Page 56 of Wedding Cake Carnage
He gifts Meg a kiss on the cheek before stepping in close to me.
“My little Lottie.” He smiles that big familiar smile that always made me feel like the only girl in the world. “How I love you so.” He lands a kiss to my cheek, and just like that, he evaporates to nothing.
Lainey and Forest exchangeI dos, and before I know it, they’re running down the aisle once again as the crowd breaks out into wild cheers. And it’s done. Lainey and Forest have just crossed over into their happily ever after.
Noah and Everett come my way.
“You did great, Lottie.” Noah takes my hand and lands a kiss to the back.
Everett nods. “Lemon, you look dangerously gorgeous in that dress. I get the first dance.”
“Done.” I spot Jackie stepping into the back of the Evergreen ballroom. “Would you two excuse me? There’s one more thing I need to supervise, and Lord knows nothing can go wrong today.”
“Sure thing.” Noah points toward the woods. “Ivy’s here. I thought we might need extra eyes on the grounds.”
“Good thinking. And she’s more than welcome at the reception.”
I take off and bump into a body as soon as I get through the door.
“Lottie”—Hook catches me before I sail into a wall—“whoa. Careful there.” He lets go and backtracks before I can head into the next room. “Hey, I did a little research, and Underwood Investments is indeed a huge enterprise. The strange thing is, I couldn’t find any satellites. Do me a favor, and keep your money far away from that outfit. I’m going to investigate further sometime next week.”
“Yeah, sure. No worries. My money isn’t going anywhere.” I stride into the ballroom and the sight of all the beautiful tables takes my breath away. I’ve been in here all afternoon, but it’s not until now that the lights have been dimmed and the magic of the twinkle lights has taken over. It’s beyond beautiful and tears come to my eyes once again. In the corner, the cake I worked on gleams under the duress of this low lighting—three lavender tiers, each tinged with thick gold icing dripping down the sides, exactly the way Lainey wanted. It looks amazing if I do say so myself.
“Hey, Lottie!” Jackie waves from the front near the head table with a luxurious spread of flowers cascading over it. “What do you think?” She thumps her hand over one of the Grecian columns set to either side of the table.
“I think it’s sheer perfection. I know Jana would be proud of it. Lainey will love it, too.”
Pierce comes up beaming with a smile. “It took a little grunt work, but we got it done.” He slips his arm around Jackie’s waist, and I can’t help but think it looks a touch invasive, intimate.
“Yes, you did. Thank you so much. Hey, I was talking to Steven a bit ago, and I’ve thought about what he said. I’m ready to invest my money.” My heart thumps wildly. This is hardly the venue to keep pecking away at suspects, but I can’t help it. It’s what I was born to do.
His brows arch. “That’s fantastic. Swing by the office anytime, and Steven will set you right up. Don’t worry, Lottie. Your money will be in safe hands. You’re making the right decision.” He pats Jackie on the bottom. “I left some tools out by the kitchen. I’ll be right back.” He takes off, and I watch as she blows him a kiss.
My God, they’re not even hiding it anymore.
My heart sinks as the DJ starts playing a little mood music.
“Lainey and Forest have gone to the falls with the photographer,” I say. “It’s only five minutes away, and they’re going to take a few couple’s shots and come right back. I don’t have my purse with me, but I’d love to pay you for your time.” My throat grows scratchy from the lie.
“Please—just bring another box of those delicious donuts to the office the next time you swing by, and we’ll call it even.”
“Consider it done. I guess, in the meantime, I’ll go online and check out your website.”
She averts her eyes as she leans in. “We don’t have a website per se. That’s actually another Underwood Investments. We get mistaken for them all the time. Truthfully, I think that’s why our clients are so quick to use us. But Pierce knows what he’s doing. I have all my spare change locked up with them. It’s a good place. Welcome to the family, Lottie.”
“Thank you,” I say stiffly as I watch her finish polishing the columns.
I head out and spot Hook once again. “Hook!” I prance my way over as fast as my kitten heels will allow. “Jackie just fessed up.” I spill quickly what she mentioned about the website.
“I knew it.” He slaps his thigh. “That’s called a cheater brand. Pierce is riding on the coattails of someone else’s hard work. I knew as soon as you said binary investments this was a crooked setup. Stay the heck away. You hear me? I’m going to talk to Noah about investigating them for fraud. If I’m right, they’re not investing much into commodities as they are into their own bank accounts. No wonder the guy is rolling around town in every luxury car known to man. He’s nothing but a swindler.”
I take off for the back, determined to find Noah or Everett to share the news.
“Lottie!” Meg comes crashing my way. “Lainey just texted and said to make sure line item fifty-seven is taken care of by the time they get back. What was line item fifty-seven?”
“Line item fifty-seven? Crap.” I pick up the skirt of my dress. “I’ve got the wedding bible in my car. I’ll be right back.” I make a beeline for my beat-up hatchback and get all the way there when I realize my purse is somewhere in the changing room upstairs. Oh heck, it’s a good thing my mother slapped a hide-a-key on this jalopy many Christmases ago, as she did for my sisters as well. Once my dad passed away, my mother became both mother and father to us, and this is just another example of her taking care of us.
I pause a moment to soak in the fact my dear sweet father was indeed here to walk Lainey down the aisle. It was heartbreakingly amazing, and equally agonizing because I was the only person on this side of the great divide who was able to witness the event—well, outside of Carlotta, if she noticed at all.