She did speak to her parents, and they were wonderful and offered the same amount they’d contributed for her siblings’ weddings. The only time they’d raised an eyebrow was when Layla shared the details of it all. “I’d hate to see you go into debt for this,” her dad said.
“Liam’s paying for it with his commissions. He really wants to do it this way.” Liam didn’t seem to care what anyone thought about the lavish affair they were planning, and he would laugh right along with Layla when she called him a bridezilla.
“Well, you’re both adults and it’s your day” was all her dad said.
The plans moved forward as they finalized the menu and the bridesmaids’ dresses. The cake and invitations. Layla and her mother went dress shopping, and the one she chose was far below what she would have paid if Liam had been with them. The wedding might have been flashier than Layla wanted, but the dress was simple, elegant, and so completely Layla’s style that she smiled whenever she thought about walking down the aisle in it. Sure, she and Liam had different tastes, but she loved him and planning the wedding hadn’t dimmed her feelings in any way. Lots of her friends had reported arguments with their soon-to-be-spouses during the planning phase. There were disagreements over how much to spend, but it was a good lesson in learning how to compromise, Layla told herself. Although, how exactly Liam had compromised wasn’t quite as evident as the many ways Layla had.
Layla came home from the hair salon a month before the wedding. Liam’s eyes widened when he saw what she’d done. When she’d left for the appointment, her long messy hair had been its usual vibrant shade. She was mostly still alternating between pink and blue, with a deep violet thrown in occasionally for variety, and once platinum, although that had been a nightmare to maintain. Now it was the color she’d been born with, which was a faint strawberry blond. Layla thought her hair would look classic and romantic under her bridal headpiece, and that’s exactly how she wanted to look on their big day.
“You look shocked,” she said. “Call me old-fashioned, but I really didn’t want neon hair for my wedding.”
“I thought you said you were a blonde.”
“I said I was a strawberry blonde.”
“Are you going to make it blonder?”
“Why would I do that? Do you not like it? This is my natural hair color. I told you that a long time ago. You’ve seen old pictures of me,” she said, as if she had to defend her hair color with a cold hard fact. “I would think that would have tipped you off.”
“No, I love it,” he said quickly. He had walked over and hugged her, squeezing her tight. “You’re going to be a beautiful bride. I was just surprised. I’m glad you kept it long.” She’d almost cut it to shoulder length but had kept the current length because her wedding hairstyle was an elaborate updo and she didn’t want to cause problems for her hairdresser if she showed up with shorter hair.
But no matter how many times Liam assured her that he loved her hair, she knew deep down that he didn’t. She liked to think she was confident enough not to care. When she was onstage with her bright hair and whatever makeup look she was going for at the time, she felt bulletproof. But standing in their living room, stripped of the eye-catching color he was used to, she realized she had just lost a little bit of that swagger.
Then Liam gave her his guest list, and when Layla skimmed it and saw that he wanted to invite Suzanne, she turned to him and said, “Why in the world would we invite Suzanne?”
“I ran into her the other day and she said she’d heard we were engaged. And then she asked when she should be watching the mailbox and I didn’t know what to say so I told her end of April.”
“Liam!”
“I’m sorry, but isn’t she one of your oldest friends?”
“If by oldest you mean because I’ve known her since childhood, then yes. But not oldest as in dearest. We’re not close anymore. And you dated her for a while. Should I invite my tenth-grade boyfriend? How about the guy I slept with for a couple of months in college?” She said it jokingly, but inside she was incredulous.
“It won’t hurt anything. She probably just wanted to be included and might not even show.”
Suzanne had always had a way of working herself into situations where her presence didn’t seem necessary. She clung to their friendship in a way Layla had outgrown years ago. What was the point? Layla had reached an age where she valued friendships based on quality, not quantity, and she had never known someone who was so worried about missing out, even if she only halfheartedly wanted to be there in the first place.
But Suzanne did show, and Layla really didn’t care, because she had so many other wonderful things capturing her attention on her wedding day. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was spectacular. She got caught up in the elegance and the splendor of the magical night, and she basked in the way Liam looked at her and how he’d stared into her eyes as he’d recited his vows. She had cried through hers, which had taken her by surprise. She was not highly emotional, but tears filled her eyes because she was just so happy.
They had both agreed that Storm Warning would play at the reception, but that Layla would obviously not be onstage with them. She wanted to dance and mingle, and this was one night she’d happily hang up her guitar. But she did have a surprise planned for Liam, and after the toasts Layla climbed onstage. Kevin handed her an acoustic guitar, and Layla sang a brand-new song that he’d written specifically, upon her request, for Layla to sing to her new husband. She loved the song. It was good, better than any of their current original songs, and the band would go on to sing it at their gigs, where it would become a fan favorite, and one day in the far future Kevin would sell it to an up-and-coming singer out of Nashville who would take it all the way to number six on the country charts. But back then, Layla just wanted to show how much Liam meant to her by singing the words to him in front of their friends and families.
Liam smiled at Layla adoringly as she sang, and he only took his eyes off her once, and only for a few seconds.
Layla’s eyes followed to see what had caught his attention and it was Suzanne.
* * *