In Sickness and In Elf (Paranormal Wedding Planners Book 1)

by AE Jones

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  IN SICKNESS AND IN ELF

  Paranormal Wedding Planners Book 1

  AE JONES

  Table of Contents

  About IN SICKNESS AND IN ELF

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  Get Exclusive Content

  Thanks!

  Books by AE Jones

  Excerpt—FROM THIS FAE FORWARD

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  In Sickness and In Elf

  First book in a new series by RWA Golden Heart® Winner and RITA® Finalist, AE Jones

  Meet Alex Bennett—wedding phobic in a family of wedding planners. Not the best combination, but being left at the altar can wreak havoc on one’s self-esteem. When Alex’s grandmother requests her help with a high-profile wedding, Alex sets aside her fears to attend. But when the bride runs away, and her grandmother’s business faces ruin, Alex will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth. Even when the truth leads to sabotaged weddings and a runaway bride who isn’t human. The last thing Alex needs to deal with is the overbearingly handsome man brought in to lead the investigation.

  Meet Devin Cole—a paranormal with no powers. Guilty until proven innocent, his powers have been rescinded until his upcoming trial, which he should be preparing for. He doesn’t have time for a runaway bride case. But the bride is a supermodel who also happens to be supernatural, so he and his team must handle damage control. The last thing Devin needs to deal with is a tempting woman who insists on being part of the investigation…and has half the horny supernatural male population chasing after her.

  But with humans and supernaturals bent on destroying each other, Alex and Devin must put aside their differences and work together. Can Devin protect Alex and defeat the enemy without his powers? And now that Alex knows supernaturals do exist, can she once again believe in a fairy-tale happily ever after?

  To Abby, Lyndsey & Brandon –

  Thank you for believing in me from the very beginning when I told you I wanted to be a writer. Your love and support on my journey means everything to me. I am the luckiest aunt in the whole, wide (real and imaginary) world!

  Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: Make sure the bride is the center of attention…unless she is creating a spectacle. Then it is your job to rein her in.

  Chapter 1

  It was time. Alex peeked out the door of the inn and clutched the bouquet of orchids to her chest to hide her trembling hands. Hundreds of guests were perched on white wooden chairs in the grass. Many of them, celebrities included, turned frequently to glance back at the inn, hoping to catch the first glimpse of the wedding party. Excitement buzzed in the air as a small group of invited paparazzi circled the crowd like gnats, snapping pictures.

  The inn was the spot in San Diego. The timeless stone and wood inn overlooked the steep cliff, while waves crashed below at the perfect volume—not so loud as to drown out the string quartet, but in the background as an important part of the ambiance.

  Her grandmother made sure the wedding was all about ambiance.

  Alex took a deep breath and tried to remember the relaxation techniques Dr. Jennings taught her. Nothing. Two years of counseling and she was drawing a blank. Her heartbeat sped up, the pounding so loud it pulsed in her ears. Alex switched the flowers to one hand and wiped her sweaty palm on her dress. The movement stirred the petals, perfuming the air with a hint of vanilla. She sucked in another deep breath and concentrated on the flowery fragrance.

  She could do this. She owed it to her grandmother. Heck, she owed it to herself.

  She checked the clock in the entryway. Three minutes and counting. Her friend Peggy walked toward her, smiling.

  “Is everything ready?” Alex blurted.

  “Of course. Your grandmother is in charge.”

  The crowd let out a collective gasp when Bradley took center stage. His dark Armani suit fit his toned, fit body to perfection, and his blond hair was cut short and styled flawlessly. He looked like a movie star…which made perfect sense, since he was a movie star.

  Alex giggled. Oh, no, there would be no uncontrollable giggling, laughing, or guffawing. Although inappropriate laughter would be a far better choice than projectile vomiting. Alex bit her lip to stifle another giggle from erupting.

  Peggy leaned closer, nudging Alex’s shoulder with her own. “He’s downright edible.”

  “Peggy!” Alex released the breath she’d been holding. Everything will be fine. It is all going as planned.

  Only one thing was missing…

  The bride.

  As if on cue, supermodel Sydney Thompson descended the staircase of the inn with her entourage of three bridesmaids, a hairstylist, and a makeup artist in tow. Alex’s grandmother, Lorinda Bennett, wedding planner for the ridiculously rich and fabulously famous, completed the procession.

  The group swarmed the lobby, making tiny adjustments here and there to assure Sydney looked her best. They didn’t need to worry. Statuesque and almost otherworldly, Sydney glowed. Her strapless mermaid gown hugged her curves, and her long, blond hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders.

  Lorinda’s regal voice broke through the high-pitched chatter. “Alexandra, the bouquet.”

  Alex maneuvered through Sydney’s anxious entourage and handed her the flowers. “You look amazing.”

  Sydney flashed her gorgeous, insured-by-Lloyd’s-of-London smile. “Thanks.”

  The music changed, signaling the bridal party’s entrance, and Lorinda took over, reminding Alex of a symphony conductor. Grandmother was in her glory, as well she should be. Landing the Bradley Prentice and Sydney Thompson wedding had been a coup of epic proportions.

  Alex slipped outside with Peggy to watch the bridesmaids proceed down the grassy aisle.

  Peggy patted her shoulder. “It’s good to have you here today, Alex.”

  Alex nodded, since her voice had deserted her. She hadn’t been to a wedding in two years, not since her own almost-wedding. And she wouldn’t be here now if this wedding wasn’t so important to her grandmother and to Bennett Bridal, Incorporated. Working the ceremony today was her first step toward becoming the old Alex Bennett again. The one her grandmother would be proud of.

&nbs
p; In the middle of her thought, irrational fear wrapped its icy fingers around her spinal column and squeezed, and she had to lock her knees to keep from sprinting for cover.

  Peggy continued, “This is a huge day for the business. It’s icing on the cake to have you here to help us.”

  Alex smiled, although she imagined it looked a tad maniacal. Peggy was Bennett Bridal’s office manager and she was always in control. These days Alex was never in control. It was quite annoying, really.

  The Wedding March swelled, and Alex swallowed hard, as if each chord was a new lump joining the growing pile in her throat. For her, attending a wedding was as much fun as a root canal without Novocain. But she couldn’t bring herself to confess her phobia to Peggy or her grandmother, or tell either one about her panic attacks. Rational human beings didn’t have wedding phobias.

  And how ironic that it had happened to her, of all people—the granddaughter of the great Lorinda Bennett. No one else in the world got the heebie-jeebies at the mere mention of a wedding. Especially not Sydney, now gliding down the aisle toward her movie star fiancé.

  Peggy narrowed her too-observant eyes on Alex. “I wish you wouldn’t let that loser of an ex stop you from doing the things you love.”

  Alex’s chest squeezed, and she cut Peggy off, “I don’t want to talk about Steve today, okay?” Nope, they would not be discussing Steve today or any other day.

  Why couldn’t she be normal? Women had been left at the altar before, and they didn’t tremble like ninnies at the very thought of a wedding. Alex tapped the inside of her wrist with her index finger and started counting slowly in her head. Great. Now she remembered the relaxation technique. Better late than never.

  They watched in silence for a couple of minutes, while the couple exchanged vows, until Peggy spoke again. “I’m sorry, Alex. I don’t mean to push you. But whether you want to accept it or not, this business is your legacy. You are Lorinda’s heir. All of this will be yours someday.”

  Alex met Peggy’s determined gaze. Such responsibility. She wanted to be part of the business, but more importantly, she wanted a relationship with her grandmother again. And she wouldn’t be able to do either if she kept allowing fear to paralyze her.

  Before she could reply to Peggy’s comment, murmurs and startled shouts interrupted them, and they turned to see Sydney sway slightly, dropping her bouquet. Bradley grabbed her arms, but she pulled away. Yanking up the long train of her dress, she sprinted toward the inn. Bradley stood frozen at the end of the aisle, his eyes wide in shock.

  This was definitely not going according to plan. A twisted sense of déjà vu settled over Alex. Not again. Lorinda strode quickly—her grandmother never ran—toward the inn as well. Flustered bridesmaids trailed behind her like ducklings who had lost their mother.

  Peggy swore under her breath. “Go after Sydney, I’ll distract the paparazzi.”

  Alex ran to the lobby and stepped in front of Sydney as she barged inside. “Are you okay?” But the model’s tear-streaked face and tragic expression said Sydney most definitely was not okay.

  “Let me help you.” Alex held her hand out to the bride.

  Sydney shook her head and sobbed, “It’s too late. Everything’s ruined.” She broke away and ran out the back door before the rest of the group rushed into the lobby.

  “What’s happened?” Lorinda demanded.

  A bridesmaid pointed her anorexic finger at Lorinda. “This wedding is a disaster, and it’s all your fault,” she shrieked.

  Lorinda’s gaze zeroed in on the bridesmaid like a laser. “How, exactly, is this my fault?”

  Sydney’s manager shoved his way into the middle of the fray, interrupting the babble of voices. “This is not good. Sydney is up for a multi-million-dollar campaign. The last thing we need is pictures and videos plastered all over the media of her running away from her own wedding. What do we tell them?”

  Alex gawked at the group in disgust. Not one of them had asked if the bride was okay, and she was the one who mattered right now. Alex slipped away from the pandemonium to follow Sydney’s escape route. Someone needed to check on her.

  The back door of the inn led to a small garden with concrete benches. Alex quickly scanned the area, but it was deserted. She rushed to the back of the garden and opened a metal gate that led to a path down to the beach.

  Alex kicked off her shoes and hurried down the sandy, sloped path, watching for Sydney. The path was clear of people, and within minutes Alex made it to the empty beach, her heavy breaths drawing in the familiar smell of seaweed and fish. She scanned the shoreline.

  Sydney’s dress floated in the surf.

  The damp, cold sand sucked at Alex’s feet while she stumbled toward the dress, scooped it up, and searched underneath it stupidly, as if Sydney might have been playing hide and seek.

  Tearing her gaze away from the dress, she searched the ocean frantically, shading her eyes against the glare from the water.

  Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.

  Time slowed, and Alex struggled to unlock her chest and breathe…until a head popped above the water.

  “Sydney!”

  Sydney turned to look at her. Her long, blond hair was plastered to her head, and her skin reflected the light from the water, making her luminescent. After a moment, the light intensified, and her face changed, shrinking and darkening, with whiskers sprouting from her snout.

  Alex blinked twice. Where Sydney had once been a seal now floated. It bobbed its head at her and dove beneath the surf, its tail flipping above the water as if to wave goodbye.

  Alex plopped on her butt in the sand. “Whaaat?!”

  She closed her eyes. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Now, focus! Alex opened her eyes and scanned the water. Had that really happened, or had she jumped off the Phobic Bus onto the Crazy Town Train? She cringed at her choice of words, but she didn’t have time to worry about being PC right now.

  She didn’t have time for introspection, either. The wet dress draped across her lap meant that Sydney, seal or not, was in the water. She got to her feet and screamed for help, letting the fear that normally paralyzed her power her shouts.

  This time Dr. Jennings’ wrist-tapping technique was not going to help. She had no idea what she was going to tell her grandmother, or Bradley—or the paparazzi, for that matter. But this was not about her. She couldn’t, wouldn’t fall apart, not this time.

  For once, her grandmother needed her. Bennett Bridal needed her. Hallucinations and phobias aside, it was time to join the wedding business again.

  Lorinda’s Wedding Tip: There is bound to be some sort of mishap at a wedding. Your job is to keep it from spiraling out of control.

  Chapter 2

  Search Continues for Missing Supermodel.

  Alex scanned the rest of the article and sighed. It had been twenty-four hours since Sydney disappeared, and she had spent most of that time retelling her story to various authorities, from the police to the Coast Guard.

  Of course, she hadn’t told them everything, like seeing Sydney transform into a seal. Maybe she should have told the Coast Guard to check the pier at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Maybe they’d find Sydney hanging out with the other seals. Yeah, right.

  Her hands shook as she folded the newspaper and returned it to the receptionist’s desk. The last thing Alex and Bennett Bridal needed was to be associated with another wedding fiasco. At least this time it wasn’t her own. Between the interrogations and inevitable nightmares reliving the event, she hadn’t had much sleep last night.

  Had Sydney killed herself? If so, was there anything Alex could have done to prevent it? And what about the hallucination she had on that beach? It was the only rational explanation for what she saw, but it didn’t stop her niggle of panic questioning her sanity.

  Normal. She needed to act normal.

  She checked her phone. Still no message from Dr. Jennings. The doctor’s answering service informed Alex that she was out of town and
had referred her to an emergency backup, but Alex didn’t want to talk to someone she didn’t know. No way would she admit to a perfect stranger, even if they were a psychiatrist, that she had watched a supermodel turn into a seal.

  She’d only had a few minutes this morning to search the Internet about hallucinations and their causes. Not a happy subject. But now was not the time to dwell on her issues. Her grandmother needed help, whether she was willing to accept it or not. And Alex needed to suck it up. Panic attacks were not part of today’s schedule of events.

  “Alexandra.”

  Alex jumped as her grandmother’s voice echoed down the hallway from the door of her office. Maybe panic attacks were on the schedule. She turned to face Lorinda, who was wearing a beige suit that probably cost more than Alex’s monthly rent checks. Her blond hair was fashioned in a perfect chin-length bob with hints of gray running through it. She was wearing a pair of high-heel pumps and Alex marveled at her fit legs. She was pushing seventy, and yet she looked fifty. And even though she had spent half the night with the authorities as well, Lorinda looked rested and put together, unlike Alex.