I didn’t remember much of the service later, just how pretty Lily looked when I turned to watch her walk down the aisle, how thrilled my brother was, how the guests cheered when they kissed, how Solomon took my hand and smiled brilliantly at me when we followed the procession outside, and I really couldn’t remember a more wonderful day.
Later on, just as the day was giving way to dusk and the sky was a cool, inky blue, punctuated with bright stars, I found myself on the terrace of the Belmont, sipping a flute of champagne and gazing upwards. My tummy was full of food, my veins pumping equal parts of alcohol and blood, and I was feeling merry. In the room beyond, the party was in full flow and the band played loud covers of all Lily and Jord’s favorite songs. A brief blast of music had me turning around before it was dampened again by the closing of the terrace doors.
“Didn’t think I’d find you out here,” said Garrett. He pulled a packet of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and tapped out a stick of death, holding, but not lighting it. “Enjoying the party?”
“It’s great. This wedding has been a blast from start to finish.”
“With you there,” Garrett agreed.
“Hey, do you know where Lily’s parents are? I didn’t see them at the ceremony or at dinner. Their places at the table were filled, but it wasn’t them.”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“They didn’t come. They sent her flowers this morning and a note saying they had some last minute trip with an ambassador of somewhere or other and told her to have a great day.”
My mouth dropped open. “No!”
“Yep.”
I turned away from the party, annoyance seething through my good mood, sobering me right away. “This is high school graduation all over again.”
“Except way worse. How can you miss your only daughter’s wedding?” said Garrett. “Horrible people. At least, she’s got us, huh?”
“Always,” I agreed. “But then she always has.”
We stood silently for a while, while Garrett stuck the unlit cigarette in his mouth and didn’t smoke it. “I’m quitting,” he said, moving it from his lips. “Absolutely, this time. Otherwise, I might not see my kids get married.”
That was a depressing thought. “I’ll remind you of that anytime I catch you smoking,” I told him.
“Please do.” Garrett took the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it into the packet, which he returned to his jacket. “Cake?”
“You bet.”
“Throwing of the bouquet?”
“One thing at a time!”
Garrett grinned. “Your turn will come. We have a sweepstake on you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Not even a little. You don’t want to know the odds on who you’re going to marry.”
“There’re options?”
“Oh, yes.” Garrett laughed.
“Who’s in?” Garrett pretending to count on his fingers, then pretended to lose count and start again. “Okay, I get the picture. Don’t tell me.”
“Didn’t expect to see Maddox here,” he said, changing the subject. Or staying on the same one. It was hard to know which.
“Lily invited him a while ago.”
“He left twenty minutes ago.”
“Oh?” I said, sensing Garrett wanted to say something else.
“He watched you and Solomon a while. Don’t think he’s over you. Not by a long shot.”
I nodded, because I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t know if Garrett was telling me something, warning me, or just noting what he saw.
“He’s leaving,” I said, after another few quiet minutes. “He got another job.”
Garrett reached for my hand, squeezed it. “I know.”
~
Solomon, as it turned out, really knew how to dance. I had to thwack the hands of several of my female relatives when they got a little bit too close as we spun past, but it was all in the name of saving him from them, so I figured he would be grateful. The longer we danced, the closer we got until the music came to the closing bars. As I looked up at him and we drifted to a stop, the lights seemed to dim, the room appeared to empty, and there was just the two of us, holding each other close.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” Solomon whispered.
“Three times, but I love it, so keep going.”
“You. Are. Beautiful. And I love you.”
“I love you too,” I murmured a millisecond before his lips landed on mine. His kiss burned my lips, sending my pulse racing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me closer. When we pried apart from each other, there was a loud “Whoop!” and applause. We look around and Solomon gave a sheepish smile. “Guess we’re out,” he said.
“I think pretty much everyone already knew,” I told him.
“If my team didn’t realize it the night I stayed at your house, I’d have to fire them for being so unobservant.” Solomon grabbed my hand and tugged me after him as we exited the dance floor to another round of applause that sent the color rushing to my cheeks.
“You want to file a sexual harassment suit against this guy?” asked Delgado as we passed. “You didn’t look like you were enjoying that. The first time, the second, or the third!”
“Trust me, she loved every minute,” said Solomon and we laughed. We circled some more, we spoke, we laughed, we drank, we snuck away to quiet corners and kissed, and after a while, Serena came to find me, insisting that I follow her.
“Don’t tell me anything I really don’t want to know about Delgado,” I warned her as she looped her arm through mine. “I have to work with the guy.”
“Fine, but he’s an excellent lover and I’ve never been more fulfilled in my life.” Serena beamed.
I cringed and I hoped it showed. “Jeez.”
“Bouquet,” she said, pointing ahead as she yanked me forcibly into a group of women. I looked up to see the bouquet flying through the air as well as the wave of female hands reaching for it. It was coming right at me, probably through my mother’s sheer force of will. As it careened towards my face, I stuck one hand up and batted it at Serena who caught it, her mouth dropping open in surprise.
“Guess it’s your turn again,” I said, swiftly slipping away as she held it aloft.
Solomon was just where I left him, talking to a man in my absence. I vaguely recognized him as a distant cousin, someone on my father’s side.
“You didn’t catch it,” he remarked.
“Butterfingers,” I said, with a shrug. We turned to watch Serena approaching Delgado, the prize bouquet in hand. She held it out to him sheepishly. Delgado plucked a rose from it and slipped it behind her ear. “He took that well,” I remarked as the music started up again.
“Some men are born romantics.”
“Speaking of which, what’s going on upstairs?” Just so he didn’t think I was inquiring about nocturnal activities, I added, “I mean the new secret division of the Solomon Agency?”
“Thought you’d never ask.” Solomon grinned as he led me onto the dance floor. “I assumed you’d keep poking around until you found out. It took you forever to ask me.” Just when I was about to give up hope of him ever explaining, he said, “Risk management and intelligence gathering.”
“What does that mean?”
Solomon dipped me, holding me securely, not that I could ever imagine him dropping me. He was a skilled and graceful dancer. Who knew? “Interested in finding out?”
Duh. Was I ever? “Maybe,” I said, playing it cool.
“Then I’ve got a case for you.”
“Do tell.”
“First things first. Are you in?”
“Always,” I said, immediately wondering what I was agreeing to. Still, not knowing had never stopped me before. It was part of the job, part of the excitement.
“It could be dangerous,” he warned.
“You don’t like putting me in danger. You keep checking up on me.�
�
“Did it occur to you that maybe I just like coming to see you and a case is a good excuse to do that? Besides, you’ve shown me over and over that you can handle yourself. This is higher risk. Can you cope with it? Can you deal with danger when it’s headed directly your way?”
“Count me out.”
Solomon whipped me up, spun me out and reeled me in until we were cheek to cheek. “Really?” he said, sounding surprised. I pulled my head back a little, his hand firmly on the small of my back, holding me close to him. His eyes met mine, and after a moment, he smiled.
I winked and settled next to him once more, feeling his body pressed against me, as well as the surge of excitement of the unknown, the anticipation. “Nah. Totally, absolutely, one hundred percent in!”
Lexi Graves returns in
Laugh or Death
Coming soon!
About the author
Author and journalist Camilla Chafer writes for newspapers, magazines and websites throughout the world. Along with the Lexi Graves Mysteries, she is the author of the Stella Mayweather urban fantasy series as well as author/ editor of several non-fiction books. She lives in London, UK.
Visit Camilla online at www.camillachafer.com to sign up to her newsletter, find out more about her, plus news on upcoming books and fun stuff including an exclusive short story, deleted scenes and giveaways.
You can also find Camilla on Twitter @camillawrites and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CamillaChafer.
Other books:
Lexi Graves Mysteries:
Armed & Fabulous
Who Glares Wins
Command Indecision
Shock and Awesome
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Stella Mayweather Series (Urban Fantasy)
Illicit Magic
Unruly Magic
Devious Magic
Magic Rising
Arcane Magic
Weapons of Mass Distraction (Lexi Graves Mysteries) Page 29
