’re waiting for the whole Alexandra Lorraine and Slater Heart buzz to fade.”
“Me too!” Alex giggled.
The two of them simultaneously sifted through the dresses, their silent communication took over once again. A traditional wedding gown caught Alex’s eye as she took it off the rack and held it up for Mona’s opinion.
“What do you think of this? Too...?”
“Way too,” Mona decided and removed it from Alex’s hand. “It’s pretty, but it’s not you. Why don’t you grab a few traditional gowns and let me sift through the non-traditional ones for a few to start trying on?”
“Sounds good,” Alex agreed as she selected another gown. “These are all in my size, right?”
“Of course,” Mona answered. Her eyes widened when she saw a soft lavender gown. “All of them with tags on and for you to keep right away. What do think of this one?” She held up the dress for Alex’s opinion.
“Oh, that’s gorgeous,” Alex breathed. She stepped close to Mona. The white satin gowns were nearly forgotten as she admired the detail on the dress. “You know, nothing about my situation with Slater has been traditional. I don’t think I want to go with a white dress.”
“Nobody said you had to,” Mona said with a smile and handed Alex the dress to put with her other selections. “This one would look perfect with your pearls. You are wearing them, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Alex stated.
Mona turned to the rack. “I have a feeling about that one, but try on some of the others first, just to see how they look on you.”
“Let’s start with this one.” Alex slipped out of her cotton sundress and into the first white wedding gown. She stood on the pedestal and got a good look in the full-length mirror. “Well?”
“Alexandra, it’s beautiful,” Kathleen said from the doorway. The anticipation of the dress selection was too much, she decided the kitchen work could wait.
Having chosen to stick around for this part, Ronnie joined Kathleen’s side and agreed with her. “I love it.”
“It’s pretty.” Alex turned to the side to get a different view. “Mona?”
“The dress is beautiful, but it’s not you. Try on that one,” Mona suggested and pointed to the next dress in line.
“Ok, someone unzip me.” Alex presented her back to the group. Ronnie stepped forward and helped her out of the layers of satin. One of the stylists prepped the next dress for Alex to step into. She suddenly busted into giggles as Mona snorted on laughter.
“You look like a wedding cake!”
“It’s so puffy!” Alex couldn’t resist doing a quick twirl and sitting down quickly on the floor, the layers of satin and tulle puffed up around her in a cloud. “This is fun!”
––––––––
As focused as Annette was on calling and inviting guests, Ben could see her attention fade. Annette constantly glanced over her shoulder at the comments made by Alex and Mona that trailed in from the next room.
“I’ve got this.” He took her portion of the guest list and nodded toward the living room with his chin. “Go.”
“No,” Annette insisted. She took the list from him and smiled once more as she heard Alex’s voice raise.
“Your tits are way more suited to this one than mine, Mona! You try it on!”
“Oh, come on!” Ben chuckled at the banter from down the hall. “Even Kathleen has jumped ship to be a part of this.”
“I’m here as her manager.” Annette refocused and dialed a number into her phone when Ben grabbed it out of her hand.
“She’s more than a client to you at this point, just go.”
“No,” Annette said lamely, though she looked over her shoulder once more.
“Yes,” he countered. He smiled as she gave in, closed her planner, and stood up. “One more thing though.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Will you be my date to the wedding?”
“Benjamin...” she said hesitantly.
“God, I love it when you call me that,” he interrupted her. “Say yes,” he urged. He stood up and kissed her softly, his eyes pleaded. “Be my date.”
“Yes, Benjamin,” Annette stated. She let out a laugh when he let out a playful growl. “I’ll be your date.”
“Great,” Ben said happily and shocked her with a swat to her bottom as she left the room. “I’m looking forward to it.”
––––––––
“That’s pretty, Alex.”
Alex paused in her laughter with the women in the room as Annette approached, held out her hand and squeezed gently. “Do you like it?” She picked up the heavy skirt and let it fall at her feet.
“It’s pretty, but it’s not you.”
“That’s what everyone keeps saying about the traditional dresses. Does white look that bad on me?” she wondered.
“No,” Mona answered. “White looks great on you, but you never wear white on principle, because you-”
“Spill,” Alex finished for her. “Ok, you’re right. I’m feeling more drawn to the other dresses anyway.”
“What do you think of this one?” Ronnie asked and held up an airy dress in daffodil.
“Really?” Mona asked, dryly. “Yellow, Ronnie? I would think as a makeup artist you would have more taste than that.”
“This one?” Kathleen held up a light pink gown.
“Yeah,” Mona snorted. “If she wants to look like an Easter egg.”
“No need to be snotty, Mona,” Alex chastised playfully. Her gaze zeroed in on the gown Annette was admiring.
“Try this one on, Alex.” Annette pulled the lavender dress from the rack and held it up as Mona helped Alex out of her dress and into the selected choice.
“Oh!” Kathleen gasped when Mona stepped aside after zipping her up.
“Wow,” Ronnie breathed.
“Alexandra.” Annette blinked back tears and watched as Alex took her time sizing up the gown.
Mona’s eyes misted over. “Oh, Alex, it’s beautiful. I think this is it.”
Alex looked at her reflection in the mirror. The gown was a soft shade of lavender with slim shoulder straps, and a sweetheart neckline. The chiffon material gathered crosswise over the bodice and down the hips and fell into soft column pleats. It fit her just right and the color was the perfect complement to her skin tone. “The pearls will look perfect with this,” Alex whispered. Her hands fluttered at her neck as she indulged in a moment of vanity. “This is the one.”
The group of women, including the stylists, were having a moment of silence as Alex let tears of happiness fall. Her hands drifted over the material as she turned from side to side to admire the fit, when Ben walked into the room, full of confidence.
“Well,” he said happily to no one in particular. “I have an almost perfect success rate on the invitations, ladies. Everyone I’ve spoken to is a yes. Wow!” He stopped when he got a look at Alex.
She turned to him as she trailed a palm over her torso and rested her hands on her hips. “This is it, Ben. What do you think?”
Ben couldn’t find his voice as all eyes were on him waiting for him to respond. He swallowed over the lump in his throat, his eyes filled as he tried to blink the moisture away. “Um... it’s... you look...” He gestured to Alex, then looked between Mona and Annette as the two women smiled indulgently at him. “It’s perfect Alex.” He swallowed loudly, his voice thick. “You look beautiful.”
“Ben.” Alex smiled through her tears, her shoulders shook with light laughter to ease the mood. “You ok?”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
“You sure?” Mona asked with a teasing smile.
“Yeah,” he repeated. He swiped at his eyes and turned quickly on his heel to leave the room. “Damn allergies!”