“What did you say in there?” Kelly jumps up from her seat, hugging me tightly, while I try not to ruin her beautiful custom-made wedding dress. It’s a white off-the-shoulder number that accentuates rather than flaunts her short figure, and now fits her perfectly, thanks to Laurie.
“Oh, I can’t take any of the credit, it was all due to Rob.”
“Well, whatever you did, thank you.” Kelly kisses me on my cheek as she releases her grip.
“And thank you, Alexander,” she says, lifting her dress up and walking over to the couch. “Thank you for saving the day and sending Erica and Laurie.” She leans over to kiss him on the cheek, too, as Kate and Nicole stare, envy on their faces.
If only they knew the truth.
“What the actual fuck!” Kate says quietly, ten minutes later. Her choice of language is juxtaposed oddly with her posh accent. “How do you know Alexander Morgan?”
Alexander walks slightly ahead of us, next to Kelly and Nicole, led to the elevator by one of his local security team. Kate is doing a terrible job of keeping an eye on Kelly’s train.
“We have a few mutual friends in common back in LA. He’s been here this week, and we just got chatting one day.” I bend to pick up Kelly’s train when we get to the elevator.
I’m going to have to keep a note of what I’m telling whom. These truth-adjacent stories I’m telling are going to become harder to remember if I’m forced to tell people how I know Alexander if we’re seen together.
“Is he single?” Kate whispers to me as the elevator dooropens. She pushes a stray bit of strawberry blond hair back behind her ear.
“I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?”
“I just might you know,” she says, nudging me forward into the elevator. “It’s not every day you bump into a celebrity.”
Alexander moves around the elevator to stand beside me as I move next to Kelly to hold her train in place.
The quick journey down to the ground floor is filled with silence. Kate and Nicole almost stumble out and giggle behind their bouquets as they get in front of Kelly, who is followed by Alexander, me, and the local security guard.
“I think you’ve got a fan,” I say, nodding toward Kate.
“Is that so?” He smirks as a little girl approaches.
“Can I get a picture please, Alexander?”
The little girl, no older than seven, is wearing the same Alexander Morgan T-shirt he gave me the first night we spent together. She stares up at him. Her parents wait patiently by one of the giant flower pots opposite the table in the middle.
“Sure,” he says, bending down as the girl hands me the camera. Kate comes over to grab the train from me.
The little girl’s smile is so wide I’m worried she might combust from sheer excitement.
“Are you getting married?” she asks, when I hand her back the phone.
She looks toward Kelly, who’s waiting patiently.
“Oh no. That’s my friend’s sister getting married,” Alexander says, standing back up. “Are you married?”
“I’m seven, silly. Of course I’m not married,” she says with an adorable childish attitude.
“Good girl,” he says, patting her on the head. “We’ll make sure your parents approve of him before you do, okay?” Alexander winks at her parents, while she stares up at him in awe.
The local security guard finally steps over and ushers the girl away before escorting us all down to the Empire Room, where the wedding ceremony is to take place.
Rob stands next to the wedding planner, Stacey, who stands with a clipboard in one hand and speaks into a walkie talkie in her other hand.
“The bridal party is here,” she says into it before turning her attention to Kelly.
“You look absolutely stunning,” she says, quickly hugging her. “Everyone’s in place and ready to go when you are.”
“I just need a couple of minutes before we go,” Kelly says, turning to Kate and Nicole.
