Free Heaven Inside You by Mina Snowe

Prologue
     
    “No, no, no! No way in hell, girl! And that thing you call a tiara has to go. I’m supposed to look like a princess at my wedding, not the Queen of the carnival floats!” Olivia Marsden’s sister, Fiona, snapped in her native Southern twang. It always sounded more pronounced when she was upset.
    Olivia sighed—a loud, pained sigh.
    The stylist’s face turned an unflattering blotchy purple, and her naturally bulging eyes looked like they were about to pop out any second.
    “And show me those other styles you mentioned last week, will you? I don’t have all damn day. Get a move on, honey!”
    The poor girl’s demeanor graduated from scared to terrified. Her hands shook as she removed the zillions of pins from Fiona’s silky dark blonde hair.
    Fiona huffed and set her pretty red lips in a pout.
    Olivia thought it was time to make an intervention. She knew that look, and she was in no mood to face one of her sister’s legendary tantrums.
    “Just be patient, Fi. You’ve only been here a little over an hour. I’m sure Lee will come up with something spectacular. Mrs. Montgomery did tell you she’s the best hair stylist they have at the moment.” Fiona tsked. “And she was accommodating enough to come to your home, after all,” Olivia finished, undeterred.
    She shot Lee an apologetic glance, while Fiona flicked a perfectly manicured hand in a gesture of dignified irritation.
    “About time. I’m not paying her boss all this money so she can send over girls who can’t make me look better than a cheap ass whore!”
    Olivia bit her tongue and failed to comment that Fiona wasn’t paying any money at all. Chad—her ever generous fiancé—was financing the whole wedding, from the magnificent Spanish villa he’d rented for the ceremony and reception to the tiny flowers in the bridesmaids’ hair to the exclusive honeymoon in the Seychelles. He catered to all her whims. Perhaps he’d seen a glimpse of her temper and figured he’d rather be abducted by aliens and submit to extreme torture than be the recipient of her sharp tongued diatribes.
    This little scene somewhat reminded Olivia of what her best friend Lisa had said a few months back after she—with genuine, albeit completely misguided, intentions—offered to change her baby Annabelle’s diaper, which of course resulted in the obvious dramatic effects: “It’s pretty hard to believe that such vile odors could come out of something so dainty and adorable, isn’t it?”
    Ditto.
    Fiona was usually cool and composed, but when she had her moments…well, nobody wanted to be around her when she did have those moments. Which was probably why people were always trying to make her happy, to give her all she asked for and present it to her on a silver platter. Better to be safe than sorry. Fiona was a spoiled brat with a flair for drama. Annabelle, with all her baby drama, couldn’t hold a candle to her.
    “I do love the dress, of course. That was after they had resolved the annoying issue with the beading. I had told them I would only consider Swarovski crystals and couldn’t believe they had the nerve to show me that tawdry combination with the little seed pearls and the ruffle on the sleeve. I had specifically told them to use Spanish lace and crystals. I —”
    “Well, that’s all been fixed, so there’s no need to dwell on it any longer.”
    “Liv, I tell you. Thank GOD you’re not the one getting married. There were moments I thought I was positively going to have a nervous breakdown! Sometimes I wish I could do away with men altogether, even my dearest Chad. You’re so lucky you don’t have that problem, you’ll never know.”
    Olivia flinched inwardly. Fiona was like that. And she wouldn’t even be aware how much her hurtful words stung. In the mirror, she caught the image of Lee blushing furiously while she continued working with Fiona’s hair.
    “You’ve always been the pretty one, Fi. I suppose you just have to live with