Page 79 of Nothing to the Wedding

“Ogilvie.”

That flattened his affect.“Agreed.”

“Of course…” Straightening her arms, she rested her elbows against his shoulders.“We could have a rehearsal naked wedding.All alone.”

“We might need more than one.”

“Mm, maybe.”

“For extra practice…” he said, “we shouldn’t stay out too late tonight.”

Yeah, when she got caught up in the club, when the mood was high, she could dance until the sun came up.

That night was meant for something else.

“Jane and Knox will cut their cake, we’ll bus everyone to the club… We have one more costume change.For public consumption.You get a special reveal later.”

“That a promise?”

“Unless I get a better offer.”Her eyes wandered like maybe she was checking out the competition.This was Zairn-damn-Lomond, there was no such thing.“Odds are in your favor so far.”

And they’d continue to be.Happily ever after didn’t mean happy every minute, she was smart enough to know that.Right then though, being with him, surrounded by friends, she couldn’t imagine life getting much better.

TWENTY-THREE

THE FIRST BUS, or maybe two, had already gone.There was no particular need for them to rush, or for Jane to be in a flap.You know, it looked, from an outsider’s point of view, that she was in a flap.With Jane the term was “organized chaos.”Her anxiety played out on her face, in her fidgeting, a need to move and be moving.But inside, Jane knew exactly what she was doing and definitely had a plan.

Bringing their weddings together might’ve saved the woman from a breakdown.Doing this once rather than twice relieved some of the pressure.While her friend’s brain knew the script, her body burned calories cranking up the adrenaline.

Guests went left and right, closing off her view of Jane, but opening one of her other girls: Roux, Lilya, and Sway.Intriguing.Close quarters.Scrutiny going this way and that… Damn, the cat needed to be satisfied.Never one to miss an escapade, she went to join them.

“You three look like you’re brewing a caper.”

“Might be.”

“I want in,” she said.“What’s the plan?”

“We’re observing the talent.Trying to figure out if those two are together…”

From the nod at a couple standing close, touching, smiling, not quite comfortable, but close to it, she did her own pondering.

“Are they?”Lilya asked.

“I have no idea who those two people are,” she admitted.

That was sort of a common theme.Everyone was nice, polite, congratulatory.More faces were familiar than not.Though that didn’t mean she really knew them.A lot of Rouge and CollCom folk she may have seen in passing.No way had she conversed with all these people previously.

Telling the coordinator that her list consisted of seven people wasn’t a joke.Outside their guy/girl posse, that honestly had been it.She did work for, or with, Rouge and their various offshoots now.Zairn’s colleagues were hers too.At some point, she’d corner him to ask how many names he knew.Ugh, what was the point?This was Zairn, he’d know everyone’s names.

“And we’re trying to figure out which of our single girls we can hook up with the super hottie over there,” Roux said, twisting a little to bob her chin toward the corner.

Discreet was so unlike her.Hilarious that—wait.The super hottie…

Ah, interesting.

Leaving the ladies without a word, her eyes stayed set on the man propping up one of the perimeter columns.

He spotted her but didn’t react, which was probably why her smile did such a bad job of hiding itself.