I Thee Wed (Wedding Dreams)

I
Thee Wed

(Wedding
Dreams #2)

by
 

Savannah
Leigh

Copyright
© Savannah Leigh, 2013

All
rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

 This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents
are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various
products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without
permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized,
associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

The
following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations.
It is intended for adult readers.

Cover
design by T.M. Franklin

Cover
photo by
Nanka
-Photo

eBook
formatting by Mountain Media

Prologue

Lily

I can’t believe this is
happening. I have actually accepted Drew Hamilton’s proposal of marriage. He
said it didn’t have to be legal, we could just have the ceremony for his mom’s
sake, but I’m not sure how I feel about that.
After I came
out of the dressing room wearing
the
dress to find him in my shop, my
brain just shut off.

I was grateful when he left soon
after I said yes because I really needed to be alone. He said he’d call me on
Sunday, which gives me a little less than two days to get my head on straight.
I took the ring off after he left. There’s no way Sierra would have missed the
three-carat rock on my hand, and I’m not ready to answer any questions yet. I
don’t know how I made it through the rest of the day, but now I’m alone in my
apartment, my cat,
Nala
, on my lap and a big glass of
Merlot in my hand.

What the hell am I doing?
I start to
laugh uncontrollably, and
Nala
looks at me like I’ve
lost my mind. Maybe I have.

I start to imagine what it would
be like to live in that humongous house with Drew. Would I have my own room?
Would I want to share a room with him? Is he allergic to cats? Why would I move
in with him if this isn’t a real wedding? I suddenly realize I know nothing at
all about him except his address and his occupation.

Oh, and that he’s sex on a stick.
The man knows his way around a woman’s body, that’s for sure.

Here we go again.
Stop it,
Lily. Get your head out of the clouds.

I’ve got to come up with a plan
to convince myself this is a good idea. I also have to figure out how to tell
my mother about it without her freaking out. But, right now, I’m going to drink
this bottle of wine, watch bad reality TV, and pass out on the couch.

*
* *

Drew

I walk out of Wedding Dreams with
a huge grin on my face.
She actually agreed to do this.

I told Lily I’d call her on
Sunday since I’m sure she’ll need some time to think about things and start
planning the wedding. I wonder what she’ll plan. She does this for a living,
after all. Will it be a big event, or small and intimate? I really don’t care
as long as my mom is having a good day and remembers the wedding at the end of
the day.

Suddenly it hits me we can’t wait
very long to have this wedding. Mom is getting worse all the time, so Lily is
going to have to plan quickly. I take a deep breath and calm down. We’ll just
have to discuss it all on Sunday.

I get in my car and head toward
the assisted living facility to tell my mom the good news. I can’t hide the big
smile that fills my face.

Chapter
1

Lily

“What the hell was I thinking?” I
say out loud to
Nala
. Did I really just agree to
marry a man I’ve known for less than a week? I’ve lost my mind. I’m one fry
short of a happy meal.
Cray
cray
.
Loca
.

Well, what’s done is done. First
thing is to decide how this is going to work. Do I want to be legally wed to this
man I don’t even know? How fast does he want the wedding to happen? I need to
slow down and think this through.

Okay.
Time to
make a list.
I do better with a list I can check things off. But first,
I need more wine.

1.
    
Will
this be legal? What are the consequences if it is or isn’t?

2.
    
How
will we know what will be best for his mom? She’s the reason for this marriage
in the first place.

3.
    
How
will I break the news to my mother?

4.
    
Will
we invite anyone?

5.
    
Where
will we have the ceremony? Do we need a photographer? Will his mother want
pictures?

Wait a minute. Now I’m planning
this wedding like a “real” wedding. Before I get any further with this line of
thinking I need to talk with Drew and figure out what he expects. Not only that,
I need to get to know him.

After pouring another glass of
wine, I sit back down and turn on the TV. I’ve got to do something to take my
mind off Drew. As I’m flipping through the channels, I find the movie
Bridesmaids
is on.
Nothing like a wedding disaster movie to make me feel
better.

*
* *

Drew

I make the short drive to Brooke
Valley Assisted Living. My mother has lived here for the past six months. My
father passed away five years ago and she did pretty well for a while. Mom had
her friends, her bridge club, and she started to meet her friends at McDonald’s
each morning for coffee and gossip.

Then she started to forget
things. At first, she’d forget where she put her purse or her keys. Eventually
she would forget where she was and I’d get phone calls to come and get her. As
her only child, I tried to help her as much as my busy work schedule would
allow. I hired a caregiver to look after her, but that didn’t go well, either.
Mom would be fine for a day or two, and then she’d think the caregiver was
trying to rob or kill her and the person would leave.

I had no choice but to move her
to Brooke Valley where she could maintain some of her independence but still be
cared for. She’s adjusted well and seems to be happy. The staff keeps her busy
with activities and crafts during the day, and they make sure she takes her
medications like she’s supposed to.

When I arrive at the facility,
it’s mid-afternoon. Bingo has just ended and I find Mom in the solarium reading
a magazine.

“Hi, Mom.
How are you
today?” I ask as I walk up and give her a kiss on the cheek. She smiles and
looks me in the eye for a few seconds longer than is comfortable for most
people. I see the realization dawn on her when she finally recognizes me.

“Drew, darling!
It’s been so
long. How come you don’t come to visit me like you used to?” She asks this
every time. I visit at least twice a week, but most of the time she doesn’t
remember so she thinks it’s been weeks or months since I was last there. I’m
just thankful she remembers who I am today.

“I know, Mom. I try but you know
how busy I am at the law firm.” I take her hand and hold it, trying to let her
know how much I love her. She pats the back and smiles.

“What’s new, son? You look like
the cat that ate the canary.”

“I have some good news, Mom. I’m
getting married. ” I can’t help but feel excited because I know she will be,
too.

She leans back in her chair and
claps her hands like a child, a huge smile breaking across her face.

“Who’s the lucky girl and why
haven’t I met her yet?” she asks but not in an irritated way.

“Her name is Lily and I wanted to
be sure she’d say yes before I brought her to meet you. She’s a beautiful girl and
I just know you’re going to love her.” At least I hope she does.

“When do I get to meet this Lily
girl? I want to make sure she’s good enough to marry my only son.” Mom looks
irritated with that statement. I didn’t expect this.

“I’ll bring her with me next time
I visit and you can ask her all the questions you want, Mom.”

She seems satisfied with this
answer. We visit for a while longer, Mom filling me in on the gossip of the
facility and me trying to explain what I do for a living, again. I get up to leave
and kiss her on the cheek saying, “I promise I’ll bring Lily to meet you next
time.”

Mom looks at me, pats my hand,
and says, “I hope she makes you as happy as your father made me.”

I turn and walk away with tears
in my eyes, hoping nobody notices this unusual display of emotion.

Chapter
2

Lily

After spending the weekend
obsessing about how I’m going to handle this proposal and upcoming wedding,
I’ve decided I need to confide in someone. When I talked to Drew on Sunday, he
wasn’t very helpful in figuring things out. I don’t have any close friends, so
I choose Sierra, since she’s the closest person to me. We’re more business
partners than friends, but I have to talk to someone or I’m going to burst.
Thankfully, we didn’t have an event this weekend so I’ve had time to try to get
my thoughts in order, but I’m not sure that I’ve accomplished this task.

As Sierra walks into the shop, I
greet her with a, “Hey! How was your weekend?” I’m secretly hoping she doesn’t
have anything to report because I really need to talk about Drew.

“You would NOT believe what
happened to me this weekend,” Sierra replies.
Shit.
I guess my problems
will have to wait because I know Sierra won’t listen to a word I say until she
has her own problems out in the open.

“You’re probably right, but I bet
you’re going to tell me about it anyway,” I say with a big smile on my face. I
want to get this over with quickly so I can talk about my problems.

“My sister eloped! I didn’t even
know she was dating someone and I get a call on Saturday afternoon from her
saying she was in Las Vegas and married some guy named Andy. What the hell is
that? I mean, I’m a wedding planner and she elopes. I’m so pissed at her right
now.”

Sierra is pacing back and forth
while she tells me this and I’m not sure if she even took a breath. When she
stops talking, she looks up and her face is beet red, eyes wild. I know now is
not the time to talk about my surprise wedding plans to her. So, I give her a
small smile and encourage her to keep talking.

“I just don’t understand. She’s
only 22 years old. I’m the older sister and I should get married first. Wait,
that sounds really selfish, but
it’s
how I feel. This
sucks.” Sierra is near tears now. I come around the counter and give her a
sideways hug. It’s all I can muster right now.

“Well, at least you don’t have to
worry about planning her wedding and screwing it up. You know how family
members are, impossible to work with. Maybe she did you a favor?”

I doubt Sierra will buy this, but
I have to try. She looks up and smiles. I didn’t expect that and I’m still
waiting for another outburst. Instead she claps her hands and says, “You’re
right. She would’ve been impossible to please. How do you always know the right
thing to say?”

I shrug and head back to my desk.
I need to confirm some appointments for this week. Sierra busies herself with
arranging the new invitations that came in on Friday. We work silently for a
couple hours when my stomach growls so loudly it seems like it echoes in the
office.

“Sierra, I’m hungry. Do you mind
going and getting us some lunch and bring it back?”

“Sure, how about
Italian?
I’m feeling like I need a pepperoni
panini
.”

“That sounds great. I’ll have
one, too.” I hand her a ten and she sets off to get the food.

Now that I’m completely alone in
the shop, I take out the list I made on Friday and look it over. I’ve got to
make some decisions about it soon. I hear a text message alert from my phone.