Beach Wedding (22 page)

“You should go,” Luke says, backing away. “The guys
are leaving now, too.”

“But wait!” I hate seeing him like this, feeling this
distance between us after everything was going so well. “Can we
talk after? I could come over, or meet you. Whatever you want.”

“Not tonight. It’s going to be a late one. I’ll see
you tomorrow.” Luke barely looks at me before heading out after
Clyde and his rabble of groomsmen.

My heart sinks. How can I explain, if he won’t even look me in
the eye? I want to go after him, but Marcie swoops in and whisks me
outside to where a massive party bus is waiting.

“Who’s ready to party?” she calls. The bridesmaids
all cheer, hustling on board with Nick and Neil following right
behind them. I couldn’t be any
less
ready, but I have no
choice. I take a deep breath, and follow.

Inside, it’s already decked out with bright pink feather boas
and a mini bar. The other girls crowd around, doing shots and pouring
champagne as we drive away. “It’s your last night as a
free woman, babe!” Lulu howls. “We’re gonna get you
some action.”

“No, really,” Pixie protests weakly as they drape a
Bachelorette #1 sash around her. “You don’t have to do
all of this.”

“Who’s got their dollar bills, yo?” another girl
whistles. “Driver! Take us to a strip club!”

Pixie squeezes in beside me. “That was a really nice speech you
made.” She smiles at me. “Thank you.”

“Um, my pleasure.” I decide not to tell her it was Theo’s
words she heard. The last thing I need is any more complication. “Are
you all ready for tomorrow? You must be excited.”

Pixie swallows. “Sure,” she says, sounding like she’s
got a dental appointment lined up, and not her dream wedding. “It’ll
be great.”

I study her. She’s looking kind of pale. “Are you feeling
OK?” I check.

“Uh huh. Just a little bus sickness. My stomach is kind of
queasy.”

“Maybe it’s something you ate,” I suggest.

The bus rolls on, and soon the girls are on the third – or is
that fourth? – bottle of champagne. We’re just rounding a
corner, when suddenly Pixie lurches up. “Stop the bus!”
she cries. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Eww!”

“Oh my god, don’t puke all over me!”

“Get her out of here!”

The bus screeches to a stop, and Pixie scrambles out. I hurry after
her as she stumbles to the side of the road and starts retching.

“Hey, honey, it’s OK!” I hold back her hair and rub
her back. “Shh, it’s OK.”

Pixie dry heaves, then straightens up. “I’m fine.”
Pixie swallows. “It’s like you said, it must be something
I ate.”

The girls are already tottering out of the bus. “Babes, are you
OK?”

“You’re such a lightweight! We’ve got a ton of
drinking left to do!”

“At least that’s one way to lose weight,” another
snarks.

I clap my hands together. Executive decision. “Show’s
over!” I declare. “Pixie’s not feeling well, so
we’re cutting the night short. Time to go home!”

There’s a chorus of disappointment. “Buzzkill!”

Pixie looks stricken. “I don’t want to ruin everyone’s
fun.”

“They’ll live,” I tell her, then have an idea. The
production is sending more cars to trail us. “You guys take the
bus and keep partying, I can run Pixie back to the inn.”

They don’t hesitate. “See you, babes!” The girls
climb back onto the bus, and soon, they’re driving away.

Pixie and I are left alone. I put my arm around her, and wait for
headlights.

There’s a rumble in the distance. Pixie looks up at the sky
with a hopeful expression. “Do you think it’s going to
rain?”

I wait up, hoping to speak to Luke, but Clyde’s bachelor party
must have run late, because he doesn’t return my calls. I
finally fall asleep, setting my alarm early so I can drive over to
his place first thing in the morning and explain.

But it’s not the sound of the clock radio that wakes me.
Instead, someone comes flying into my room and shakes me awake.

“She’s gone! What the hell are we going to do? Wake up,
Ginny
.Wake up!”

I groan, wrestling to get the duvet back. This is a nightmare. It
has to be, because that voice sounds suspiciously like—

“Marcie?” I open my eyes. “What are you doing--?”

“Pixie’s gone!” Marcie yanks my covers away. “She
had an early hair and makeup call, but she’s not at the house,
and she’s not picking up her phone.”

“So? She’s probably getting breakfast somewhere.”

“She packed a case!” Marcie cries. “And took that
stupid little dog too!”

Oh crap.

“The wedding is in eight hours!” Marcie is pale, pacing
back and forth on the floor. “We have lights, camera, and no
action! Do you understand what this means?” she demands. “We’re
ruined!”

Now I’m awake. I scramble out of bed and grab a robe. “Calm
down,” I tell her, even though my stomach has dropped with
fear. Marcie shakes me off.

“We flew in all the co-stars. There’s a three-foot tied
cake with her perky blond face on it! All my bosses are coming. Oh
God, they’re going to fire me. I’ll never work in this
town again!”

“Deep breaths.” My mind races, trying to figure this out.
“Tell me, what does Clyde say? When did he see her last?”

Marcie snorts. “He hasn’t been home. Apparently his
buddies decided to strip him naked and tie him to a streetlight down
in Key West. The photos are already all over the internet.”

“Well, that’s good,” I say. “That means they
haven’t heard about Pixie yet.”

“And they won’t.” Marcie grips my wrist tight.
“Because we’re going to find her, before anyone knows she
was gone. They’re getting married today, come hell or high
water.”

I pause. Somehow, I’m not so certain. “Are you sure you
don’t want to say something? Just in case we have to cancel.”

“Don’t say that word again!” Marcie still is
holding me tightly, her nails digging into my skin. “You’re
going to go out there and comb every last inch of this godforsaken
town – and don’t you dare stop until you find her.”

“But what if she’s already left?” I protest. “She
could be anywhere by now.”

“I have a team already checking rental cars and airports,”
Marcie looks determined. “Unless she hiked out of town on foot,
somebody
knows where she went.”

“We’ll find her,” I promise.

“You better.” Marcie’s eyes narrow. “Because
we both know, this is all your fault.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” She glares. “Pixie’s cold
feet are nothing new, she changes her mind about everything all the
time! But you’re the one telling her she can quit – yes,
I know about that,” she cuts me off. “I know everything
that happens on my shows. How do you think I got this far?”

“I was just trying to help,” I protest, feeling guilty.
“Sometimes, a bride needs to hear they can leave so they choose
to stay!”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your reverse
psychology. Your plan backfired, and we’re all going to pay the
price. Fix it!”

She turns on her heel and stalks out, leaving me reeling. Where on
earth would Pixie go? Every time I asked if this wedding was what she
wanted, she promised me it was. Why would she change her mind now?

I pull on some clothes and grab my keys. “Theo, pick up. This
is an emergency!” I get his voicemail. “Pixie’s
gone AWOL. You need to call me back ASAP.” I pause, suddenly
thinking of something. The speech. Their flirty moments together. If
he’s gone and done something stupid… “If you know
where she is, you need to tell me, right now. Call!”

I hit the road and drive around town. I check the café, the
park, even the beach. Anywhere Pixie might have gone. Marcie calls me
every five minutes, her panic turning to fury, until I just let her
calls go to voicemail. My panic grows.

This is bad. This is really bad.

I see the wedding guests around town, being filmed enjoying life in
Pelican Key Cove. There’s crew everywhere, and when I drive by
the mansion to check there too, there are dozens up people setting up
for the ceremony, rigging lights and running cables from the massive
generator trucks in the back. This is a huge production; everybody’s
depending on us to pull it off, and I can’t even produce the
bride!

Marcie took a chance on me, but you can bet if I don’t find
Pixie and get her down that aisle my reputation will be ruined. My
whole career depends on pulling weddings off without a hitch, and I
would say this counts as a big one. Goodbye wedding planner business,
hello public humiliation and shame. But that’s nothing compared
to letting everyone else down, and worse still, having Pixie out
there in the wind in God knows what state.

I bite back the panic, and try to think. I call my aunts, Wes, Jules,
everyone I can think of to help search.

“Oh babe,” Jules says, “I’m so sorry! I’m
on my way over with the cakes, I’ll call you if I see
anything.”

“Thanks.” I sit, staring at the ocean for a moment. My
mind is blank, my career is hanging by a thread, and what I told
Marcie is true: she could be anywhere by now! But even in the midst
of all this chaos, one instinct is stronger than anything else.

I need Luke.

I start the engine again and drive over to his house. Luckily, his
truck is still outside. I hurry up the stairs, and burst through the
open door. Luke is just at the table, looking at some plans. “Thank
God you’re here,” I exclaim. I’ve never been so
glad to see anyone in all my life. “Pixie’s done a
runner, Marcie’s in meltdown, and I don’t know what to
do!”

I reach for him, needing to just hold him, and have everything feel
better the way it always does when I’m in his arms. But Luke
steps back.

“Maybe she did the right thing.”

I pause, confused. “Didn’t you hear me? I have to find
her. My whole career is on the line!”

Luke gives a tense shrug. “Is that all that matters to you?
There are more important things than some stupid wedding, you know.”

I gape. I know he got the wrong idea the other day and we haven’t
had a chance to talk, but his tone is so matter-of-fact. It’s
like he doesn’t care at all.

“This isn’t just about the wedding!” I try to
explain. “Pixie could be anywhere by now. She’s confused,
she’s upset. We need to make sure she’s OK!”

“You mean so you and Marcie can talk her back into it. No
thanks, I don’t want any part of that. Besides,” he adds
coolly. “You were the one who told her she could quit.”

I step back, trying to keep it together. “This is about what
you heard, when I was talking to her. I’ve been trying to
explain, it’s not what you think. I wasn’t talking about
us, me leaving, any of the past. You got the wrong idea!”

“Did I?” Luke challenges, his blue eyes distant and hurt.
“You might not have meant it at the time, but it’s still
true. Quitting on a relationship is the easiest thing in the world,
you’ve already proved that once.”

“That was ten years ago!” I can feel tears rising, but I
fight to keep them back. “You know why I left. You said you
understood.”

“I understand.” Luke’s voice is quieter now, almost
sad. “Leaving is what you do best. It’s what you’re
going to do now, isn’t it? Just head back to New York.”

“I…” I pause, caught. “I haven’t
figured that out just yet. I don’t know what the future holds,
but yes, I need to go back, at least for a while. I have a life
there, a career.” I catch the flash of hurt in his eyes. “But
it doesn’t have to mean the end for us! This matters to me,
Luke.
You
matter,” I say fervently, willing him to just
listen.

But Luke shakes his head. “It’s my fault, too, getting
caught up in old feelings. But what we’re doing here, you and
me, it was never going to last. This was just a repeat of something
that played out a long time ago. We both should have known better.”

His words slice though me. Agony. “Luke…” I
whisper, I can’t understand what I’m hearing.

“No, I’ve thought about it a lot. You had it right. A
fresh start, moving on. There’s a reason we didn’t make
it the first time,” he adds cruelly. “Let’s just
call it what it is: a fling, for old time’s sake.”

My world crashes down. “You’re breaking up with me,”
I say slowly.

Luke looks at me sadly. “No, Ginny. We were broken a long time
ago.”

I can’t believe it. I thought this had been my second chance,
that we’d mended the broken bridges of the past. I opened
myself up again, I dared to dream I could have this love back in my
life – build something real with him this time around. But Luke
is looking at me like a stranger, as if I’m someone he’s
found in his bed the morning after a one-night stand who doesn’t
understand the rules.

I reel back, trying not to cry. I want to stay, to fight for him,
make it so he understands how much he means to me. But Luke is clear:
he doesn’t want me in his life any more.

This was all a mistake to him.

My phone sounds again. It’s barely stopped ringing, but this
time I pick it up.

“Ginny?” It’s Theo, sounding nervous.

“Where are you?” I demand, turning away from Luke before
he can see the devastation on my face.

“A motel, out north past Marathon. The Sandy something, I
think. Sandy Shores.”

A motel. I freeze. “Is Pixie with you?”

“Yes, but Ginny—”

“Don’t move.” I cut him off. “I’m on my
way.”

I hang up.

“Sounds like you found her,” Luke says.

“For now.” I quickly text Marcie the details and tell her
I’m on my way before looking back at Luke. I still want to
reach out and touch him, but I can tell, it’s too late. Like he
said, maybe we were broken a long time ago.

I swallow back the ache that’s slicing through my heart. “Take
care,” I say, turning away. I don’t wait around to hear
what he says in response – if he says anything at all.