Page 123 of Rum & Coke

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Paul grinned. “I could ask you the same.”

“I got an invitation,” I advised.

“Really? I kinda did too.”

“What does that mean?”

“Walk with me.” He started walking toward the front of the building.

“The wedding’s starting soon.”

“I know,” he called over his shoulder.

“Where are we going?” Paul didn’t respond as I followed him. He walked into the front doors of the hotel and then into another door off to the side. At first, I didn’t know what the room was, but then I noticed there were rows of luggage. “Are we in the bellman’s closet?”

“Yep,” he replied.

“Why—”

Joss stepped out from the back of the room. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

I balked. “Tell you I was coming?”

“Well, tell me you had contact with her.”

“I didn’t have contact with Tessa. The invitation appeared on my doorstep last night.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t like that she was interrogating me.

“You should have told me.”

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d come,” I admitted and looked to the ground. I made the decision this morning when I was staring at the names on the invitation of Teresa Stewart marrying Sebastian Delarosa. I needed to see her one last time.

“I’m glad you did come.”

My eyes snapped back to her. “What?”

“I couldn’t tell you before, but we have a plan.” Joss grabbed an earpiece off of the desk behind her.

“What plan?”

“A plan to get Sebastian and his associates together so we can bust them.”

“Tessa knows the plan?” I questioned.

“More or less. She doesn’t know the details.”

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

Joss walked toward me. “Let me get you mic’d up, and then we’ll go over what I need you to do.”

I’d dreamedabout this day as a little girl.

Over the last week, my life had gone from doing nothing in a house all day to trying to plan a wedding in a week. Yes, a week. Sebastian had gotten it in his mind that I was going to blow up to the size of the house. He didn’t say those words exactly, but when I mentioned that I hoped it would be sooner rather than later because I wasn’t showing yet, he put the wedding on a fast-track.

That was what I needed. Even so, I worried it wasn’t enough time for Joss to find out and come up with a plan. I hadn’t heard from her, which was expected, but I also hadn’t seen her while I was getting dressed in the bridal suite at the hotel. Joss had told me she’d know when the wedding would be, but I had no idea how.

While I was getting my hair done, I hoped Joss would come in and tell me she was here. She didn’t. While a makeup artist did my makeup, I constantly looked in the mirror to see if Joss would walk in. She didn’t. And as I slipped on the white dress that looked like something out of a Disney princess movie, I wanted Joss to come in. She didn’t.