A Wedding Tail

by Casey Griffin

  But maybe that was it. Maybe she just needed the push. A push from the right person.

  Once she felt the last of her day wash down the drain, and those immediate sexual urges subside for the time being, she climbed out of the shower. As she was brushing her damp hair, she heard a knock on her front door. Or rather, she heard Freddy bark and howl like a clan of ninjas had broken in, so she knew someone must be at the door.

  Throwing on a robe, she slipped out of the bathroom. As she made her way to the entrance, she heard Levi open the door.

  “Hello,” he said.

  “Is Zoe home?” The familiar male voice hit her body like a tsunami. She reached out for the wall to steady herself.

  Fighting the desire to bolt, she put one foot in front of the other. She had nowhere else to go. This was her home, after all. So what the hell was he doing there?

  “Yeah. I can go grab her,” Levi said. “Who can I say is here?”

  But Zoe already knew before the door came into view. “Sean?”

  “Zoe.” Her ex’s eyes briefly ran over her robe before flicking to Levi in an unspoken question.

  Levi shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll just go finish up in the kitchen.”

  He disappeared around the corner to give them privacy. But Zoe could clearly hear the gentle clinking of dishes from the kitchen, so she knew he’d be able to hear them.

  Finally, Sean spoke. “Zoe—”

  “Sean, what are you doing here?”

  He hesitated in the open doorway. “After I saw you the other day, I don’t know…” He held his breath, like the words just wouldn’t come. “I just had to see you.”

  She crossed her arms over herself, aware of how underdressed she was. “Why? You haven’t needed to see me for six years.”

  “It’s not like I didn’t try, at first.” He took a tentative step inside her apartment, like the fact that she hadn’t kicked him in the balls meant she was willing to talk things out. “I called, I e-mailed, I wrote, I popped by. You wouldn’t talk to me.”

  “You left me standing at the altar.”

  Sean took another step forward. “But if we could have talked—”

  “There was nothing to talk about,” she said, much slower this time. “You left me at the altar.”

  “I had my reasons. If you just let me explain—”

  “Unless it was that you were being held hostage by pirates, I don’t want to hear it.”

  But he tried anyway. “I was young and stupid—”

  “You got that right,” she snapped.

  “And I didn’t understand what it was I wanted or what I had.” Sean’s hands rose as though he wanted to touch her, to hold her.

  She flashed him a severe warning look, and they dropped to his sides.

  “I took you for granted and I’m sorry. I freaked out.” His forehead creased as his eyes filled with pleading. “I’ve always regretted that day. I’ve always wondered … Wondered what it would have been like if I’d turned up.”

  She wrapped her arms even tighter around her body, like she could hold in all the things he was trying to bring up again. The things she thought she’d pushed down inside a long time ago. “Why are you telling me all this now?”

  “Because I thought that was all in the past, and then I saw you the other day, and it was like a sign. It all came rushing back to me.” He shook his head, as though trying to sort out his thoughts. “Look. I know we can’t start over, but God … I don’t know, Zoe.”

  Zoe wasn’t sure if this was all very funny or not, but she suddenly had the urge to burst out laughing. Or maybe crying. No, yelling would definitely have been better.

  “What about Chelsea? You’re marrying her.”

  Sean pulled a face. “I called it off. Please.” He fell to his knees in front of her. “Just give us another shot. Just a date. Coffee even. Some place we can start over.”

  He inched closer, reaching for the hem of her robe, but Freddy seemed to sense that Zoe wasn’t enjoying her visitor. He began to growl and snarl, hackles raised as he crouched between them.

  Zoe’s shocked gaze was so focused on the prostrate figure before her that she hadn’t noticed the man in the hall until he spoke.

  “Zoe? What is this?”

  She blinked at the newcomer as though the accent didn’t give him away immediately. “Taichi. What are you doing here?”

  “Your mother said you were home. She told me that I should come to see you.” He looked from Zoe to Sean and back again, trying to make sense of it.

  Hell, so was she.

  Sean pushed himself to his feet, blocking him from entering the apartment. “Well, you’ll have to come back, pal. We’re kind of in the middle of something.”

  It annoyed Zoe how he spoke for her. As if she were a child. As if he had any more right to be there at that moment than Taichi. In fact, Taichi had more right.

  Taichi scowled at Sean, straightening up like he was actually taller than her ex, not five-foot-seven. “And who are you?”

  “I’m, well…” Sean hesitated. “I’m hoping to be her boyfriend.” At this, he turned a hopeful gaze at Zoe before turning back to Taichi. “And who the hell are you?”

  “I am her fiancé.”

  Oh God, he said it. She slapped her forehead.

  “Fiancé?” A hushed voice asked behind her.

  Zoe spun around. Levi stood there with a bowl of chips and dip in his hand. Her focus had been so consumed by the two men at her doorstep that she’d nearly forgotten he was even there.

  But Levi’s focus was entirely on her. “You’re engaged?”

  “Who’s he?” Sean and Taichi asked.

  The hurt in Levi’s expression suddenly faded until it was hidden beneath a cool mask. “I’m nobody.”

  “Levi, I—”

  Shaking his head, he put the bowls down and slipped on his shoes. Without a backward glance, he left.

  Zoe couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak, not even to tell the two men arguing back and forth in her doorway to shut up and leave. All she could focus on was Levi’s angry footsteps thumping down the hallway, hoping they would slow, hoping she would hear them change direction and come back this way.

  Zoe pushed past Taichi and Sean, stumbling into the hallway. “Levi, wait!”

  She headed after him, running down the hall, robe swishing around her thighs. A neighbor poked their head out of their door and shushed her. Then they took one look at her and gasped.

  Her hair clung to her neck and face in wet tendrils. Her robe flapped open, giving them a glimpse of her naked body beneath. She hadn’t even bothered to put on a pair of shoes.

  Zoe scowled at them as she barreled past, ignoring the shocked look they gave her, like she’d absolutely lost her mind. And if she let Levi get into his van and drive away, she worried she may never find it again.

  Her footsteps echoed in the stairwell as she chased him down to the exit, her bare feet slapping with each step. One hand on the rail and one hand keeping her robe shut, she flew after him.

  She rounded the next landing and saw down to the doors. A glimpse of his backside gave her hope that she could catch up. The doors slammed shut before she could yell after him.

  Stumbling down the last few steps, Zoe shoved the front door open and lurched onto the sidewalk. She hissed at the cold on her bare feet and the cool night air sweeping around her legs.

  The last time she’d felt this desperate, this helpless, had been on her wedding day, when her entire future had blown up in her face. All the plans, the promises, the hopes, and dreams were tossed away by the individual she’d trusted most in the world. Like they were garbage. Like she was garbage.

  But it wasn’t the same at all. That day, all those feelings, the grief, the resentment, the humiliation, and rejection had burst out of her because the one person she needed most in the world had betrayed her. But now that she’d finally found someone she needed more, he felt betrayed by her.

  She rounded the corner of the al
ley and spotted Levi climbing into his van. He slammed the door and started the engine.

  “Levi, wait!” she screamed out. She ignored the pain and cold in her feet as she pushed herself harder, faster.

  But then the engine revved, and the van took off. Suddenly she was just a crazy person wearing nothing but a robe in a dark alley, screaming a man’s name. Zoe was alone.

  25

  All Bark and No Bite

  Zoe set her box of vibrators down on the hardwood floor and took in her new office space with pride. She’d only moved in on Monday and already it was coming together nicely.

  Aiden had really pulled through for her. She knew he had properties all over the city, but he’d really outdone himself. The office was spectacular, with a view of the bustling shopping area out front to match.

  The building had retained the rustic charm of late 1800s Italianate, with the bonus of being on 24th Street with ample parking nearby and only a ten-minute walk from her new-slash-old house. She could run home and check on her mother whenever she needed to.

  It had taken some major hoop jumping with the lender, but she’d been approved to be added to her mother’s mortgage. In addition to the lump sum of savings she’d already had for a down payment, she also had an impeccable credit score, thanks in part to her OCD tendencies. They’d been to the lawyer, and the papers were signed. Zoe was officially a home owner.

  The feeling was strangely foreign, and yet it felt natural to be moving back into her childhood home, even though she was regressing to a point before she’d moved away and found her independence. It had been a time and place where she was dependent on others, where she needed her parents. Only now it was her mother who needed her.

  Zoe checked the time once again. It was nearly 10 A.M. She began rearranging her decor in the bay window for the tenth time that morning, fluffing up her bridal mannequin’s wedding dress, angling the groom’s top hat just so, anything to keep busy. To keep from imagining how her first appointment of the day was going to go.

  After Levi stormed out on Sunday night, she returned to her apartment to find Taichi and Sean still bickering—well, mostly it was Sean.

  She’d sent her ex away to cool off for a few days. She didn’t know what to say to him at the time, anyway. Then she’d had a talk with Taichi, explaining that an arranged marriage just wasn’t going to work for her.

  Now that she’d had most of the week to calm down, she agreed to meet Sean in—she checked her watch again—fifty minutes. And although she’d been imagining their conversation all week, making lists of the things she wanted to tell him, she still wasn’t sure what she would say.

  To kill time, she perched on the edge of her antique desk, an office-warming present from Piper and Aiden—like they hadn’t done enough already. Raising her phone above her, she snapped a selfie, making sure to get the big bay window in the shot. She sent it to the both of them, along with a text.

  See you guys at the wedding rehearsal tomorrow night. XOXO.

  The office couldn’t have come at a better time. She didn’t exactly feel comfortable using Levi’s apartment when they weren’t even on speaking terms, even though he’d been gone on his rock tour all week.

  At the thought of him, she picked up her cell and called him. Again.

  Ring, ring, ring.

  She held her breath. After having called him so many times that week, the noise had become as aggravating as the Chicken Dance to her ears.

  If she could just talk to him, explain that things weren’t how they seemed. But it wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to leave on his voicemail either.

  Three weeks before she didn’t even know the man existed and now she couldn’t seem to go five minutes without thinking about him. She missed talking to him, missed hearing his voice. She’d even downloaded his album and played it on repeat just to hear him sing.

  Surprise, surprise, there was no answer. Zoe waited until the voicemail kicked in to hear his voice.

  “This is Levi Dolson with Reluctant Redemption. Sorry I missed your call. Please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to—.”

  Zoe quickly hung up before it finished, as she always did. Or else he’d have gotten ten silent voicemails by now, like she was some creepy mouth-breathing stalker. Okay may be fifteen … or twenty.

  Yup, nothing crazy about Zoe Plum. She was as cool as a cucumber.

  There was a knock on the door. A thrill of excitement rang through her. Was it her first customer in her new office?

  But when she swung the door wide with a welcoming smile, she nearly slammed it back shut.

  “Zoe!” Juliet Fisher squealed. “It’s so good to see you.”

  Zoe gaped at the woman beaming in her doorway. Expecting a setup, she took an automatic step back and tried to close the door. But the ex-bride wedged herself inside like she thought the wind had blown it shut. Her look of euphoria didn’t change.

  “I wish I could say the same, Juliet. And…” Zoe did a double take. “Owen? What are you doing here? Together.”

  She remembered the last time she’d seen Owen, which was just before her last office blew up. Her eyes automatically flitted toward the window—her nearest exit.

  “Look.” Zoe held her hands up. “I already told you that I won’t be held responsible for the cost of your wedding. You can check our contract.”

  “No. No.” Juliet’s titter sounded so sweet that it hurt Zoe’s teeth. “We’re not here for that.”

  Zoe’s heart was racing, Juliet’s uber-sweet disposition freaking her out. “Then what is it? Because I’ll call the cops if you try anything funny.”

  Juliet gave her a look like she thought Zoe was adorable and pushed past her until she was deeper inside the office. Zoe put up a fight, trying to block her path, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  “About the expo. I’m sorry,” Juliet said. “I was hurt, and angry, and hadn’t slept in days. I was losing my mind without my munchkin.” She reached up and pinched Owen’s cheek.

  Owen grinned, and Zoe wondered if it had been the chocolates that had won Juliet over.

  Zoe eyed the two of them like psych-ward escapees. “I see you two have worked things out. When did this happen?” She hoped she sounded casual enough as she dug for information to feed the police.

  “Just the other day,” Juliet said like she was gushing. “Monday, I think it was. Wasn’t it, pookie?”

  Monday. So Juliet would have still been pissed at Zoe for ruining her wedding on Sunday when Chef Glazier was killed. Which meant she wasn’t out of the running for potential suspects. Zoe mentally tucked that note away for later. It wasn’t like she could just bust that question out and hope Juliet would answer honestly.

  “When you say that you’re sorry about the expo,” Zoe began, “are you talking about the van?”

  “No, the van wasn’t me. I swear.” Juliet shook her head. “I mean that I’m sorry for yelling at you and making that announcement over the PA system.”

  “Right, well I think that’s best for the police to determine.” Zoe casually inched toward her desk where her feathered pen rested next to an inkwell. It was purely decorative, however the pen’s metal tip was sharp enough to be an improvised weapon, if needed.

  But Juliet didn’t seem to notice. “I came here because I wanted to put all that behind us. To move on.”

  Zoe narrowed her eyes. “Move on to what?”

  She slid her hand into Owen’s, batting her eyelashes up at him. “To our wedding, of course.”

  Zoe gaped at the two of them. But it was Owen she addressed. He was the only one who was ever reasonable. Well, except when it came to his fiancée, she supposed. “Your wedding? You’re going to try to get married again?”

  It was Juliet who answered. “Of course. We’re not going to let one bad day ruin what we have.”

  Zoe thought Juliet and her family had done a fine job doing that all on their own. “Well, congratulations. I’m thrilled you two worked things out.” She
went to the door and held it wide open, hoping they would take the hint.

  “So you’ll do it?” Juliet asked hopefully.

  She glanced from bride to groom. “Do what?”

  “Plan our wedding?” Juliet squealed happily again.

  “Plan your … No. No way. I can’t possibly.” Zoe began backing up, wanting to leave her own office.

  Juliet grabbed her arms, squeezing hard like she was desperate. Or maybe because she wanted to rip Zoe’s arms off and beat her with them. “But you already know our tastes and our must haves. It would be a piece of cake.”

  “I’m actually booked solid.”

  “But it’s not for another year. We’ll offer you double.”

  Not even for a million dollars, Zoe thought. “Yup, sadly booked for the next two … make that three years.”

  Juliet’s hands dropped in disappointment. “Oh, well that’s too bad.”

  “If you want my advice,” Zoe said. “Elope. So much cheaper.” But as the couple trudged out of her office, Zoe thought of even better advice. “On second thought. I know of someone who might be able to help you.”

  She ran to her purse and dug her way to the bottom. Things had been so crazy that she hadn’t had time to clean it out since … yup, there it was. Natalie Evans’ scrunched-up business card from the expo. Straightening it out as best she could, she handed it to the Juliet.

  “Natalie Evans?” Juliet read. “Isn’t that your assistant?”

  “Natalie works for Enchanted Events now. And she worked very closely with me on your wedding, so she understands all your needs.” As in, everything under the sun, Zoe added in her head. She gave the couple a cheerful wave as they headed out her door. “Tell her I sent you.”

  “Thanks. I will!” Juliet called back.

  “Good luck, you crazy kids.” Emphasis on the crazy.

  Rushing over to her bay window, she watched them walk down the street, mostly to make sure they left, but also staring in amazement. At both the fact that Juliet had actually believed Zoe would say yes to planning her wedding, and at the fact that there would be another wedding.

  Once they were out of sight, she shut the door and locked it, just in case they came back. Grabbing her phone, she ran through her list of contacts and found the one for Detective Warner to let him know Juliet had popped by. She didn’t know if it was important, but the more information to absolve her and figure out who was making Zoe’s life hell, the better.