A Wedding Tail

by Casey Griffin

  Good answer, Zoe thought. Did that mean he was still interested? She supposed he was still there, so that was a good sign.

  Addison seemed to think so too, because she nodded. “Touché.”

  “What are your intentions?” This time it was Piper demanding an answer.

  “Piper!” Zoe hissed across the table.

  “Purely honorable,” Levi said.

  A little too honorable so far, thought Zoe.

  When the main course was served, conversation turned to their usual Sunday chit-chat and Levi seemed to fit right in. But of course he would. He was so easygoing that Zoe could see him slipping into any situation effortlessly.

  “Bob,” Levi said. “What is it that you do?”

  “I’m a detective with the San Francisco Police Department.”

  Levi whistled. “Now that’s an interesting job. I bet it keeps you busy.”

  He chuckled, as though that was an understatement. “That it does.”

  “Bob is following the San Fran Slayer case,” Zoe told him. “He’s on TV all the time to make the official statements.”

  Levi stared across the table at Bob. “Now I know where I’ve seen your face before.”

  “I heard the killer just struck again last week.” Addison leaned in, as though they’d be overheard in the empty restaurant.

  “I saw that on the news,” Piper said. “Didn’t he kill some jewelry designer?”

  “A pizza delivery driver was just found the other day,” Zoe said.

  Marilyn tutted, setting her fork down. “This isn’t really a discussion for meal time, is it? Can’t we discuss something more pleasant?”

  “My ears are burning!” A voice sang out. Everyone turned to find Holly Hart poised at the entrance. “Now don’t stop chatting on my account. Go ahead. Talk about how pleasant I am.”

  Jaws dropped in shock as she grabbed a chair from a nearby table. She dragged it over, metal legs scraping on the floor, and spun it around to straddle it.

  Wedging herself between Aiden and Piper, she scooted herself closer to the table like she was one of the gang. She placed her chin on her fist, batting her eyelashes at Aiden.

  Aiden’s jaw clenched. He dropped his fork on the plate and it clattered noisily. Pushing himself away from the table, he wiped his mouth on a napkin. The look on his face said he’d lost his appetite for the desert spread that was being carried out at that very moment.

  When Zoe caught a glimpse of Piper’s expression, she was ready to tell the server to clear all the knives off the table, just in case.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Zoe demanded.

  “Now, now,” Holly said. “Is that any way to treat a guest?”

  The server hesitated as she set the last of the truffles on the table. “But the reservation was for nine. I’m not sure there’s enough food left. I could always go check with Chef Glazier.”

  Holly held up her hands. “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “She’s not staying,” Zoe said. “The word ‘guest’ would imply she was invited and she wasn’t.” She glared across the table at the reporter.

  “Oh, but I was.” Holly aimed a conspiratorial wink at Zoe so all could see.

  Piper’s eyes widened, and her head snapped as she gaped at her friend. “Zoe. You didn’t.”

  Holly bit her lip. “Oops.”

  Piper threw her napkin on the table and stood up. “How could you? You said you would stop feeding her information.”

  Zoe flinched at the anger in her voice. “I wasn’t feeding her information. I gave her a few useless hints.”

  “Except when she showed up at my bridal gown appointment, it wasn’t so useless.”

  Zoe got to her feet, leaning over the table as Piper scowled at her. She wasn’t going to back down. She didn’t do anything wrong. “I didn’t tell her about the dress fitting. Natalie did it. Or maybe Chelsea. I thought you said you believed me.”

  “I did believe you. But you said you stole her planner, and now Holly just magically happens to show up at our sample meal?” Piper threw her hands up. “How did she find out about this one, huh?”

  Zoe banged the table with a fist. “I swear I don’t know how she found out.”

  Holly stood up now too, as though she were ready to put herself between the two of them if need be. “Ladies. Ladies. You know you wouldn’t have to fight about me if you’d just give me an invite already.”

  Zoe ended the angry staring contest with Piper and turned her murderous gaze on Holly. “Why bother when you seem to invite yourself to everything anyway?”

  “I don’t blame her,” Piper said.

  Holly placed a touching hand over her heart. “Thank you.”

  “I blame you.” She jabbed a finger in Zoe’s direction.

  “Oh, drama, drama, drama.” Holly took a seat again, as though getting comfortable for a show.

  Zoe grit her teeth. “I didn’t tell her anything,” she spat. “What? Do you think I’m lying?”

  With a deep breath, Piper seemed to make an effort at calming herself as the whole situation was getting out of hand. “Look I’m just saying that you haven’t exactly been on the ball lately. I understand.” She held her hands up before Zoe could reply. “You’ve got a lot of things on your plate and—”

  “So you don’t believe me,” Zoe said. “I thought you were my friend.”

  “Friend?” Piper scoffed. “You’re the one leaking wedding info to the paparazzi.”

  “I’m not a paparazzo,” Holly corrected her. “I’m the people’s voice. Their champion. Ooh, are these peanut butter chocolate balls?” She popped one in her mouth and rolled her eyes in ecstasy. She held up the platter to Piper. “You should really try one of these babies.”

  Marilyn seemed to be fidgeting, anxious about all the yelling. She hated when there was discord among the group. In fact, everyone seemed uncomfortable, eyeing one another like no one quite knew what to do. How could they possibly choose sides?

  Levi, however was snacking away on the chocolate and truffle tray, tossing one to Naia every once in a while, making her giggle. Much like he tried to make light of the Fisher-Wells disaster. It’s not like he didn’t think it was a big deal. Zoe was beginning to realize it was his way to bring balance to stressful situations.

  Bob placed a hand over Marilyn’s to still them, but his no-nonsense response was directed at Piper and Zoe. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation as to why Holly is here. And if we all just settle down, I’m sure we can sort it out.”

  Aiden stood up and rubbed Piper’s back. “Let’s all just sit down and try the desserts so we can make our choices for the wedding menu and go, okay? This chef has been booked for months and we’ve been waiting for this appointment. There’s no time to come back.”

  Piper huffed a breath through her nose. “Fine.”

  But Zoe had lost her appetite. “I wouldn’t want to throw off the chef’s numbers. I’ll go.”

  “Zoe, wait!” Addison yelled out.

  But Zoe stared straight ahead as she grabbed her purse and marched out the front door. The summer air was thick and hot after the air-conditioned restaurant, but it suddenly felt easier to breathe.

  The door squeaked open behind her, and footsteps slapped the pavement as someone ran after her. They slowed when they came up beside her. It was Levi. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stared ahead, strolling casually like he’d been there the whole time.

  “Well, the salmon was delicious,” he said.

  Despite her anger, Zoe felt herself smile. He’d just walked out of a luncheon with the people who hired him for a high-profile gig. Not to mention, he didn’t even try to stay behind to schmooze Holly Hart for a segment on his band. Instead, he’d chased after her.

  “You should have tried the dark chocolate caramel balls.” He continued to chat as though they had a perfectly pleasant meal. “The chef’s a genius. I never would have thought to pair sesame seeds with salted caramel.”


  Zoe’s footsteps faltered, and she came to a stop. “What did you just say?”

  When Levi noticed she’d stopped, he turned around. “Caramel balls?”

  “Sesame seeds.” Her voice was barely a whisper. The air left her lungs like she’d been punched in the gut. Piper was deathly allergic to sesame seeds. “Shit!”

  Zoe spun and raced back to the restaurant. She just hoped she was in time to stop Piper from eating them before she wound up in the hospital. Or worse.

  22

  A Barking Dog Never Bites

  Zoe wrenched the restaurant door open and ran back to their table. She scrambled past chairs, tripping over them in her haste, bumping tables decorated with fresh flowers, knocking their vases over. She could hear Levi right on her heels.

  She was panting by the time she got to the private back room. Addison and Felix turned to her, surprised by her sudden appearance, but her focus was on Piper. Chocolate being her comfort food during times of stress or joy or boredom or any time for that matter, Piper was reaching for one of the sesame balls.

  As she brought it to her mouth, Zoe screamed “No! Grab that ball!”

  Zoe leapt across the table, slapping it out of Piper’s hand. The chocolate ball flew across the room, bouncing off Holly’s cheek, and landed in someone’s water glass.

  Dishes slid off the table, busting apart as they hit the floor. Marilyn screamed in fright. Felix spun Naia away to safety. Bob stood at the ready, unsure of who to protect. Piper gasped.

  When everything settled, and the dishes finally stopped crashing, and people stopped yelling, the moment seemed to freeze like some bizarre tableau from a comedy sketch, because no one seemed to know what to do.

  Piper stood frozen, her mouth hanging open. Zoe just stared back from her sprawled position across the tabletop, trying to catch her breath. She could feel soup soak through her dress.

  Levi was the first to speak. “I feel like you just don’t get this whole ball-grabbing concept. You’ve still got the wrong balls.”

  Naia giggled in her dad’s arms. Holly started to take photos with her phone, snapping them off from different angles in the room until Addison grabbed it. Drawing her arm back, she tossed it clear across the room.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Piper finally asked Zoe. She looked furious. She began to dab at the spray of tomato basil soup across her front.

  “Sesame seeds”—Zoe gasped—“in … balls.” She slumped onto the table

  Piper’s glare shifted to the chocolate ball floating in the water glass. The black powder that had coated the ball floated on the water’s surface. After a moment, the furrow lines on her forehead relaxed and she gaped at it like it personally tried to kill her.

  “Oh, God,” she said. “How—”

  “Levi had one,” Zoe explained. “He told me outside that it had sesame seeds in it.”

  Aiden frowned, automatically reaching out for Piper. “Are you okay? Did you bite into it at all?”

  “No. No. I’m fine.” She rubbed her fingers off on the front of her dress as though there might be remnants on them.

  Zoe inched her way off the table, trying to do as little damage as possible, or at least no more than what she’d already done.

  Levi helped her off the table to prevent it from tipping over. When she stood up, all manner of desserts and drinks dripped down the front of her dress.

  “Wow,” he said. “You really must hate sesame seeds.”

  “She’s highly allergic,” Zoe told him as she tried to wipe herself off with a napkin. “Like anaphylactic allergic.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I gathered that,” he said with an ironic twist to his smile.

  “Piper Summers,” Holly said in her reporter-like voice. She marched over, holding her phone up to record Piper—with a newly cracked screen, Zoe noted. “Your wedding planner, has dropped the bouquet at every turn of planning your upcoming nuptials to rich CEO, and ridiculously fit, Aiden Caldwell. Is it time to look for a new planner?”

  Piper stared the phone down. “Not a chance. I couldn’t do it without her. I wouldn’t.” And Piper’s expression looked so sincere, so earnest, that Zoe’s arms were suddenly wrapped around her friend.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I needed to hear that.” And it seemed she’d needed a hug too, because she lingered in Piper’s embrace a moment longer, transferring remnants of brunch onto her friend’s outfit.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” Piper said.

  “I’m sorry too.” When Zoe pulled away, she glared at the metal doors to the kitchen. “I specifically told the chef no sesame seeds. He knew you had a severe allergy. This is inexcusable.” Her fists balled at her sides as she became more worked up, as the reality of what just about happened hit her. “Excuse me while I go have a few words with the chef.”

  As she turned for the kitchen, she nearly ran into Holly. The reporter stuck the phone in her face, but she pushed her away.

  “You, don’t go anywhere,” Zoe told her. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

  Holly gaped. “Me? What did I do? I’m just doing my job.”

  Zoe turned away from the reporter in disgust and started for the kitchen doors, but the server cut her off.

  “Excuse me, but it’s staff only in the kitchen. You can’t go back there.”

  Zoe unleashed the force of her eyebrow on the girl. With a quirk and a twitch, the server backed off as though Zoe had physically, pushed past her.

  Zoe swept the stainless-steel door aside and blew into the kitchen like a storm. She certainly felt as thunderous as one. “Chef Glazier?”

  How careless. How irresponsible.

  This was no small oversight. She’d had to fire caterers before for overcooked vegetables or cold soup, but this mishap wasn’t just going to put a bad taste in someone’s mouth. It had put her friend’s life in danger. It could have killed Piper.

  The door swung shut behind her, muting Holly’s screeches as someone clearly tried to forcibly remove her from the restaurant. But as silence fell over the kitchen, there was still no answer from the chef.

  She strained her ears, but she heard nothing, no signs of life in the spotless kitchen. No clanging dishes or knife chopping. “Chef Glazier!?”

  When she rounded the stainless-steel counter, his station was still a mess, so she knew he couldn’t have gone far. Fresh tomato juice ran across the counter. Yam peels slid under her foot. The knife he’d used for the steak bites was thrown to the side of the cutting board, both still partially covered in streaks of blood.

  Maybe he was in the washroom. Or maybe he’d heard all the commotion outside and realized his mistake, then took off to let the servers deal with the customer complaints. Well, Zoe wasn’t going to let him get off that easily.

  She spotted a second cutting board covered in the dark cocoa powder used to sprinkle over the chocolate balls, but when she looked closer, she saw it was much darker and chunkier than powder.

  Swiping a finger over it, she rubbed the black stuff between her fingers. It was gritty, something finely chopped. She tasted it. Sesame seeds.

  He’d chosen a black seed color, which blended into the cocoa powder. No wonder no one had noticed it.

  The garbage was full of discarded onion peels, containers, and mushroom stumps. Zoe grabbed a spatula and shifted the garbage aside. Hidden beneath a watermelon rind was a half-used bag of sesame seeds. A small package that one would find in a grocery store aisle.

  Did he misplace her prioritized, itemized, color coded list of allergies, preference, and favorites? And just where was he?

  “Renowned chef, my ass,” she mumbled.

  Zoe headed farther into the back where it looked like deliveries were accepted. On the way, she came across a small room off to the side with the door cracked open. The label said Office.

  Well, there’s a start, she thought.

  She brought up a fist and banged on the door, but there was no answer. When she tried the
handle, it was unlocked. The door creaked open, but she couldn’t find the toque blanche or double-breasted jacket of Chef Glazier.

  Searching the room for signs that he was still there—keys, coat, wallet—she spotted the check she’d given him as a deposit months before when she first booked him as the caterer. It was stuck to the wall with a thumbtack. He might have been a good chef, but he was a terrible record keeper.

  Reaching out, she ripped it down. She’d rather scramble to find a replacement caterer at the last minute than use his services again. She went to tear it up, but then she thought of something even better. Something that would send a clear message.

  As she stomped back to his station, her body still shook with adrenaline, with the close call of seeing her friend succumb to anaphylaxis. And Chef Glazier wasn’t even man enough to own up to his mistake.

  She swiped his bloody steak knife off the counter and placed the check on the cutting board with the sesame seed debris. Raising the knife, she stabbed the slip of paper right through the middle.

  There, she thought. That message should be clear enough.

  Zoe left the kitchen, ready to get out of there. She found the others waiting at the front door.

  “Did you find him?” Aiden asked her.

  She shook her head. “No. Unfortunately.”

  “Well, I think I’ll be having a talk with him when I get to the office tomorrow.” He wrapped a protective arm around Piper as they went to leave. “Or maybe my lawyer will.”

  “Don’t worry,” Zoe said. “I’ll be finding a new caterer for the wedding. One that’s even better. It will be perfect. I promise.”

  There was that word again, “perfect.” But so far, nothing about this wedding was anything close to it. First the entertainer broke his leg, then the gown was shredded, her décor blown up, and now this. But so far, she’d met every challenge. And she’d meet this one head on too.

  Levi held the door open for Zoe, grinning down at her.

  She hesitated, suddenly self-conscious. “What?”

  “You’re a force to be reckoned with, Zoe Plum. First, you dive across a restaurant like a superhero and save your friend. Next, you storm into the back and give the chef a piece of your mind. One would almost say that you’re close to finding those balls to grab.”