From This Moment (15 page)

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, pulling her back.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“For you, always.”

Ivy punched him playfully. “I meant for food.” She finally managed to get up and out of the bed, going over to a chair to get her silk robe.

“I’m going to warm up the pizza. You want some?”

Jonathan rested his hand behind his head. “I guess I could eat something. I am going to need my strength for later.”

Ivy smiled and shook her head. “You are a mess.”

Jonathan beamed. “I’m glad you know it.”

Ivy was about to cross the threshold when Jonathan said something unexpected.

“No more sleeping in separate houses. I want to go to bed with you and see your face when I wake up in the morning.”

Ivy didn’t know what to say, wondering why he was telling her that now. She was already confused about the whole situation and wasn’t ready to make a decision, so she just smiled and left the room.

After Ivy completed the promo for the show, she went to Sally’s office to talk about some questions she’d had concerning the next segment they were scheduled to shoot over the next couple of days.

Ivy thought some of the changes Sally made went against the wishes of the bride and groom. As she listened to the woman’s reasoning, Ivy found out that some reality shows had little to do with reality. She would make the best of it.

As she left the studio, she dug down in her purse to find her car keys and saw the screen of her cell phone was illuminated; she’d missed several calls.

Reviewing the call history, she discovered that they were all from her office. She walked swiftly to her car and called once she was inside.

“Ivy,” Gwen said, answering the phone quickly without reciting their normal greeting.

Ivy’s heartbeat accelerated after hearing the panic in the receptionist’s voice. “Did something happen?”

“Yes, you need to call Lauren Kabins right away.”

What has this fool done to this girl now,
Ivy thought to herself. She hoped Randall hadn’t told Lauren a ridiculous lie to save his own behind.

The next thing that caught her attention was the way in which Gwen had been conducting herself. She didn’t like it when simple things were blown out of proportion. Lauren had told her she would call, so she didn’t see why the panic. “Gwen, is that the only reason you’ve called me five times this morning?” There was a pregnant pause before Ivy spoke up. “Girl, you sounded like a pipe had busted and the place was flooded or Lili blew up the kitchen or something. Don’t scare me like that again.”

Both women were silent and then they both laughed. “Ivy, I’m sorry, Lauren sounded distraught and every time she’d call, I told her you were out of the office. We’d hang up, but she’d call right back. So I just called you every time she called us.”

Ivy pushed her key in the ignition and turned it. “Well, I’m going to call her now. I’m on my way back to the office.”

“Okay,” Gwen said.

“Gwen.”

“Yes?”

“Calm down, girl. We’ve been doing this kind of work a long time now. I thought you would have been used to bridal pandemonium.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll see you when you get here.”

Ivy completed the call and dialed Lauren’s phone number. Plugging her headset in, she pulled out of the parking lot and drove back to Hearts and Flowers as she waited for Lauren to answer. She didn’t answer, so Ivy left a voicemail message.

It took Ivy forty-five minutes to get back to her office from Chicago. She suddenly felt optimistic when she pulled into her parking space and spotted Lauren’s car in the lot.

Almost immediately Gwen spoke as soon as Ivy walked in the door. “Lauren came in as soon as we hung up.”

“Where is she?” Ivy asked.

Gwen pointed straight ahead in the direction of the waiting area.

Ivy shook her head and kept a smile on her face. “Thanks, Gwen, I’ll handle it from here.” When she walked away from the desk, she thought Gwen’s ultra-hyper activity was weird because she was normally a charming and pleasant young lady.

Ivy took several deep breaths as she walked the short distance to the waiting room. Once she came upon the threshold of the door, her heart dropped. Lauren was crying. Not a loud, wailing cry, but the tears were running down her cheeks as she sat in the armchair over in the corner.

Compassion and disappointment came over Ivy when she saw her this way.

“Lauren,” Ivy said softly.

Lauren stood and inhaled deeply in an effort to control her emotions. Ivy went to her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, and said, “Why don’t we talk in my office?”

Lauren followed Ivy, continuing to dab her face with the handkerchief and didn’t say a word.

Both women sat in the chairs in front of Ivy’s desk.

“Lauren,” Ivy reached over and placed her hand on Lauren’s knee.

Lauren looked up.

“Did you come for your dress fitting?” Ivy wanted to sound optimistic. Ivy had her own opinion as to why, but she figured she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. There could have been several reasons that Lauren cried.

Ivy stood to her feet, picked up Lauren’s hand and encouraged her to stand as well.

Pulling the petite young woman into her arms, she hugged her for several minutes. Ivy felt the jerking in Lauren’s chest and the whimpers that escaped her mouth.

There was a little guilt attached to Ivy’s feelings, and she hoped she didn’t contribute to Lauren’s pain.

She led her over to the sitting area and they sat down next to each other on the sofa.

“Why did you come to see me today?” Ivy asked, her voice soft, filled with concern.

“I’m canceling my wedding,” Lauren finally said.

Before Ivy responded, she thought about her words carefully. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing, nor did she want to pry. She would accept whatever Lauren told her. After all, it was her life and her decision. Allowing someone else to influence your decision about your life was unacceptable, and Ivy knew that feeling very well.

“Have you discussed this with Randall?”

“Yes, I told him that he could go overseas by himself. I didn’t want to live in Japan anyway. Since I’m an only child, I didn’t want to be that far away from my mother.”

Both women sat quietly until Lauren broke the silence. “I think he’s keeping things from me. He kept dancing around the subject of your relationship with him.”

Ivy swallowed hard. Because she didn’t know what Randall shared with Lauren, she’d have to be careful how she responded to the statement.

“My relationship with him?”

“Yes. I could hear him yelling as I got closer to your office, and I stopped outside the door. I wanted to hear what he had to say for myself, before I came in.”

Ivy nodded and said, “I see.” There wasn’t more to be said.

“I know you two had a relationship in the past, but that’s not the reason I’m canceling the wedding. It’s the way he handled the entire situation.”

Ivy saw the tears appear in Lauren’s eyes as she explained.

“The anger and rage that he showed yesterday scared me. I started to wonder if this was the same man I fell in love with almost a year ago. If Jonathan hadn’t come in when he did, what would have happened? Would he have hit you?”

“Sweetie, I can’t answer that.”

“I couldn’t answer it, either. But I gave him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Before you brought him here a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t seen or heard from Randall in over ten years.”

“Ten years?”

“Yes. Once we broke up I stayed away, and once I graduated I moved back here.”

With tears spilling down her cheeks, Lauren continued, “It’s what happened after you and Jonathan left that drove the nail in his coffin, so to speak.”

“What did he say?”

“It’s what he didn’t say that bothered me, along with the combination of the anger and holding back. It just doesn’t suit me. See, my mother was in an abusive situation with my father and I didn’t want that for me.”

“If you’re afraid he’s holding back, you need to tell him. Life is crazy, Lauren, because even after he explains, you’ll never really know if he’s telling the truth.”

“I understand that, and I don’t want to wonder if he’s telling the truth or if he’s telling me a lie.”

“Lauren, a marriage should be based on trust. If you can’t trust the person, then you shouldn’t get married.”

Lauren stood. “I know, and that’s why I’m not getting married.”

Ivy reached out to Lauren. “You know I didn’t say anything because I felt it was his responsibility to tell you.”

“It was his place to tell me. If I hadn’t heard him say it myself, he would have never told me.”

Ivy got up from the sofa and walked over to her desk. She pulled up Lauren’s file on her computer and also retrieved her notebook which had notes concerning things she had put together for the wedding next Friday.

“Lauren, come over here and have a seat.” Ivy told her, as she scrolled through the file. “I’m trying to see if there is anything that we can get your money back on. Most wedding items are non-refundable.”

Lauren reached over and placed her hand on the desk. “Ivy, I read the contract and the fine print. I already know I can’t get my money back, so I don’t care. It wasn’t mine anyway, it was Randall’s.”

Ivy suppressed a laugh. She simply said, “Okay. I’m not sure what we can do with your dresses and supplies, but I’ll discuss things with Jonathan and my sisters and see what we can come up with.”

“I’ll have to call everyone on the list to let them know the wedding has been cancelled,” Lauren said.

“If you want to avoid a lot of questions, we can do that for you here.”

Lauren placed her hand over her chest. “Would you? I don’t mind paying for the service.”

Ivy shook her head. “There is no need for that, this one is on the house.” Ivy pulled up the guest list. “You provided numbers already. We’re good.”

Lauren stood up and went around to the other side of the desk. “I think I’m getting off cheap, because it would cost me a lot more if I married the wrong man.”

Ivy stood as well when Lauren reached out to hug her. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me.”

“It was a pleasure working with you, Lauren. I hope everything that comes your way starting today is a blessing to your life.”

“Thank you,” Lauren said, stepping back. She walked back over to the chair and picked up her purse. “I feel much better. I wish you much success in all your business ventures.” She headed for the door.

Ivy watched Lauren walk out of the door. Despite the way Randall had treated her, Ivy didn’t want Lauren to be victimized by her experience with him.

She hoped Lauren would meet someone that would make her happy.

Ivy blew out a big breath, relieved that part was over. Now all she had to do was find a bride and groom for the orphaned wedding.

“Baby, it’s not your fault,” Jonathan said to Ivy when she called him. He didn’t want her to take the burden of what happened between Randall and Lauren upon herself.

“I know, but I feel so bad.”

“There’s no reason to. If you ask me, the whole situation was stupid from the start. I don’t understand why he wasn’t honest with the woman from the beginning.”

“I’m not being sympathetic toward Randall, I was just thinking about how excited she was about getting married.”

“You didn’t feel that way after we got married, but aren’t you happy about it now?”

After hearing no response, Jonathan knew he’d struck a nerve.

“Ivy, tell me something.”

“Yes,” she answered quietly.

He could barely hear her. He knew she was nervous.

“Have you thought seriously about what I said the other night?”

“No, I haven’t. I’m enjoying us getting to know each other.”

“I am, too, but I think it’s time for us to seriously think about how we’re going to spend the rest of our lives.

Are we going to stay together, or are we going to get an annulment?”

Silence.

“Hello?”

“I’m still here,” Ivy said.

“Ivy, don’t get quiet on me or feel down about it. All I’m saying is that it’s time to think about it. You already know where I stand.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good, because I’m not going to mess up what I have with you like Randall did. He didn’t handle his business, so now he’s alone. I don’t want to be that man.”

Ivy was breathing hard. “I hear what you’re saying, and I promise to seriously think about it.”

“Did you want to go out to eat tonight or did you want to stay in?” Jonathan changed the subject. He realized that the day must have been hard for Ivy, but he wanted her to worry about their lives and not someone else’s.

“I think I’m going to cook. I’ll see you later,” she said.

“Tonight,” Jonathan said, then waited until she hung up the phone. He stared at the blinking cursor on his computer screen as he pondered his next move in sealing his fate with Ivy.

* * *

Jonathan didn’t hear his brother when he came into the office.

“Jon,” Marc yelled.

Jonathan jumped at the sight of Marc coming toward him.

“Man, you scared me.”

Marc took a seat. “What were you thinking about?”

“Ivy Hart just called to tell me that Lauren Kabins cancelled her wedding.”

Marc leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “After all the extra charges that had to be paid for rush orders and supplies we’ve done, now she’s not getting married.” He shook his head.

“These people don’t know what they want to do. They shouldn’t start planning their wedding until they’ve been engaged for at least a year.”

Jonathan interrupted. “Okay, you can get off your soap box, bruh. This young lady had some extenuating circumstances.”

“I know. The dude she was marrying used to be Ivy’s boyfriend back in the day. I know all about it, Rosie told me.”

Now Jonathan understood why Ivy didn’t want her sisters to know about their marriage. They talked too much.

“Lauren didn’t cancel because of Ivy, did she?”

“Hell, no,” Jonathan snapped.

Marc held his hands up. “Okay, okay, don’t bite my head off. I just asked.”

One look at Marc’s facial expression and Jonathan knew he’d said the wrong thing.

Marc got up and walked closer to the desk. “What’s going on, Jon?”

“Nothing’s going on. I just didn’t want you to blame Ivy when she didn’t have anything to do with that punk not standing up and being a man.”

Marc nodded, staring at his brother out of the corner of his eye. “You know what else Rosie told me?”

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “What?”

“You took Ivy out on a date.”

“So . . . and . . .”

“What are you holding back from me, little bruh?”

Jonathan got up from his chair and walked back and forth. As always, Marc kept pushing him.

“I think it’s cool if you’re taking her out. Maybe that’s why her attitude has changed. She doesn’t seem as uptight as she used to be. I always told Rosie that all her sister needed was the right man to love her.”

Jonathan stopped and stared at Marc.

Marc dropped his head. “Don’t tell me that you’re in love with her.” He walked over to the door and back over to the desk, shaking his head the whole time. “Man,” he whispered, continuing to move his head from side to side.

Jonathan was still standing in the same spot. “So what if I am in love with her?”

Marc stopped in front of Jonathan. “Don’t get me wrong, I think love is a beautiful thing, but with Ivy? I don’t know, man. You better be careful, you might get hurt.”

It was rare that Jonathan got angry with his brother, but Marc had pissed him off. He walked closer to him. “Remember that time you told me that you would take care of your Mrs. Damon? Well, I can take care of mine.”

As soon as the words came out Jonathan regretted them. He’d lost control and blurted out the very thing Ivy wanted to keep secret.

“You married her,” Marc said in astonishment.

Jonathan ran over to the door and closed it. He didn’t want anyone else in the building to hear them.

Dropping in a chair, he ignored his brother’s remarks. It was obvious by the expression on his face that Marc didn’t see that one coming.

“When?” Marc yelled, pacing the floor. “Man, I can’t believe you got married and didn’t tell anybody.” He shook his head.

Marc took his seat and they both sat silently.

Time passed quickly and Jonathan knew his brother wasn’t finished with the conversation, so he decided to speak first. “I know what you’re thinking.”

Marc’s eyes didn’t move from his brother’s. “You do, huh? Well then, what am I thinking?”

“I’m a grown man, Marc. I can do whatever I want. It’s my marriage, my life and my wife.”

“Wrong. I’m thinking that you’ve done some dumb stuff in the past, but this one . . .” He shook his finger in the air all the while shaking his head. “How did you pull it off? When did you marry Ivy?”

“In Vegas.”

Marc looked toward the ceiling. “Back in January?”

Jonathan nodded his answer.

“You’ve been married to her for almost two months. Her sisters don’t know, do they?” Marc jumped up and walked in the opposite direction. “Of course they don’t, because Rosie would have told me.”

Jonathan had heard enough. It was time that he calmed his brother down and swore him to secrecy.

“Look, Marc, I need you to keep this under your hat.”

“Why all the secrecy, Jon?” Marc asked, releasing an aggravated sigh.

“I’m not going into all of that. I just need you to do this for me,” Jonathan pleaded.

Marc gave Jonathan a puzzled stare, but then agreed to keep quiet. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Jonathan stopped him.

“Don’t say another word about the situation. You never heard me say anything about being married to Ivy. I promise when the time comes, we’ll handle the family.”

“Man, I hope everything works out. I’m only concerned about your feelings.”

“Don’t be. I’ve got this.”

Marc walked over to the door and opened it before he said, “I hope so,” before leaving the room.

Jonathan hoped his brother didn’t hear him say, “Me, too.”

* * *

Ivy called an urgent meeting in her office with her sisters so they could get some ideas about what to do with Lauren’s wedding supplies.

Lili walked in the room last.

“What took you so long?” Rose asked.

“I was busy.” She leaned against the wall and crossed her ankles.

“Lauren cancelled her wedding,” Ivy said.

Violet’s mouth dropped open. “Wow, I was just about to call her to let her know that her dress came in this afternoon.”

“Looks like home girl won’t be wearing it,” Lili said.

“Unfortunately, Lili, you’re right,” Ivy said, flipping the pages of a notepad she’d been writing in.

“I’ve made a list of everything we’d done for her. The only thing we can’t donate and use for another client would be the invitations.”

“If we were to give this wedding away, would the bride need to buy anything?” Rose asked.

“Depending on her size, she would have to buy a dress. Lauren was petite, I think I ordered a size four,” Violet said.

“Do we even have a bride that size that hasn’t ordered her dress?” Lili asked Violet.

“I’ll have to check and see.”

“I’m not ever getting married, so you can’t even give it to me to put up for later.” She laughed.

“Vee, I might know someone,” Rose said, her voice filled with excitement.

Ivy raised her brows and gave her a smile in return. “I know where you’re going with this Rosie.”

Lili frowned. “Well, fill us in. We have no clue what you guys are talking about.”

“Did you know that Gwen was engaged?” Rose asked.

Lili threw her hand forward. “Girl, that’s old news. Gwen’s been engaged for more than a year.”

The rest of the sisters looked astonished.

Ivy playfully pushed Lili. “Why didn’t you say anything to us about it? You blab about everything else.”

“She didn’t tell me, her mother did.”

Rose smiled. “Mrs. Clark?”

“Yep, she called and asked me if I would bake the wedding cake. She was purchasing it as a gift since Gwen didn’t have the money.”

Ivy picked up the phone. “Let’s get her in here. We need to talk to her.”

Violet pressed the button to hang up the call.

“Why did you do that, Violet?” Ivy asked.

“If she wanted us to know, don’t you think she would have told us all? You guys keep forgetting this isn’t our business.”

Ivy laid her hand on the phone. “I’m sorry, Violet, but I want to do this for her. If anybody deserves this, it’s Gwen.”

Before Ivy lifted the receiver again, she asked the rest of her sisters, “Are we all on the same page?”

They all nodded, yes.

Ivy asked Gwen to come into her office. Once she arrived, Ivy asked, “Gwen, have you and your fiancée picked a wedding date?”

A surprised expression covered Gwen’s nut brown face. She dropped her head. “I didn’t want you guys to treat me as a charity case. I wanted to pay for my wedding like any other customer.”

“Umph,” Lili said. “Girl, if I worked at a place like this and I had a good relationship with my boss, I’d be trying to get everything I could for free.”

“You would,” Ivy added.

They all laughed.

Clearing her throat, Ivy’s playful attitude disappeared.

Violet placed her hand on Gwen’s shoulder. “We wouldn’t think of you as a charity case. We’d love to help you. And that’s why you’re here today.”

“Yes, one of our clients cancelled her wedding. She told me to give her items to a bride that needed it. You not only need it, but you deserve it,” Rose said proudly.

“Why don’t we go over everything being offered to you, Gwen? You don’t have to take anything you don’t want,” Ivy said.

“Yeah, especially those ugly lime green and peach bridesmaid’s dresses,” Lili added.

Violet shook her head. “They actually are really lovely. They came in today, but there are only three dresses.”

“How many bridesmaids do you have?” Ivy asked.

“I only have one, my sister Shauna.”

Ivy noticed Gwen’s demeanor had changed. She figured all of this was overwhelming, so she wanted to slow down the pace of the meeting.

“Listen Gwen, we got so excited about being able to do this, we didn’t even ask you if you were interested.”

Tears were rolling down Gwen’s face. Lili went and picked up the open box of tissue that sat on Ivy’s credenza and dropped it in her lap. “Girl, you better say something quick.”

Gwen looked at each person one by one before she said, “Are you sure you want to do this for me? I know you have others that you could give these things to.”

The sisters looked at each other then back at Gwen. They all responded together: “We’re sure.”

“Then I’m sure,” Gwen said, hugging Violet.

She embraced everyone before Ivy spoke again. “Gwen, there is only one catch to this whole situation.”

Gwen’s eyes widened filled with tears. “What’s that?”

Ivy leaned forward. “You have to get married next Friday night.”

“I don’t think Anthony will care. He’s wanted to get married at the courthouse over a year, but had been patient because I wanted to have something special.”

Ivy pulled Gwen to her side. “Well, sweetheart, you’ve finally got your something special.”

There was a spirit of joy and peace that permeated the room. Ivy was once again excited about being able to make another bride’s dreams come true. They sat down and went through every detail and gathered the other ideas Gwen had for her special day; next week, she would be getting married at Magic Moments.