Chapter Nine
Parker
The conversation with Sienna played on my mind the entire night. Even though we’d ended the night on good terms, I wondered what was going on in her head that had been left unsaid.
I showed up at her house the next morning, at a more reasonable hour and with coffee in hand. When she answered the door she was wrapped in a blanket and she muttered a “good morning” and scooted off toward the couch.
She flopped onto the couch and adjusted the blanket so it was over her head like a hood and wrapped around the rest of her body like a coiled snake.
“Did you sleep on the couch last night?”
“Yeah. I fell asleep watching television.”
I cocked my head. Sienna rarely watched television before bed. She was a strict believer in no technology for at least an hour before going to sleep. With her early hours, she needed as much uninterrupted rest as possible. I wondered if she’d had as much trouble sleeping last night as I did.
“My neck is killing me,” she said, stretching it out.
I handed her a cup of coffee and sat on the other end of the couch.
She sipped on it and we sat in silence for a moment.
“You know,” I said, “you don’t have to come with me today. I know I’ve been taking up a lot of your days off lately.”
Her eyebrows drew together with a look of “yeah, right.” “It’s fine. I just need to finish my coffee. Thanks for this, by the way.”
“You’re welcome,” I said with a smile. Sienna was always good to me. Probably more than I deserved, but I was happy to have her in my life.
“What are some places you are considering?” she asked.
I whipped my phone out of my pocket. “I have a list of three that have availability on the date we chose. They are literally the only ones in the area, so I’m hoping one of them will suit our needs.”
“You have a good shot at finding something.”
I nodded. I liked all three of the places, but Rachel had really wanted the one we’d chosen previously. When I told her we could wait the two years, Rachel acted like I was insane for even suggesting it.
“This wedding business is no joke,” I said. “The venues seemed rather appalled that I wanted to plan something within two months.”
“Well, a lot of people like to have a drawn-out process to get everything in place before the date. But it’s not necessary,” she quickly added. “Everyone is different.”
I regarded her as she sipped her coffee. She seemed more agreeable than she had the night before. I didn’t want to start the day off on a bad note, so I tried to avoid talking about Rachel.
“Well, there also isn’t a budget for this, so I’ll pay whoever whatever they want to make it happen.”
Sienna nodded. “I’m sure that will help you get the place you want.”
We sipped our coffee as I went over the places we were going to see. Sienna listened and reacted appropriately, but I could tell something was on her mind. Or maybe she didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Lying on the couch wasn’t going to help her mood if she didn’t get moving.
“How about we get going? We can stop for lunch after the first two.”
Sienna chugged the rest of her coffee and handed me the cup. She gathered the blankets around her and stood up, scooting off to her bedroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Sienna was ready in ten minutes. Getting ready quickly was one of the traits that I loved in her. I usually had to give Rachel an extra hour to get ready for anything.
She’d put on a pair of short shorts and a black tank top and had her hair pulled back. In all the years I knew Sienna, she’d never changed her style.
“Let’s go,” she said and led the way out of the house.
The first venue we looked at was very formal and required a large head count. The ballroom was a little too big for our needs, so I had to pass. Even if I had spent the money to cover the cost of the room, there was way too much space. Our party would look ridiculous in a room that big. If the wedding planner had been put out, she didn’t show it. She’d given Sienna a look of disgust when we entered the place, which rubbed me the wrong way.
Sienna didn’t appear to notice and was kind to the woman. My instinct to protect her was overwhelming. I had to leave so that I wouldn’t say something to the woman I’d regret.
When we got to the car, I texted Rachel and let her know that option was out. I waited for a few seconds for her response, knowing how close she was with her phone.
“I hope Rachel isn’t too disappointed,” Sienna said.
I shoved the phone in my pocket. “I’m sure the next place will be better.”
Rachel still hadn’t contacted me at all, even though I’d called and left voice mails and text messages. The only way I knew she was doing okay was from her pictures on Instagram. The combination of her leaving me to do all the planning myself and not answering my calls annoyed me to no end. I spent most of the ride to the next venue thinking of what I’d say to her if she ever contacted me while she was away.
“I wish that place had a smaller ballroom,” Sienna noted.
Her voice broke through my thoughts. “It was nice, but I think this is the place with the overlook.” We drove up a steep, winding hill toward the next place. I didn’t want anyone to kill themselves on this hill, so I made a mental note to hire a private shuttle from the hotel to the reception.
Sienna turned in her seat to look down at the ocean below us. “This already looks cool.”
I smiled and had a feeling this was going to be it.
We met with the venue wedding planner, an older gentleman named Jacob. I already liked him better than the other woman from the last venue. He was kind and answered all of my questions without caring how my best friend looked.
There were two rooms for the reception we could choose from. The first was nice and had a view of the landscaped courtyard. “The cocktail hour will take place outside in the courtyard, and then dinner will be in here. Depending on the weather, all of these windows can be removed so that your guests can filter between inside and outside.”
“This is great,” Sienna said.
“Let me show you the other option.”
We walked down a long hallway to the back of the building. This room was a little smaller. And the windows had already been removed to show the bright blue sky and view of the ocean in the distance.
“Wow,” Sienna said.
Jacob smiled. “We get that reaction a lot.”
We walked through the space and outside. “We can have your ceremony out here, overlooking the ocean.”
The view was even more breathtaking than the photos on the website. This was the place I wanted to have my wedding. And I knew Rachel would agree.
“Over here we can seat up to two hundred people,” Jacob said, indicating the space in front of us. “Then over there would be your cocktail hour.” There was a long bar on the backside of the reception room. “We usually put out high top tables and a tent, so your guests stay cool.”
I nodded and looked back over to where the ceremony would take place. Sienna had wandered to the edge of the overlook. When Jacob was done with his spiel, I walked over to her.
“What do you think?” I asked her.
She took a deep breath. “It’s perfect.”
Jacob came up behind us. “If you both stand over here and face each other, then you can imagine how it will be on your wedding day.”
Sienna flinched and turned to Jacob. “It’s not our wedding day.” Her tone was hard, as if she couldn’t even imagine marrying me. My throat tightened. I didn’t understand why I felt so upset by her comment, but for some reason, it upset me more than I wanted it to. My earlier feelings from before were squashed. Sienna had no feelings for me other than friendship. Her dislike for Rachel had spurred that conversation from the night before, and that was all. At least my cold feet had finally thawed.
“Oh,” Jacob said, “I’m sorry. I just assumed.”
“I’m the best man,” she said, smirking at me.
“You won’t be the first female best man we’ve had,” Jacob said.
I bumped Sienna’s arm with mine. “See, it’s not that weird.”
“So, what do you think?” Jacob asked. “Do you have any more questions?”
“Are both rooms available for the day I discussed with you on the phone?”
“At this moment, yes.”
“Good, I want to buy the whole place for that day,” I said.
Jacob cocked his head. “How large is your group?”
“Not that big, but we want privacy. I’ll pay whatever you want.”
Jacob blinked a few times. “If you insist. Let me put together some numbers for you. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” He left us alone to wander the property.
“I really like that courtyard,” Sienna said. “And if you’re buying the place out, I think it should be used.”
“I thought you would say something about my careless spending of my money.”
She rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to spend money, you might as well spend it on a fabulous party.”
“I’m glad you agree.”
“Do you have to check in with Rachel about it?”
“No,” I said quickly. If Rachel was going to leave me to make this decision and not have the decency to call me, I was going to make the final decision. Besides, with a view like that, I doubted even the pickiest of brides would refuse.
“Glad you’re taking the initiative,” she said. “This place is really nice.”
“What do you think: band or DJ?”
“How about both? I went to a wedding years ago where the band also DJ’d. It was interesting and a really cool idea. And maybe for that extra room, you can do a photo booth or something fun like that.”
“You’re really getting into this.”
“With a place like this, it’s hard not to get into the wedding spirit.”
“I agree.”
We walked to the edge of the overlook again and silently stood side by side, listening to the crashing waves. I closed my eyes and imagined what my wedding day would look like. I could almost hear a string quartet in the background as Rachel came up the aisle.
“Okay, Mr. Liston,” Jacob said from behind me.
My eyes fluttered opened and I turned to him. “I’m all ears.”
After booking the venue and taking Sienna to a long lunch at a nearby seafood joint, I brought her back home. It was almost six by the time I walked her to the front door.
“How am I still stuffed?” Sienna said, rubbing her stomach.
“Well, you did eat a whole entree plus half of mine.”
“Uhh,” she groaned. “Let me know if you go back to that restaurant; I definitely want to try the lobster rolls next time.”
I laughed. “Will do.”
“Oh!” she said with a devilish grin. “I have a surprise for you on Monday. So, take the day off or turn off your phone or whatever you need to do to. You’re all mine.”
“I take it this is a surprise?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s time for me to get you back for all the surprise visits.”
I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of begging her for details. “I’ll take off work on Monday if you help me with decorations tomorrow.”
She took a backward step toward her door. “Fine. But I’m not picking out flowers this time. Apparently, I can’t choose the right color scheme.” She winked at me then opened her door.
“Good night, Sienna,” I said. “I’ll come by around ten.”
She waved. “Night, Parker.”