Liam
Calabasas, California
Later that day
Jesse and Liam's bags went to the same place.
Unfortunately, it was not California.
The airline said they would try to have the bags available by the following afternoon, but everyone knew by the time they transported them from the airport to the house, it would likely be too late for the gentlemen to get dressed for the wedding.
Plan B was to purchase another suit that was as similar as possible to the lost ones.
The rest of the group had gone straight to the hotel, but Liam, along with a few others, went to Courtney's house to try to sort out the missing suit situation.
"Let me make a call," Courtney said after they informed her about the luggage.
"We can just go to the mall," Liam said.
"That's what I was thinking," Jesse added. "Do you have a mall around here? Surely they have a navy suit we can buy."
"I'll take care of it," Courtney said, already scrolling on her phone. "You guys would just waste time going to the mall. I have a friend Taylor who's a tailor."
"You have a friend Taylor who's a tailor?" Jesse asked, sounding a bit confused.
"Her name's Taylor Quinn, but she's also a tailor," Courtney said, glancing up from her phone with a smile before going back to tapping and scrolling on it again. "She's usually super busy, but I think she'd help us out in a crisis. She's the one who made Daniel's suit, so she knows the wedding is tomorrow. I'm gonna tell her it's Daniel's dad who lost his suit, and I'm sure she'll help us out."
"I can probably just go to the mall, though," Liam said. "I usually don't have any trouble finding stuff in my size."
"Neither do I," Jesse said, obviously not wanting to be fussed over.
"A tailor named Taylor," Liam said absentmindedly, smiling at the thought of it.
"That's why she's a tailor," Courtney explained, holding her phone to her ear.
"You mean she changed her name to go with her job?" Jesse asked.
"No, I mean she became a tailor because that was her name. Heyyy!"
It was apparent to all of them by Courtney's change in tone that her friend had picked up and she was now talking to her. She smiled and held up a finger indicating that she was listening to the person on the other end.
"I'm good, but I might need you to come to the rescue if you can. I know it's late notice, but Daniel's dad and cousin lost their suits for the wedding tomorrow. Well, the airline did…"
Courtney paused, listening, and everyone quietly waited.
"They were navy, double breasted with a vest, but they don't really need the jackets since we're doing it out on the beach. We just got the jackets for photos, really."
She paused, nodding her head.
"Yeah, we tried to get them close to Daniel's—at least the color. They could bring Daniel's up there in case you don't remember what fabric we used."
She paused again.
"I know. It's okay. They don't have to be perfect. I just figured they'd be better off coming to see you than going to the mall."
Another pause.
"Are you sure? Thank you so much! I'll tell them. I really wish you could make it to the wedding."
Pause.
"Okay, I will. They'll see you at four. I really owe you for this."
Pause.
"Okay, well, thank you. Talk to you later. Bye."
Courtney pressed the button to hang up her phone, and looked at Liam, Jesse, Rose, and Daniel, who had all been standing around waiting to hear what the tailor had to say.
Courtney smiled. "So, obviously, there's no time to do anything custom, but she said she's got a pretty good selection of navy at her store, and she'd be happy to meet you up there and make sure you got something with a good fit. She said she could do some minor stuff, hemming or whatever, if you need it."
"That sounds perfect," Rose said, looking at Jesse for his approval.
He smiled and glanced at his own outfit, which was jeans and a three-button, short-sleeve shirt. "It's better than wearing this," he said. "And right now, this is all I have."
Rose let out a laugh. "Well I'm sure we have enough men traveling with us that you could borrow something or just run to the store, but it's nice of Courtney's friend to make sure you're looking good for the wedding."
"Her store is over in Beverly Hills," Courtney said, "and I'm sure you're gonna hit a little traffic. It might take about an hour to get there, so you probably want to get going. My Tahoe's out back. The keys are hanging by the door."
Liam looked at Jesse with a resigned smile. "You ready?" he asked.
"I'll go too," Rose said. "I've never been to Beverly Hills."
The three of them set off in Courtney's SUV. Daniel and Courtney hadn't seen each other in a while, and they were anxious to spend some time together, but they purposefully didn't want to be around each other much before the wedding, so he left when his parents and Liam did and headed to the house in Malibu.
Liam, along with his Aunt Rose and Uncle Jesse, made the trek to Beverly Hills. Liam had been there before, and on the way they talked about his experience. Traffic was horrendous, and it took them over an hour to get to the address Courtney had given them. They parked in a lot about a quarter of a mile from the store and jogged in an effort to make it there on time.
"I've always wanted to go to Rodeo Drive," Rose said breathlessly as they approached the door and slowed down.
The word "Taylored" was written on the windows and door, clearly telling them they were in the right place. Jesse held the door open for both of them, and they walked into the store.
Liam had glanced into the windows of several other stores on their jog, and compared to those, which were modern and sterile-looking, this one was warm and inviting. It had a vintage feel, and there were tones of mahogany and green with lots of wood and rich colors.
"This is beautiful," Rose exclaimed as they stepped inside. She was right—Liam felt instantly comfortable there, like he could just sit down and prop up his feet. There were coats, pants, shirts, and a whole array of men's accessories, lined up in perfectly organized rows. It smelled like fine linen, leather, and wood.
"Hello, and welcome to Taylored," a man said, coming out from behind a rack of clothing as soon as they walked in. He was sharply dressed with a clean haircut, and was wearing an inviting smile as he approached them.
"My name is Drew. How may I help you today?"
"We need to get a suit to match this one, please," Jesse said, pointing at the garment bag Rose had in her hand. "Two of them. For a wedding tomorrow."
"Okay, we can probably help you with that," the gentleman said reaching out to take the bag from Rose with a smile.
"Courtney called," Rose said nervously. "Courtney Cole. She's our son's fiancé."
"My cousin, Daniel, is marrying Courtney tomorrow," Liam explained. He gestured at his aunt and uncle. "This is the mother and father of the groom. We had our luggage lost by the airline, so my uncle and I are both in need of a suit for the wedding. Courtney talked to the owner, I believe, and told her we were coming. She said you guys could try to find something close to this." He pointed at the garment bag, which the guy had set on a nearby table and was already in the process of unzipping.
"Sure," he said. "We can help you with that. I see this is one of our suits. I'll let Miss Quinn know you're here since you've already talked to her. Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?"
The three of them declined, and Drew headed toward the back of the store. He was only back there for a minute before he reappeared with a smile.
"Okay, so I'll get you started," he said. He took Daniel's suit out of the bag and hung it on a nearby rack, inspecting different things about it like the collar, the buttons on the cuff, and the lining.
"I think she was mostly just worried about the color matching," Jesse said in effort to make it easier on the guy.
Rose nudged her husband, silently telling him that he should let the guy do his job.
"Yes sir," Drew said. "We have a very similar navy in our off the peg designs. I was just hoping we could get close on the cut as well."
Drew carefully considered a few selections, trying to match Daniel's suit and thoroughly scanning Jesse and Liam as if to estimate their sizes. He retrieved a pair of pants and a shirt and handed them to Jesse.
"We have a dressing room right over there," he said, pointing to an area on the left.
Jesse took the clothes from him, and he and Rose headed that way. Drew then chose another pair of pants and shirt for Liam and handed them to him.
"We'll start with these," he said with a smile, assuming that Liam knew he should follow his uncle into a dressing room.
Liam had no idea how the guy had gotten so close to the size without asking him or measuring anything. He put on the shirt and pants, feeling amazed that they fit him so well. Liam came out of the dressing room, wearing the outfit Drew had chosen for him.
He was still buttoning the cuff as he made his way out. He felt a little silly heading back into such a nice place while wearing his socks, but it was either that or tennis shoes, so he opted for socks. He saw his uncle right away and noticed that he had done the same thing. Jesse was standing on one of those small platforms wearing dress slacks along with a pair of white athletic socks. Liam smiled, feeling thankful that he wasn't the only one.
Drew was stooping down, adjusting the cuff of Jesse's pants and looking like he was trying to decide if he liked the fit. He glanced up at Liam when Liam's movement caught his eye. "That looks great," he said. "That's a great start. I'll be with you in just one minute."
"I've got him."
A woman's voice came from the back of the shop, and Liam glanced up to find a devastatingly beautiful brunette walking toward him with long focused strides. Liam straightened his stance instantly. Her hair was pulled back tightly, and she had a no-nonsense look on her face. She was wearing dark colors—black pants, black shoes, and a deep burgundy blouse. There was a white measuring tape draped around her neck, but otherwise she looked dark and focused. As she got closer, Liam could see that her eyes were light. Her hair was the color of dark chocolate, and yet somehow, her eyes were ice blue—like the coldest winter. Liam could appreciate the contrast even from several feet away.
"Mister Bishop I assume," she said with a polite smile. "I'm Taylor Quinn. It's very nice to meet you." She gestured for Liam to follow her, which he did. "I'll have Drew bring your things over in a moment," she assured him. She walked toward the back of the store, stopping in another changing area. Liam noticed that there was another platform just like the one Jesse had been standing on. Taylor motioned to it, asking him to step onto it, so he did.
"Kennedy," he said. "Liam Kennedy."
She glanced at Drew and Jesse as if she might have made a mistake.
"My cousin's marrying Courtney," he assured her. "It's just that I'm not a Bishop. That was my mom's maiden name."
Her expression shifted to one of understanding as she nodded. "Congratulations on the wedding," she said with a smile. "I'm sorry about your luggage, but it's a pleasure to help you find a suit. I made Daniel's, but I believe Courtney ordered the ones that were lost from somewhere in Tennessee."
"Memphis," he said. "And yeah, we had to go get fitted and everything."
She gave him a little smile. "Twice for one wedding," she said. "How fun for you."
Liam stared at her and came close to saying that getting fitted for a suit was indeed fun now that she was the one doing it, but he held his tongue. He normally didn't even think such things, but it was true. He would get fitted for a suit every day of the week if she were the one doing it.
Taylor took a deep breath, looking him over from the neck down, thoroughly checking the fit of his clothing.
"Stand facing me with a relaxed, natural posture, please," she said, rolling her own shoulders with a serious expression.
She used a friendly but all-business demeanor that made her seem older than she was. She was serious to the point of verging on stern. She bent down to pick up a pin cushion that was on the floor near the edge of the platform, and when she did, he noticed that her dark hair had been twisted into a tight bun on the back of her head. It was sprayed and polished, and there wasn't a single hair out of place. She reminded Liam of a ballerina, or a librarian.
"What do you think about the fit?" she asked, glancing at Liam. "Is everything comfortable?"
"What? Y-yes. They are. It is." Liam hated to stutter, but he was stunned speechless by her eyes. They were like ice—the absolute brightest, lightest blue he had ever seen. If he saw them in a photograph, he would definitely think they had been edited or touched up.
"Your eyes are incredible," he said.
Liam knew, even as he said it, that the statement came off as a line, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself. It was the truth.
"Thank you," she said with a small grin as if it were a compliment she heard every day.
She went back to inspecting and tugging at Liam's shirt, and he couldn't help but continue to gaze at her face—her eyes. They were such an interesting color. He thought maybe he had seen that same color on one of those Alaskan sled dogs but never on a human. He was staring at the color of them at first, but as he continued to gaze at them, he noticed that it looked a little bit like she had been crying. Her eyes were glossy and the skin around them was a pink and maybe a little swollen. Liam was going to ignore it until she sucked air into her nose. The quick sniffling sound made him ask.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry?" Her response was extremely professional. He could tell by the way she looked at him that she was a serious woman who conducted her business professionally. She was friendly, but there was absolutely no flirtation in her demeanor. This was slightly odd for Liam, because, well frankly, girls tended to flirt with him.
"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay," he said. "That you were okay."
"Yes sir," she said with a reassuring smile and nod. "I'll be right back with a jacket and some straight-cut pants. I'd like to see you try them on."
Taylor strode toward Drew and the others, stopping to talk to them. Liam watched as she introduced herself to Jesse and Rose and pointed out several things about Jesse's appearance for Drew to consider. Drew nodded and smiled the entire time, looking like he was anxious to do whatever it was she was saying. Then she turned and grabbed a few items from shelves or racks before making her way back to Liam.