All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Twelve

        The meeting was held on the veranda, where there was an adorable little area with metal chairs and a table. Grayson and I were the last ones to arrive, exhausted but at least present. Laura was dressed to the nines, in a pale purple dress with a huge poof on one shoulder. It was hard not to be excited when she was clearly so eager about this wedding. Her enthusiasm was contagious, unfortunately.

        We were introduced to the wedding planner, a woman named Rylie Simmons. She was very polite and kind, with a sunny personality that matched her blonde hair that was streaked with hot pink in the ends.

        "Okay, so before we start any planning, I want to get to know both of you a little. See what you guys are like together, your personalities, how you met, that sort of thing," Rylie said breezily.

        Crap.

        "Right," Grayson said with a small throat-clear. "Well, we actually only met a couple weeks ago, in Barcelona."

        Rylie's eyebrows shot up. "Okay...maybe a little elaboration on that."

        So we ran through our adorable, scholarly, respectable meet story, trying to convince her that we weren't a couple of lunatics who had gotten married on their European adventure. Saying it out loud made me realize the lie didn't sound much better than the truth, but Laura and Rylie seemed to buy it.

        Grayson saved the story. He sat with his arm around my shoulders, occasionally smiling dreamily at me. I knew he was faking, but it still made it very hard to concentrate. Especially when I caught whiffs of his cologne, which I'd come to love over the past few days.

        Another part that made things hard was Rylie taking notes. I'm talking quick, fast scribbles in her huge spiral-bound planner. What was she saying about us? Was she calling us frauds? I was itching to snatch the planner, but I doubted she would appreciate it. The planner was stressing me out so much that I began to feel nauseous.

        "Okay, great. You guys are awesome," Rylie finally said, almost making me collapse in relief. We'd passed her test. If it had been a test.

        "First thing, I'd like you both to reach out and find bridesmaids, groomsmen, best man, maid of honor. That sort of thing," Rylie said. "How many are you each thinking?"

        "I just need two," I said with a shrug.

        "Okay, Grayson?"

        "Th–"

        "Probably ten, that I can think of," Laura interrupted.

        He was taken aback. "Ten? Who could I possibly know that would make the total ten?"

        "Daryl, Peter, Michael, Leo, Andrew, Miles, Bernard, Taylor, Jason, and Clay," she ticked off on her fingers.

        "See, I was just thinking Tay, Jason, and Clay," Grayson argued. "I barely know those other guys."

        "Speaking of Clay, he called yesterday, said he's coming home tomorrow for the week," Laura added, a look of disdain briefly crossing her face.

        Grayson looked surprised. "Ah...well, that is good to know. But I really think that I only need a few groomsmen."

        She didn't look too happy but nodded. Rylie, however, was delighted. "Okay, good, Jackie, you'll need one more to even it out, or we can plan an off-amount."

        "We can have an uneven amount," I said, not particularly caring. It wasn't like I had anyone else in mind.

        Rylie kept running through questions, her planner getting more and more full. By the time dinner finally rolled around, we had determined that the wedding would take place right at Grayson's house, what the main color scheme would be (deep red and silver) and set up an appointment to go dress shopping. I also heard back from Kylie and Nina, who both gladly accepted their roles as bridesmaids and said they could come soon for dress fittings and shopping for my dress.

        My head was still swimming with information as we said our goodbyes to Rylie, who somehow looked energized after the long-winded discussion. It was the complete opposite of Grayson and me. I was already thinking about going to bed and it wasn't even seven o'clock.

        "Come, let us eat dinner," Laura said, leading us into the dining room. "I requested fresh watermelon!"

        Finally, food I understood. Meals here were always so elegant; even scrambled eggs sometimes looked too fancy for me. The watermelon was served on skewers, and it was so fresh and crisp I was instantly put in a better mood.

        "When does dad get back?" Grayson asked Laura, finishing off his second skewer.

        "Friday, I believe, why?" she asked.

        "Just wanted to make sure he got to meet Jackie and spend some time with her," he said, shooting me a small smile.

        "Perhaps you could all go golfing, maybe take Clay too," Laura suggested.

        He turned to me and asked, "Do you golf?"

        "No," I said, embarrassed.

        "Then I'll teach you; it'll be fun," he said, smiling. "This Saturday, okay?"

        I nodded, munching on more watermelon. I had no clue how to golf and probably would end up whacking myself in the face with my own club, but learning could be fun.

        After dinner, I approached Grayson and said, "I know I probably should've asked earlier, but who is Clay, and why is him coming home such a big deal?"

        He laughed. "Clay's my little brother."

        "Right," I said, remembering that Grayson did have a brother and that I had not bothered to learn the brother's name. Oops. "How old is he?"

        "Eighteen, as of a couple months ago, except he acts like he's eleven," Grayson snorted. "I've never met another full-grown man who enjoys flatulence jokes as much as he does."

        A snicker escaped my mouth as I asked, "So why doesn't he live at home like you do?"

        "Mom drives him crazy," he sighed. "He wants nothing to do with the family business. Clay wants to be a musician, to sing and play guitar. That's frowned upon by mother, so he figured he could make it on his own."

        "Did he?"

        Grayson tilted his head back and forth. "Yes and no. Let's just say I've had to help him out a couple of times. Although he is doing better than anyone expected."

        "Is his music any good?" I wanted to know.

        "Yeah, he's pretty good. All his songs are about heartbreak and longing, which I personally find a little funny since he's never experienced either, but they're good songs," he said with a shrug.

        "I can't wait to meet him," I said happily.

        Grayson shook his head. "Don't say I didn't warn you."