Avoiding Temptation (Avoiding #3)(24)
Author: K.A. Linde

“I didn’t think you were serious!”

“You have the Bryant case to finish up. I’m running the medical wing. Neither of us has the time to plan a wedding. I’m trying to make this easy for both of us. If you hate the planner and decide you want to do it all by yourself, we don’t have to hire her. Okay?” he asked, staring down into her big brown eyes.

Lexi took a deep breath as his words sank in. All of this wedding stuff put her on edge. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to someone else about it. “How much do wedding planners cost?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You let me worry about the money, all right?”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“That’s because you don’t like spending money, and to have a wedding, you have to spend it. So, just ignore the dollar signs in your eyes. I’ll cover it. It’s your day. That’s all that matters,” he said with a smile.

Another week passed, and now, it was the big day, and she was a mess. She had been buried nose deep in the Bryant case, and she hadn’t even given the meeting with the wedding planner any thought. The damn meeting had just snuck up on her. What was she even supposed to wear to it? She blankly stared at her closet. She had nothing to wear.

“Hey, are you ready?” Ramsey asked, poking his head in a few minutes later.

She was still standing there in her bra and thong with a pile of dresses at her feet. “I don’t have anything to wear,” she whispered.

“You have a million things to wear.”

Lexi turned her head to the side and looked out the window. How could she explain this to him? She had to look nice—no, perfect. She had to look absolutely perfect. This was supposed to be the best time of her life, and she didn’t even have something to wear to it.

Ramsey checked his watch, which made her cringe. She was going to make them late—all because she couldn’t figure out what outfit to wear.

“How about purple?” Ramsey said. He walked through the closet and pulled out a deep purple dress and handed it to her.

It was a bit dressy, but he looked so cute, holding it up for her to take.

She just smiled and grabbed it. “This is perfect.”

His smile grew as she tossed the hanger to the ground and yanked the dress over her head. She slid her hands down her sides and held in her sigh. The material hugged her perfectly, but it wasn’t so tight that she felt like she would be better fit for the club. Ramsey certainly appreciated it.

Tugging on a pair of knee-high brown boots and grabbing her jacket, she followed Ramsey out of the house. They drove across town and into Buckhead. Lexi was already squirming. Ramsey might be covering the cost of this, but just the fact that the wedding planner’s office was in Buckhead meant it was going to be expensive.

They pulled up to a small boutique called Happily Ever After with its crisp, clear design work and nondescript entrance. So, this was it. Lexi took a deep breath and exited the car. Ramsey walked over to her side to walk with her inside.

The interior was gorgeous and modern, set in all blues with baby blue cushioned chairs and a navy blue coffee table. A receptionist sat behind a white desk, and a large spread display of the company’s work was on the wall behind her head.

“Welcome to Happily Ever After. I’m Eve. How can I help you?” she asked, placing her hands demurely in her lap and staring up at them.

“We have an appointment,” Ramsey said. “It’s under Bridges.”

“Ah, Mr. Bridges, of course. Let me contact Sherri,” the woman said before pressing a number on the phone and letting Sherri know that they were here.

A woman about Lexi’s height or maybe even shorter with insanely straight blonde hair to her shoulders and a soft look to all her features walked out of the back of the office. She wore a black pencil skirt with a pale blue blouse and all gold jewelry.

“Ramsey Bridges,” she said with a bright smile. “Pleasure to finally have you here.”

“Sherri,” he acknowledged, shaking her hand carefully, “it’s great to see you. I’ve heard such great things.”

She waved him aside. “Don’t flatter me. I’m just doing my job. Now, introduce me to your beautiful bride-to-be.”

Lexi stood stoically through the entire conversation. She had never wondered how Ramsey had selected the wedding planner. Did he know her personally? They sure seemed to know each other, but Lexi didn’t know how they were acquainted.

“Sherri, this is Lexi,” Ramsey said, drawing Lexi closer to him.

“Hello,” Lexi said politely. She extended her hand out, which Sherri took.

“So nice to meet you. You are positively stunning!”

“Thank you.”

Lexi could tell that Sheri was trying to assuage whatever nerves were floating around inside Lexi, but that wasn’t likely to happen.

“Please, come back into my office. I’m so excited to work with y’all on your special day,” she said.

They followed her down the hallway and into the back area of the boutique.

Sherri chatted away the entire time. “I don’t normally work with the grooms as well. It’s a real treat to have you along to help plan. You know I would do anything for the Bridges. After working on your sister’s lovely wedding, I am just thrilled that you contacted me for this.”

Lexi froze in place in the middle of the hallway. Bekah. Ramsey had selected Bekah’s wedding planner. That was how they knew each other because Ramsey had been in Bekah’s wedding—the wedding he had walked out of with Lexi.

Ramsey’s hand slid into hers, and he urged her to continue walking, but she stayed rooted in place. There were a million planners in the city, and he had chosen the one who had worked with Bekah.

“Why?” she whispered.

She could see in his eyes that he knew what she was asking.

“She’s the best. You deserve the best.”

“But Bekah…”

“That was two years ago, Lexi. Bekah can’t dictate our choices.”

“Yet, you selected her planner.”

“I’m having you meet with the planner that she used, yes. She’s so popular that she books out two years in advance. Just the fact that she is meeting us is out of her normal schedule. But she likes me, and she likes my family.”

“Why does it always have to be about who you know?” Lexi asked.

“Because that’s the world we live in. I can’t help that my name holds influence. It just does. I don’t think you deserve anything less than Bekah on your wedding day. In fact, you deserve much more than her. I’m simply asking you to try this…for us. Please.”

“Fine,” she said, only because he was pleading with her.

A part of her just wished that something had changed during those two years since she had agreed to get back together with Ramsey. They were better but still, he hadn’t told her about the planner. How hard would it have been to just tell her?

It was probably as hard as it had been for her to just tell Jack she had gotten engaged, yet she still hadn’t.

That thought sprang her into action, and she moved forward down the hallway. The wedding planner had stopped at her door, pretending not to listen during the exchange. Lexi wondered how many other women had breakdowns and freak-outs during the earliest stages of planning.

Sherri ushered them into her immaculately decorated office. The room had soft sand-colored accented in varying shades of green and supplemented with plants to make the room feel more natural and inviting. Lexi and Ramsey took the seats opposite Sherri, waiting for her cue.

After giving a lengthy introduction about the company, Sherri turned the spotlight on Lexi. “What is your vision for this, Lexi? I’d love to know what your dream wedding looks like. I’m in the business of making dreams come true,” she said with a big toothy smile.

Lexi just stared at her. What did she want her wedding to be like? She had no idea. She thought most weddings were the same. She had been in a few, and they had been all right, but most had been expensive and rather annoying. She knew she didn’t want their wedding to be anything like what her friends had done—and absolutely nothing like Bekah’s. Lexi wasn’t really sure how to articulate that though.

Sherri waited for Lexi to say something. When she didn’t, Sherri asked another question, “Do you see this as a big event, small event, beachside, or intimate night wedding? We can do whatever works best for you. I know with the Bridges, the guest list tends to get pretty long, so it might be good to think local. Of course, it’s your choice though. I’m here to make your wedding a reality.”

“I don’t know,” Lexi finally answered. “I haven’t thought about it.”

“How long have you been engaged?” Sherri asked, turning her attention to Ramsey.

“Almost a month,” he answered immediately.

Sherri clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and then stood. “I have another idea. If you’ll follow me,” she said.

They left Sherri’s office behind and tailed her into a large open room with an oval table taking up the center and several large bookshelves filled to the brim with magazines, booklets, and folders.

“Feel free to have a seat. I think it might be better just to show you what we have done in the past, so we can get a grasp for your tastes.”

Lexi plopped into a chair and stared at the massive collection of books. How many weddings had they done? How much work really went into them?

“The first things we really like to focus on with clients are the date, the color palette, the number of guests, and the venue,” she said, picking out a big three-ring binder for each thing she mentioned. “So much of our design work is captured online for your viewing at any time. I’ve handpicked some of the company’s favorites for us to glance through.”

“Okay,” Lexi said softly.

Her palms started to sweat, and she had no idea why. Her palms never sweat. When she had been in gymnastics, she had never had to use as much chalk as the other girls for that very reason.

“Now, the date—I’m sure you’ve already discussed when you would like the wedding to be. At least a year out is ideal, but a season would do.” Sherri flipped to a page with a picture of weddings in each of the four seasons.

Sherri looked at her, but Lexi turned to Ramsey. They hadn’t discussed this.

“Summer?” Lexi asked, biting down on her lip.

“Or fall,” he offered.

“Summer or fall next year then,” Sherri said. It was clear that she was glad they were making progress.

The rest of the session went in much the same fashion. Sherri pulled out everything from thousands of different color palettes, to swathes of garments, to images of large weddings and small weddings and beach weddings, to massive cakes…and the list went on.

Her opinion was asked over and over again, and Lexi frankly didn’t have an opinion on much of it. The longer she sat there, the more her hands became clammy. Then, it got worse. The back of her neck felt sticky with sweat. Her forehead beaded. She felt her throat begin to close up as if it were swollen. Her stomach twisted like she might be sick, and it took everything in her to sit through one more question about her taste on anything.