Page 11 of Whatever Lola Wants (Odyssey #2)

T hree days later, she was still buzzing.

She’d forgotten how much energy a scene like that could take out of her, so she’d left the club almost as soon as she’d assured herself that Jamie was getting the aftercare he needed from Richard .

They’d traded phone numbers so she could check in on him the next day, then she’d made her way to the bar.

She’d left a message with Skip for Grant and Anna —she assumed with Anna’s aversion to needles, they hadn’t watched her scene, though it appeared nearly everyone else had.

She’d been stopped so many times on the way to the locker room it was almost a full hour before she’d been able to change and head home.

Where she’d promptly crashed for six straight hours.

But the buzz she’d gotten from topping was still with her, like a mild electric current crackling under her skin.

She felt as though she were standing on the cliff waiting to jump, eager anticipation coiled in her belly.

Her skin felt too tight, too sensitive; the slightest brush of her clothing brought on a tingling awareness that was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

In short, she was horny.

It didn’t help that she was on her way to see Simon .

Anna and Grant had decided to speed up the wedding planning, so they’d asked the best man and maid of honor to join them for a brainstorming session. Which meant that once again she found herself getting in a car and heading to their home.

This time she checked the sidewalk for men waiting to knock her down, and finding the coast clear, strode up the walk. Anna answered the door with a tired smile.

“You’re early.”

Lola shrugged and followed her friend through the house. “ I left work early. Couldn’t concentrate. I figured I’d come over and give you a hand with dinner prep.”

“Normally I’d take it, but we ordered pizza.”

Lola’s brows shot up. It was rare for Anna to order in. “ Really ? Tired of your awesome new kitchen already?”

“Hardly.” Anna led the way through the kitchen—now mostly unpacked—to the back patio. “ Grant didn’t want me to spend any time cooking tonight with so much to talk about.”

Lola gave her friend a considering look. “ Is he freaked about the wedding planning?”

“No, I’m freaked about the wedding planning.” Anna stepped around a snoring Henry . “ Because he’s only giving me six weeks to do it.”

“What?”

Anna nodded at Lola’s look of shock. “ That’s what I said.”

“What… I mean…” Lola shook her head as though to clear it. “ What the fuck?”

“Yeah. Do that for about six hours, and you’ll be where I’m at right now.” Anna sank into a patio chair. “ I told him we needed to pick a date, so he did. The last Saturday in June .”

Lola lowered herself to the chair beside Anna’s . “ This June ?”

“Yep.”

“Can I assume you’re going to Vegas , then?”

“Absolutely the fuck not. We are not getting married in Las Vegas . I want a wedding, not a weekend of booze and boobs.”

“They should put Booze and Boobs on the tourist brochures,” Grant said from behind them. He strode out onto the patio, casual in cargo shorts and a t-shirt, a beer in one hand, the dog at his heels.

Lola sent her friend an I -got-this look and turned her attention to Grant . “ Is there a reason this wedding is happening in such a rush? Something you two forgot to mention?”

Grant snorted into his beer and earned a glare from his beloved. “ I’m not pregnant,” she said through gritted teeth. “ He’s just being stubborn.”

Grant settled a hip on the arm of her chair, amusement dancing in his pale eyes. “ I’m not putting up with a year of dithering back and forth over the perfect shade of flowers or the right photographer or whatever the hell else.”

Lola narrowed her eyes. “ What kind of wedding are we talking about here? Big fat shindig, or close friends and family only?”

“Close friends and family only,” Anna supplied, still glaring at her fiancé. “ We’d like to have it at his mom’s place in Michigan . It’s beautiful, and it’s where we met.”

Lola nodded. “ First things first. Have you talked to your mom about it?”

“Not yet.” Grant sipped his beer. “ I figured I’d call her when we had everything set.”

Lola just stared at him. “ Really ? You think you should wait to ask your mother if you can use her home to host a wedding until the wedding is all planned?”

Grant’s eyes flickered with unease. “ Why don’t I go call her now?”

“Yes, why don’t you?” Lola said sweetly and turned back to Anna while he made his escape into the house. “ Is there a caterer up there that can handle the food?”

“I have no idea.” She reached down to pet Henry , who’d wandered over to snuffle at her. “ I could do most of the food myself, actually?—"

“No.” Lola held up a hand to forestall any arguments. “ You’ll be a complete mess if you try to cater your own wedding. Put it in someone else’s hands, honey.”

Anna hesitated, then gave a reluctant nod. “ You’re right. I’ll see if Grant’s mom has any ideas.”

“Good. Now for the big problem. What are you going to do for a wedding dress? You won’t be able to order one.”

“I know.” Anna bit her lip. “ I could go vintage, or there are places online where I could probably find something that would do.”

“Honey.” Lola reached out to cover Anna’s hand with hers. “ This is your wedding dress. That’ll do is not good enough. We’ll put our heads together and come up with something.”

Gratitude shone in Anna’s brown eyes. “ You’re saving my fiancé’s life.”

Lola’s lips twitched. “ You wouldn’t have killed him. Maimed , maybe. But you love him too much to permanently damage him.”

“I don’t know,” Anna muttered. “ It was touch and go there for a while this morning.”

Lola opened her mouth to reply, then turned as the patio door opened. The little hitch under her heart when she saw Simon in casual shorts and a white t-shirt made her want to scowl…or leap on him and rip off his clothes.

Henry abandoned Anna to greet the newcomer, and Lola satisfied herself with a sharp smile. “ Big Dick Hastings . Nice of you to join us.”

His eyebrows drew together at the nickname, pleasing her. Unfortunately , the thunderous expression just made him look sexy and dangerous, and she was already horny, so she was only screwing herself.

Ignoring her hormones, she nudged a chair with her foot. “ Have a seat, and put your thinking cap on. We’re wedding planning.”

He sent her an unreadable look, but sat down, Henry collapsing at his feet. “ Guys don’t wedding plan. We bachelor party plan.”

“Not this time.” She nodded toward Grant , walking out of the house. “ You can thank your friend there for throwing you in the planning end of the pool, since he’s the one insisting the wedding happen at the end of June .”

“This June ?” Simon said incredulously and jerked around to glare at Grant . “ What the fuck, man? You knock her up?”

Grant shot his friend a quelling look as Anna hissed with annoyance. “ No , jackass. And shut up.” He glanced at Lola . “ My mom did a lot of yelling, but she’s happy to host the wedding. And she says she has a friend that can do the food.”

“Good. Ceremony on Saturday afternoon?” she asked Anna .

“I thought Sunday might be better,” she said with a frown. “ That way I have an extra day up there without having to leave the city early, and the people coming in from out of town have an extra day, too.”

“But then they’ll be going home right after on Sunday night.”

“True.” Anna chewed her lip. “ Maybe we can do ceremony at dusk on Saturday ? People coming up that morning will have more time, and we can host a breakfast the next day.”

“Perfect.” Lola took her phone out of her bag and started making notes. “ We’ll see if the friend can handle both.”

“Looks like you ladies have everything under control,” Grant began as he rose, then froze as Lola made a harsh noise in her throat and pinned him with a glare.

“No. Sit .” She pointed at the chair next to Anna’s . “ Stay .”

He scowled at her. “ I’m not a dog.”

“No, you’re the genius who decided we could plan and execute a wedding—a nice wedding—in less than six weeks. So plant your ass and contribute.”

Grant sent a beseeching glance at Anna , who only shrugged. He grumbled, but he sat.

Simon’s chuckle drew Lola’s gaze. He was looking at his friend with amusement. “ Thought you were the Dom around here.”

“Hey.” His head whipped around to find Lola’s finger in his face. “ Fuck with him on your own time. You’re the best man, you’re in this too.”

“Jesus.” He scowled and sipped his beer, but he shut up, so Lola turned back to the happy couple.

“Let’s talk guest list.”

Two hours and several drinks later, they had most of it hammered out. Between Lola’s experience with weddings—big families equaled big weddings, usually with equally big drama—and Anna’s logical, organized mind, they were able to nail down all but the finest of details.

Anna let out a sigh of relief. “ Lo , you’re a lifesaver.”

Lola smiled and toasted her friend with the champagne Grant had dug out. The second bottle. “ I take my maid of honor duties very seriously. Speaking of which, what are you going to do about your mother?”

Anna grimaced, and Grant reached for her hand. “ You mean if she comes at all?”

Lola nodded, her heart flooded with sympathy. Anna’s mother was known for bailing on her oldest child’s important moments.

“I don’t know yet.”

“As maid of honor, it would be my pleasure to keep her appropriately subdued during the festivities.”

“Does that mean tied in a closet and muzzled?” Grant wanted to know.

“If necessary.”

“It won’t be.” Anna’s voice was determined. “ I don’t know how I’ll handle it yet, but she will not make my wedding about her.”

“You know where I am if you need help with that.”

Though her eyes remained clouded and she kept her hand in Grant’s , Anna smiled. “ I know. Thanks .”