Page 21 of Gator
“Oh, Mindy, you look great,” her sister Wendy gushed. Yep, that’s right, Mindy and Wendy. Why on earth anyone thought that was a good idea, I will never know.
“Fabulous even,” Carol, one of the other two bridesmaids, said.
“You really do look lovely.” Her mother looked over from the table she was sitting at where Harper had just finished up her makeup.
“Thanks, Mom. You look great, too.”
“Well, who’s up next?” I asked.
Most of the time when we did hair and makeup for a wedding, the bride went last so they could be freshly done for the wedding, but Mindy had requested to go in the middle of the lineup because that timing worked best for her. She wanted a little time to sit and chill before she met Sherri in the narthex, and they walked down the aisle together.
I’d promised her I would do some light touch-ups right before she headed out the door, so her plan should work just fine.
“Me and Carol are the only two left, so I guess we’re up,” Wendy said.
“Sounds good to me.”
Wendy came over and sat down in the chair Mindy had sat in earlier.
Mindy gasped. “The ring. You have the ring, don’t you?”
“Yes. I have the ring. It’s right here, I promise.”
“Okay.” Mindy’s shoulders relaxed, and she moved to sit down, but her mother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back up.
“You’ll wrinkle your dress.”
“I didn’t even think of that when I insisted on getting completely ready early.”
“Here, let’s do this.” I pulled one of the round makeup stools over to the middle of the room, then grabbed Mindy’s hand and led her over. “Carol, you go over there and lift up your side of her skirt while I get this side. Mom”—I motioned for her to come over to us—“you hold her hands to steady her while she sits down.”
We worked together to hold up her skirt and fan it out behind her while she sat on the stool. She let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Jules.”
“You’re welcome, my lady.” I gave her a dramatic bow and then turned to Wendy. “Let’s get you all fixed up.”
An hour or so later, all the bridesmaids looked picture perfect. Mindy gave me a hug, then they all left the room. I followed them out and watched as she and Sherri saw each other for the first time that day. I hadn’t been wrong when I said Migs would take care of her. Her makeup and hair were on point. She was wearing a white three-piece suit, and she looked every bit as stunning as Mindy did.
I smiled as the happy couple embraced. I loved weddings. I turned to my team. “Okay, guys, good work today. Let’s get this cleaned up and get out of here.”
It took us about thirty minutes to get everything packed up and on our way, each of us pulling a Shag Shack-branded case on wheels and carrying our bags.
“That was fun,” Migs said. “I love weddings.”
I laughed. “I was just thinking that earlier. Maybe we should see if we could get more of them. I was always hesitant because they pull so many of us out of the salon for the day, but I think it’s worth it.”
“I like that idea.”
We came around the corner, and the whole wedding party was standing out front posing for pictures, so we veered to the left to avoid them, and Harper shook her head. “That’s the thing I don’t understand about weddings. All that money and effort put into making everything so perfect, and the whole thing was over in less time than it took us to clean up.”
“True, but—” My words dried up as my gaze drifted over a familiar face. My heart stuttered. That couldn’t be the same man. He shifted slightly, turning his head in my direction. His features snapped into place. The same wide forehead and narrow chin, the same dark curl of hair falling over his forehead. The same dark eyes…narrowed in on me. Oh God, he waslooking right at me. “That’s him, the guy from the alley. Right there.” I lifted my finger to point at the man, but he was gone.
“Are you sure? I mean, why would he be at Mindy and Sherri’s wedding? That doesn’t make sense.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know why he would be here, but believe me, I’ll never forget that face.Never.”
Harper grabbed my arm, tugging on me. “Okay, well, if that was the man who kidnapped that guy, he might’ve recognized you. We need to get you out of here. Let’s go.”
I wanted to hunt for him. I’d checked in with Officer Russo a few times this week, and so far, they didn’t have jack. Now I had a chance to find him, but I remembered the cold way he’d looked at me when he’d told the other men they would take me with them. Just thinking about that made my breath catch and my heart race, and self-preservation won out over the urge to try to find him.