T. Leigh - Gorgeous Chaos

Olivia smiled, snuggling against his chest. “I like the sound of that.”

Alexander kissed the top of her head. “I do, too, love.”

OVER THE COURSE OF the following week, movers transported all of Olivia’s personal belongings from her house over to her new home, while Alexander was out of town on a training exercise with a group of his latest “mercenaries-in-training”, as Olivia liked to call them.

After returning from her appointment with Dr. Greenstein on Thursday, she decided to open a bottle of wine and enjoy a glass out on the enormous balcony overlooking the waterfront. The sun was shining and there were only a few clouds in the sky as a light breeze blew through the city.

It was the type of day Olivia loved. Normally, she would go for a walk through the city, take her e-reader, and read in the park. But lately, after Simon’s warning, she took Alexander’s security detail a little bit more seriously. Before bumping into Simon, she thought Alexander was overreacting. Now, she knew he had every reason to overreact. Someone wanted to hurt her. Simon inferred that the accident that had taken her parents from her was not an accident at all. If that was the case, maybe she was supposed to die in the crash, too. She wondered why anyone could possibly think that she was worth hurting…or worse.

Her phone rang as she sat on the balcony thinking about Simon and what it could all mean. She smiled when she saw Kiera’s face pop up on her screen.

“Libby. God, I have spring fever something fierce today,” her friend said before Olivia even had a chance to say hello.

“Yeah. It’s beautiful out, isn’t it?” She took a sip of her wine.

“You got that right. Are you heading to the gym this afternoon?”

“No. I got up early this morning and went before going to see my therapist. I knew it would be a nice day and I’d hate to waste the afternoon sweating inside the gym.”

“What are you up to?”

“Not much. Just relaxing on the lanai, drinking a glass of wine, enjoying the view from my castle in the sky,” Olivia responded somewhat jokingly. She had a good life.

“Well, my afternoon meeting was cancelled. I was thinking of ditching work early.”

“Great. Why don’t you come over here? I could use some girl time.”

“It’s been too long, and we have to start planning your wedding!”

“Yeah. There’s that pesky detail, too, isn’t there?” Olivia didn’t even know where to begin when it came to organizing the wedding. It was still rather overwhelming. Unlike so many other girls, she never saw herself as the type to actually get married, and she was at a loss of what to do. Thankfully, she had Kiera.

“Okay. I’ll be there in twenty.”

“Sounds good,” Olivia responded. “I’ll call down to the concierge and alert them that I’m expecting you.”

“Aren’t you all ‘Miss High and Mighty’?” Kiera huffed.

“You know it. My minions prefer to screen my visitors for potential security threats. It’s tough to be the queen.” Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.

“Yeah. Yeah. Be there soon. Love you, bitch.”

“Love you, too.”

Olivia opened the sliding glass door and stepped back into her new home, making her way to the enormous wine cellar just beyond the kitchen. She scanned the aisles of Alexander’s impressive collection for a good, crisp white wine. Her eyes settled on a nice Sancerre and she grabbed it before heading back to the kitchen.

Searching the refrigerator for some snacks, she grabbed a block of brie and gouda, and set about preparing a cheese and fruit plate for her visitor. There was something about Alexander’s museum-like home that made her feel as though she should actually attempt to entertain Kiera as she would a guest. She hadn’t been to his place yet so she was eager to show her friend around.

A short while later, she heard the buzzer sound. Sliding back the door, Kiera stood in the foyer with her mouth agape. “Holy shit! This place is incredible, Libs,” she said in awe.

“I know. For a straight guy, he has fantastic style.”

Kiera nodded in response. Olivia was surprised that her friend was completely speechless. Kiera was never one to have nothing to say.

“Let’s go enjoy this weather,” Olivia said, grabbing Kiera’s hand and leading her through the open floor-plan of the penthouse’s main level. “I’ll give you a tour later.” She led her toward the windows, sliding back the glass door that opened to the balcony.

“This view is amazing.” Kiera looked out over all the boats below on the glistening water. “I would never leave. Well…I probably would when it snows.”

“Thank you.” Olivia sat down at the bistro table and gestured at the cheese and wine she had set out earlier. “Help yourself.”

“Aren’t you the best little host?” She took a seat opposite Olivia, grabbed the bottle, and poured herself a glass. “So, you’ve set a date then?”

Olivia grinned, her heart racing at the thought of marrying Alexander in just a few short months. “Yes. August twenty-fourth.”

Kiera's eyes grew wide. “Really? Even though it’s the same day as…?” She trailed off, gauging Olivia’s reaction.

“I’m okay with it,” she said, giving Kiera a convincing look. “It actually never even crossed my mind that it would be the same day that my parents died. I guess being with Alexander is more important than dwelling on something that I can’t change.”

“Okay then. That doesn't really give us a lot of time. I’ll call around and see what we can do about getting you an appointment to go look at some dresses.”

Olivia flushed, not realizing how little time she actually had. Her excitement quickly turned to nerves when she was met with the reality that she had absolutely no clue where to begin with wedding plans.

“Any idea what kind of dress you’re looking for?” Kiera grabbed a cracker and sliced a piece of brie.

“Not really. I haven’t even looked.”

Kiera reached down and grabbed her commuter bag, unzipping it. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m your friend. Here.” She shoved several large bridal magazines at her. “Just start looking through these so you can get an idea of what you may want. The good thing is, between the two of you, you have more money than sense, so you’ll be able to get whatever you want, whenever you want.”

Olivia took a drink from her glass of wine, starting to feel like she was about to break out in hives from discussing her future wedding.

“Have you gone over any details with Alex?” Kiera asked, all business.

“Not really. I think we’re going to do it on the beach. Cape Cod.”

“Kinky…” she said with a smile on her face.

Olivia picked up a cracker and chucked it at her friend. “His company owns this huge beach house with a massive private beach.”

“I love the idea of a beach wedding. It’s very ‘you’.” Kiera grabbed a legal pad out of her bag and started to take notes.

“We’re going to try to keep it small, though. I know it will be hard. He has a huge extended family but…I don’t know,” she lamented. “I have no family and I think he feels bad that the majority of the guests will be there for him and not for me.” Olivia looked down, thinking about how difficult that day would be for her with no family there to watch her marry the love of her life.

“Hey.” Kiera reached out and grabbed her friend’s hand. “It doesn’t matter how many people you have there supporting you. That’s the problem with weddings. People feel like they need to put on a big show. Most people only go to weddings for the free booze and couldn’t give a shit about celebrating the actual day. So fuck ‘em. Do what you want and what makes you happy.”