CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next few days passed quickly for Billie as they prepared for Tyler’s promotional tour for his last Thunder movie. It seemed like forever since he’d wrapped filming but the release was almost upon them. She’d thought Tyler might be sad to say goodbye to his famous alter-ego Bobby but he seemed fine with the end of the movie franchise. There might be other installments but Tyler’s contract was up and he wouldn’t be a part of any future films.
As a newly engaged couple, she and Tyler would be traveling to New York City, London, and Toronto in addition to the premiere in Los Angeles. That meant she needed clothes, which had started a whole new argument with her movie star fiancé. He’d insisted on purchasing clothes for her along with all of the accessories like shoes, handbags, and jewelry. She’d said no of course. She paid her own way.
Tyler wasn’t one to give in easily, however, and he’d argued that the only reason she needed the clothes was because of him and the movie. Therefore, he should pay for it all. They’d gone around and around about it until they’d both been red in the face. Tyler had pulled the marriage card at the end saying that he was going to be her husband and her money was his money and his money was her money. That was all well and good except she didn’t have any money so it was hardly fair.
He’d opened his mouth after she’d said that as if he was going to point out that she did indeed have money. Fifty grand worth. But instead of saying anything he’d stayed silent, making her feel more guilty than ever. She had to find a way to tell him about her family, but so far every time she’d tried the words simply wouldn’t come.
Eventually, she’d given up because it was easier than explaining what she’d done with the money and he’d made a valid point whether she was ready to admit it or not. They were a couple now – albeit a make-believe one – and couples shared things. Couples did nice things for one another and helped each other. It would have been churlish to refuse. It did make her feel slightly better when he told her that a famous designer had offered to dress her for the events and parties. At least Tyler wouldn’t be footing the bill for expensive dresses she’d only wear once.
This morning, however, she had a renewed sense of urgency to come clean about where she’d spent the money. If they were going to be – heaven help both of them – husband and wife, she was going to have to part with a few personal details no matter how distasteful.
They’d gone for a run early this morning and then shared breakfast on the patio before she took a shower and dressed for the day. There was still one small obstacle to talking with Tyler and that was their appointment this morning. The wedding planner was coming over to talk to them, making this entire situation even more real than it already was. It felt like a runaway freight train speeding down the tracks and she was standing in its way holding up a useless sign that said Slow Down. The massive train didn’t give a crap that she was nervous. It had a life of its own, pretty much like her deal with Tyler. With the press coverage and the expectations of fans all over the world, stopping it now would be almost impossible. Not completely out of the question but damn hard. She couldn’t just end things and walk away unscathed. Not in this town. To add insult to injury, no one would seriously believe it had been her that had called off the wedding, not Tyler.
Frankly, she kept whipping herself back and forth like a flag in the wind. One moment she was content with marrying – or at least being engaged – to Tyler. The next she was furtively looking for a way out, panicked that her friendship with him would be ruined. That was her greatest fear…losing him and the love he’d shown her. As flighty as he could be, he’d brought stability into her life.
Dressed in a teal blue sundress and low-heeled sandals, Billie made her way down the long staircase and out onto the patio where Tyler was chatting with a blonde in her late thirties to early forties. It was hard to tell in Hollywood. She could very well be over sixty. Her hair was styled into a sleek bob and her makeup was perfectly applied. Houston Callaway had come highly recommended and knew how to keep a secret. This wouldn’t be her first big name wedding and Billie was looking forward to depending on the woman’s expertise.
Tyler beckoned to her. “Come meet our wedding planner.”
The introductions were made and Billie settled into a chair next to Tyler so they were both facing Houston on the other side of the table. Billie wasn’t sure where to start but luckily Houston wasn’t shy. She plunged right in without a lot of small talk.
“First of all, congratulations to both of you.” She spied Billie’s ring. “What a lovely engagement ring. You have excellent taste.”
“I can’t take any credit.” Tyler smiled and shook his head. “Billie picked it out.”
Houston nodded approvingly. “Just gorgeous. Now let’s get started. Before we dig down into the details I want to get an idea of what kind of wedding you’re looking for. A small intimate ceremony on the beach? Or a lavish event with hundreds of people? Something in between? Or perhaps you’re not sure but you know you want it to be in the evening? Whatever you have in your head I want to hear about.”
“Whatever Billie wants,” Tyler said firmly. “I don’t care what it costs. I want this wedding to be everything she’s ever dreamed about.”
Tyler appeared to have said the magic words. I don’t care what it costs. Houston was beaming from ear to ear and her eyes were sparkling. Billie wondered how often the planner heard that in this town of dreams. This probably wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last.
Billie laid her hand on Tyler’s arm. “I’m sure we can have a nice wedding without hocking the crown jewels. As for what I have in my mind, well, to be perfectly honest I’m not sure what I want.”
“That’s not true,” Tyler said, frowning. “You told me you wanted a big wedding to rival the royal ones you saw on television.”
Houston was smiling again but Billie was going to have to burst her bubble.
“I did say that,” she admitted. “But that was five years ago and I’ve grown up a lot since then. I don’t need a huge production. I want something elegant and tasteful, not cheesy or over the top.”
“We can absolutely do that for you, Billie,” Houston replied. “How about we start by talking about the mood? When you picture your wedding, is it night? Or daytime? Are you inside or outside?”
“It’s night,” Billie said, surprising herself with the answer. She hadn’t realized that’s what she wanted, but an evening wedding with candles and a starry sky sounded perfect. “And inside. I don’t want to have to worry about the weather. But it would be nice to have an outside area so people can get some fresh air.”
Houston nodded and scribbled a few notes. “That’s great. This is good information. Have you started your guest list yet? Do you have any idea how many people you’re thinking about inviting? Just a ballpark figure would be fine.”
“Not yet,” Tyler replied. “But with all the people we know I would imagine the number won’t be small and intimate. I’m going to throw out two or three hundred but it’s just a wild guess at this point.”
Two hundred people? Was he expecting her to invite half of that number? She didn’t know that many actual human beings and she sure as hell didn’t like that many enough to invite them to her wedding. Her number was somewhere around twenty or twenty-five.
“The sooner we get that number the sooner we can book a venue.” Houston flipped through her notebook. “Do you think you can get me at least the preliminary number by Monday? Then I can have a list of possibilities to you by Wednesday. Would that work for you?”
It wouldn’t take five minutes for Billie to write up her list but getting Tyler to sit down and do it was a whole other story. She practically had to strap him to the kitchen table when Garrett sent over boxes of photos to be autographed. He was too hyper to stay still for long.
“I can do that,” Billie said, arching a brow at her fiancé. “Tyler?”
“Sure can,” he replied cheerfully. “No problem. Having the venue list before we go would be helpful.”
Houston smiled and folded her hands. “Which leads me to my next question which you’re probably surprised I didn’t ask up front. What date are you looking at?”
This was Tyler’s question to answer. Billie was content to wait and see if they actually needed to get married but he was adamant that they needed to be together for more than just getting this role. There was filming, promotion, and hopefully awards season, and he wanted her by his side for all those, not that she wouldn’t have been anyway. She simply would have been doing it as his best friend.
“Late summer or early fall,” Tyler said firmly. “But if you can’t do it by then we can go as late as the holidays. I want us to have some time for a honeymoon before I start my next film after the first of the year.”
If he snagged the role. Of course if he didn’t get this one, there were always more movies. A stack of scripts showed up to the house every Monday morning by messenger from Josh, Tyler’s agent.
Houston made more notes, not seeming too worried about the aggressive timeline. A timeline that scared the ever-loving crap out of Billie. It was happening too quickly and she couldn’t control it.
It was that runaway train again barreling toward her at the speed of light. She was going to end up road kill at this rate. She either needed to get out of the way or get with the program and the former wasn’t really an option.
Reaching down into her oversized leather bag, Houston pulled out a stack of glossy magazines and slid them across the table. “I always bring these to our get-to-know-you meetings just in case the bride and groom aren’t sure what they want. These are yours to keep, so look through them and see if anything strikes your fancy or anything makes you gag in revulsion. I think it will help you decide what kind of wedding you want. In the meantime, I’m going to be looking at what venues are available during your preferred timeframe. Can we set something up for Wednesday? I’d like to talk about color schemes and dresses in addition to venues. You’ll need to get going on that as your timeline is short.”
The three of them agreed on ten o’clock Wednesday morning and Tyler rose from his chair and escorted Houston to her car. Billie took the opportunity to pick up one of the magazines and page through it. It was all dresses, flowers, cakes, tuxedos, and even honeymoon destinations.
“We should look at those,” Tyler said from behind her. He hadn’t lingered long seeing Houston out. “But I meant what I said. I want you to have whatever it is that you want.”
Twisting in her seat, she faced him, really looking at him for the first time this morning. For a man that had managed to avoid love and commitment for almost thirty-nine years he didn’t look concerned in the least about his upcoming nuptials.
That worried her. It was the same old complaint. He wasn’t taking this seriously, although he’d said he would try. He simply didn’t get that this was marriage. Legal and everything. Frankly she was tired of reminding him.
She flipped open another magazine and the photo showed a cake that had to be at least eight tiers high. “I don’t know what I want but I think this might be overkill. How about I look through these two and mark the pages I like and you do the same with these other two? Then we can compare.”
“Deal.” He picked up the magazines but his gaze was on Billie. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting strangely this morning. Are you coming down with something?”
Holding up her left hand, she ran her fingers over the ring, the diamond cold and hard but glittering brightly in the sunshine. “I’m acting weird because we just met with a wedding planner. You and me, Tyler. I’m freaked out and I’m a little worried that you aren’t the same. Did you take a handful of Valium this morning or are you in deep denial? You’re going to lose your bachelor status and I would think you’d be sweating over that.”
Smiling so that his dimple peeked out of his cheek, he leaned his hip against the table. “I think maybe you’re more freaked out than I am, baby girl. You’re holding onto your single status like it’s a life preserver. I know you think I’m going to be a lousy husband but I told you that I’m going to help you trust me. You won’t be nervous after that.”
She slapped the magazines down on the table with a huff. “You’re not nervous in the least?”
“Nope, and do you know why?”
I sure as hell don’t.
“Why?”
“Because I have faith that marrying my best friend in the whole entire world is going to be fine. We’ve worked every issue we’ve ever had out and we’ll work the future ones out as well. It’s going to be okay and we’re going to be happy. I’ll make sure of it.”
This was so Tyler. “You can’t make another person happy. It isn’t possible no matter how much we want it.”
Leaning down, he planted his hands on either side of her, trapping her with his arms so their faces were inches from one another. She could feel his warm breath against her cheek and she shivered despite the temperature.
“Seems like you’ve decided to be miserable and that this is going to be a disaster,” he replied, his intense blue gaze making her squirm. “No offense, babe, but you’ve been a real downer since accepting my marriage proposal. If you don’t want this, then we’ll call it off. You can keep the money. But if we’re going to do this can you smile every now and then? Jesus, Houston probably thinks I have a gun to your head. You’re not a hostage so stop acting like one. You keep saying everything is changing but from what I’ve seen you’re the one who has changed and not for the better. I miss my best friend.”
Straightening, he turned and strode back into the house leaving Billie rooted to her chair, reeling from his anger.
No, he hadn’t been angry. He’d actually been rather calm, but sort of sad. Honestly, she missed being his best friend. She’d been so intent on being his fiancée she’d forgotten to be his pal and his confidant. He was right about her attitude as well. She’d been a real bitch to be around and she didn’t even like herself at this moment in time.
It all changed now. Picking up the magazines, Billie began looking through them. For real this time. She was going to be the happiest bride in California, maybe the entire West Coast. Tyler deserved better than what she’d been giving him. They were going to be friends again.
Who just happened to be engaged.