Oh God! Lauren dropped her head into her hands. She had to find a place. Otherwise, she’d find herself covered in muddy paw prints or worse. Come on, there are plenty of places out there. She pulled open her laptop. Even if guests needed to travel a little, it would be okay.
Lauren scrolled through the Internet looking for something that even remotely appealed to her and fit her budget. She was on her third bridal site when the steady drumbeat to one of Callie’s favorite rock songs burst from her phone. Perfect timing. She needed a break and a friend right then.
“You couldn’t have called at a better time, chickie.”
“Bad day?” True concern filled Callie’s voice.
Lauren leaned her head on her hand. “More like a bad week. Everywhere I’ve called for the wedding is booked.” Her eyes flicked over her list. “I even called the Kirkland Country Club.”
“You hated it there when your cousin got married. Why would you call them?”
“I’m desperate, girlfriend. If I don’t find something soon, I’ll be getting married in my parents’ backyard with my dad grilling. Instead of a suit he’ll probably where that stupid apron of his. Won’t that just make a great wedding picture?”
A long chuckle came from the other end of the line.
“Knock it off, Callie. This is not funny. I don’t know where else to call.”
The laughter subsided. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny, but I was picturing that Memorial Day cookout last year at your parents. Your mom’s entire strawberry shortcake landed on the dog’s head.”
Lauren moaned as the memory came back. “You had to remind me of that?”
“Why don’t you just push the wedding back if you can’t find anything? It’s not the end of the world if you wait a few months.”
“Nate’s dead set on it happening soon.” Lauren paused for a minute. “And, honestly, I don’t want to wait either. It feels as if I’ve been waiting for this forever.”
“Then we’ll have it here,” Callie said, her voice ringing with authority.
“What?” Lauren rubbed her forehead in confusion. “Have it where?”
“My house in Greenwich. The South lawn would be gorgeous for an afternoon wedding. There is just enough shade, and I don’t know how the gardeners do it, but every shrub and flowerbed looks amazing. If it rains, we can move everything inside. I’ll have Nancy bring in extra help to prepare and serve the meal.”
Holy wow! Lauren bit down on her lip until the urge to weep passed. No matter what, she and Callie had always been there for each other. Still, she was taken aback by her friend’s generous offer. Callie and Dylan’s new estate in Connecticut was, well, the word “magnificent” didn’t really do it justice. A wedding there would be like no other. “Callie . . . I . . . are you—”
“Don’t even say it,” Callie said before Lauren could finish.
“But what about Dylan? Will he mind?” Over the past few years he’d been nothing but kind and friendly, but this was asking a lot.
“Just give me the date, and I’ll arrange everything on this end. You just worry about the other stuff.”
For the first time all day, Lauren felt herself smile. “You’re the best, you know that, right? I owe you big-time.”
“I’ll remind you of that after the baby is born and I need a babysitter,” Callie said, joking.
“Like I won’t want to do that anyway.”
Chapter 13
“I expect to see you here,” Justin Billings said.
“I’ll be there.” Nate ended his call with Justin and tossed his phone down. Damn it. The rumors were true. The team’s tryouts started on July 15th, one week before their wedding. If he didn’t go now, who knew when the opportunity would come up again?
How did he break this one to Lauren? She had everything arranged for their wedding. Earlier that week she’d finally found a photographer she liked. When he broke the news that everything needed to be changed she’d flip. She’d already worked so hard on the wedding plans.
The wedding date was only half the problem. She didn’t even know he wanted to try out, let alone what it meant if he made it. Not that he hadn’t considered that already. More than once since he’d heard the rumor that HRT planned to hold tryouts, he’d almost told her. Each time he’d convinced himself to wait. Why bring up something that may never happen? Man, was that ever coming back to bite him in the ass. Now, not only did he have that subject to drop on her, he needed to tell her to move the wedding date. When he dropped those two bombs on her, he might want a peace offering in hand. Even then, he figured he’d spend the next few nights sleeping in the guest bedroom with only the dogs for company.