Page 155 of Cougar

“Well if they have a problem with it, then I guess I won’t play for them.”

“Zach—” Jay starts.

“As much as I want to strangle you both right now, we’re in the middle of a graduation party and there are too many witnesses,” I state more calmly than I feel. “We’ll talk about this later.”

* * *

Cam barks out a laugh through the phone and I grit my teeth. “It’s not funny, Cam.”

“I’m sorry, babe, but it kind of is.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Wait—”

“What?” I snap.

“I love you,” he says.

Gah.“I love you, too.”

“You okay?”

“No.” I press my palm to my forehead and I sigh. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I’ll see you in a few days. Try not to kill them.”

“I make no promises. Bye.”

“Bye, babe.”

* * *

“Well fuck me, if this isn’t karma at its finest,” my mother laughs and turns to Jayla. “Don’t get me wrong, baby girl. I’m extremely disappointed in you for denying your family the chance to be a part of something important.” The tone of her voice turns from amused to shaky. “Do you have any idea how heartbroken we were when your mother ran off and eloped with your father? Mac Daddy never got the chance to walk his only daughter down the aisle, to give her away. Tell me what you two were thinking.”

“We were thinking that life is short, and the people we love can be taken from us when we least expect it, so why not live it to the fullest with no regrets? We weren’t trying to be deceitful, and we didn’t mean to hurt our families. We did it because we love each other, and after everything I, Zach, and this family has been through—” Jayla inhales sharply through her nose and looks away. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry. We’d still like to have a wedding, if you’re up for planning one, but it has to be before I leave on tour.”

“The tour is in six weeks.” I exclaim. “You’re basically giving me a month to plan a wedding. Where the hell is this wedding supposed to take place? Most venues are booked out at least a year in advance. And you need a dress. Jesus, Jayla.” I press my palm to my forehead. “Why can’t the wedding wait until after the tour?”

“Because that’s not what we want. We’re already married. This isn’t LA. I don’t need some big fancy wedding. You and Dad raised me out of the public eye, and I want to keep it that way.”

“The day you stepped on that red carpet you put yourself in the public eye.”

“I’ll make some calls,” my mother says.

“I’ll help,” Liz adds. “Mimi and I have a lot of connections with all the charity work we do. I’m sure we can find a venue between the two of us.”

“If not, then we’ll have it here at the house,” Jayla says, shrugging.

“We can’t have it here, Jayla. There isn’t enough room. Even if we keep the guest list to a minimum of family and friends, it’s at least two hundred people.”

My mother and Liz nod in agreement.

“How do you figure?” Zach asks as he walks into the room and straight over to Jayla.

I hold up a hand and begin ticking off my fingers. “Let’s start with the friends. Between the two of you, we’re looking at what, at least fifty people, right?” They look to each other, then back to me and nod. “Add in our immediate families and their plus ones. Then add in our extended families and their plus ones. Do you see where I’m going with this? Then you have to consider the other people who’ll be in your lives. There are people at the record label, the law firm in LA and the Royal Mayhem foundation. That’s just your side, Jayla. Zach, it’s your day, too. Your parents have friends, and then there are your father’s business associates and colleagues. And—”

“Sounds to me like eloping wasn’t such a bad idea.” Zach looks over at Jay.

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