Book 2: Endless Summer

Chapter Twenty-Three: Finding a Venue

Alyssa sighed as she watched her mother and Monica talk about her wedding, she had known when she called for their help that this would happen; the two women seemed in the element and hadn't even stopped to ask what the brunette what she wanted.

"What about La Quinta Navalafuente?" Monica asked as she handed Amelia the booklet, it was the seventh venue that had been suggested that hour and one of the thirty venues that had been looked at.

Amelia nodded and looked at her daughter, who was refusing to consider a castle or city wedding; she wanted the reception to be held in manor-like house in the mountains.

"It's described as a Victorian-Style house... in the mountains in the north of Madrid centre," Amelia read out making Alyssa look at her interested as she bounced her little sister on her hip; she walked over to her mother who smiled knowing it had gotten her interest.

Alyssa looked at the brochure and nodded, she liked the look of this one; it was somewhere that the press wouldn't be able to see them, the venue would only be told that it was hosting a special private party and nothing more.

"We could pop down this afternoon and have a look around," Monica suggested as she smiled at her friend making Alyssa to nod, as she looked through the brochure that her mother held.

Amelia smiled at the thought of her daughter's wedding; she knew that this might be the only wedding of her children that she would attend until Adelaide was older. Adam didn't seem like he wanted to settle down right and was still on his around the world travels at the expense of David.

***

Alyssa looked around in awe as she walked alongside Monica and the manor's co-ordinator through the gardens; they had told the woman that it was going to be a private wedding party and secrecy was a must.

"When were you thinking of getting married?" the woman asked as they walked, only the reception would be held at the manor while the ceremony itself would be held somewhere private and away from anyone that could reveal the odd union.

Alyssa swallowed knowing that the boys were leaving every detail of their reception to her, insisting that it was her day and it should be everything that she wanted while they would pay for it all.

"We were thinking the 15th of August this year," Alyssa said making the woman stare at her before she nodded, it was short notice and the brunette knew that this wasn't going to be easy but she was determined to get this done.

"At the end of this garden, there is a pool... no swimming mind. But once the ceremony is over it's a good place to hold cocktails," co-ordinator said making Alyssa nod as she looked around; she loved the idea of having the reception here and it made her feel more connected to the idea that she was going to be a bride.

Monica smiled as she realised that this was the place for Alyssa, it was beautiful and she was sure that everyone would enjoy the reception here; it was the perfect venue for what they wanted.

"How much are we talking?" Monica asked knowing that the three footballers would be paying for the entire thing, it was going to be expensive and couple's usually had about a year to plan something like this and Alyssa had five weeks to get everything ready.

"124 Euros per head," the woman said making Alyssa nearly choke between the four of them and their families, it would be pretty pricey and then there was every single one of their guests.

Monica took a deep breath as she looked at Alyssa, she knew that this was going to be hard but it would be worth it for her to have the best day ever for her wedding day.

"We would want the whole thing covered... no word of this wedding getting to the press," Monica said making the woman nod curiously; she wondered who the Groom was to make them want such a secretive reception but she knew that there was no way that anyone would ever find out.

Alyssa looked around the gardens once more as she wondered how all of this was going to work out; she spared a glance at Monica knowing that this was what she wanted.

"We'd like to book now," Alyssa said knowing that as soon as the reception was sorted then, it took something off her list and she knew the venue spaces would be hard to come by right now.

***

"So who's coming from Sergio's family?" Monica asked as they tried to sort out a list of people who would need invites when they had been designed; they were currently just sorting out families.

"His mother, father, brother and his family, sister and her boyfriend," said Alyssa making Sergio's family list total seven, she knew there was a chance that Paqui wouldn't come but she was still going to invite her.

Monica nodded as she listed them, they needed to work out how much this was going to cost and they had to start now; the deposit was down for the venue and it was officially booked.

"Fernando wants his Madre, padre, brother and his family, sister and hers," Alyssa told Monica as she moved to make herself a drink, she knew that in total it was going to be an expensive wedding and that keeping this from getting out to the press would be hard.

"Iker wants his Madre, padre and brother there plus a guest for Unai," Alyssa said making Monica nod before thinking about her own; she wasn't sure about her father presence at her wedding, she knew that she didn't want her paternal family there.

Alyssa still wasn't on the best of terms with Trinidad and she wasn't comfortable with inviting her to the wedding knowing all the trouble that she had caused for her parents in the past.

"Then there is my Madre, brother and his girlfriend," Alyssa said making Monica nod, she was all too aware that Alyssa didn't associate with David's parents; she still refused to call Vicente her Grandfather while they worked together.

It was at that moment that Iker, Fernando and Sergio returned home, Monica smiled at them as they entered the kitchen; she was proud of the work that they'd done that day.

"We have a venue," the older woman said pleased as she handed Iker the brochure to show him, while Fernando popped the kettle on; Sergio peeked at the calculations that Monica was doing for the reception and whistled.

"There goes our small wedding... how the hell are we going to keep it small when all our team mates want in?" Sergio asked from their national team mates to their Real Madrid and Chelsea team mates; there were a lot of people who wanted to come to the wedding.

Alyssa shrugged as she sipped on her water, she peeked at Iker as he sat down next to her; she knew that he was going to be keeping an eye on her especially while she was pregnant.

"I don't know... it's lucky we are so rich," Fernando joked as he smiled at Sergio, they were going to have to select only people that they knew wouldn't ruin the big day and could keep a secret.