“I’ve told you that after my last marriage, I’m off weddings,” Devon said, holding up his hands, but with a wicked glint in his eyes.“There’s only one woman who could change my mind, and alas, she’s marrying my best mate.”
I looked heavenward for a few seconds.“If you even think about asking me if I remember—”
“Hey, you remember the time when you were my girlfriend for the summer?”Devon interrupted, leaning casually against his open room door, trying hard not to grin.“How many times did you kiss me?”
“It was a month, and most of that time I was in Paris,” I said with one of Mom’s dramatic sighs, and looked at Fang.“How about Brother as your best man?”
Fang laughed, gave Devon a friendly bro-punch to the arm, then bent me backward in a steamy kiss.“Is that romantic enough?”he asked me.
“Enough to make my knees weak,” I said, fanning myself.
Devon applauded, then gave me a perfectly platonic kiss on the cheek before pulling Fang into a hug.“Don’t bother giving me a death glare, Emily.I knew the minute you laid eyes on Fang that I’d never have a shot.You are the only two people who I believe were truly meant for each other.”
“Damn straight.Lunch is in half an hour.My hen party will be mostly at the spa next door, although Mace said we can use the bar if we want.There’s no formal dinner planned, but Mace will have some sandwiches and things for us to nibble on if we get back from the parties and have the munchies.”I gave Devon another swift hug, then tugged Fang after me as we headed down the back stairs to the kitchen.
“I thought everything was set for tomorrow?”Fang asked as we emerged into a small kitchen area at the back of the building.
“It was, but Mace texted me a few minutes ago that he needs to check in with us.And there is the man himself,” I said when Mace and three people in dark clothes turned to look at us.
“Ah, there you are.Yes, yes, just so.This ...erm ...this is ...”He stopped and reminded me of a goldfish what with his mouth opening and closing a few times.
“I’m Janice.We’re here to help out with your wedding,” the woman in front said, and whipped out a white server’s apron.“Mr.Abbot hired us especially for the event.And now, we should really start getting things ready, yes?”
She asked the last of Mace, who nodded quickly.“Yes, absolutely.Prepare.Good idea.Erm ...Emily, Fang, might I have a word in your ears?Just for a moment.”
“Is something wrong?”Fang asked, moving with me so as to let the three helpers out.“Our ceremony is pretty simple, so we were under the impression that everything was set.”
“Set, yes, everything is set,” Mace said, nodding again.“There’s no problem with the wedding or reception, but tonight ...I assure you, nothing is going to affect your night’s sleep.Nothing at all.It’s just a few extra people, and I swear they will not get in your way.In fact, you probably won’t even know they’re here.”
“Are you talking about Amy and Corbin Monroe?Because they are part of the party—” I started to say, but Mace, with a glance back into the kitchen, shooed us out to the reception area, which was now empty.
“I assure you,assureyou, there is nothing to worry about.Everything is under control.The slight, unimportant change won’t bother you or your guests at all.”
“You don’t have any food?”I guessed.“The bakery called and said a dog ate the cake before they delivered it?The officiant has given up marrying people, and run off to Brazil?I sure hope not, because it took a minor miracle to book her for the wedding.She’s got a huge Instagram following, and is very in demand for weddings, so if she’s not able to make the ceremony—”
“No, no, nothing at all like that,” he said in a near whisper, looking scandalized.He glanced toward the door that led to the kitchen.“It’s just that Gerard got a little confused, just slightly confused, about the dates, and booked a prestigious ghost-hunting group into the hotel for the night to investigate our upper stories.”
“Ghosts?I didn’t know this place was haunted.Did you know?”I asked Fang.
“No.What will these ghost hunters be doing?”he asked Mace, a single crease wrinkling the space between his brows.“As you know, both the hen and stag parties will keep most of us out for a few hours, but we will be back for a late supper.”
“Do not panic,” Mace said, holding up a hand and speaking in what I’m sure was his best authoritarian tone.“We’ve already booked the Spirited Lives people—they have a YouTube channel, evidently—into the Bide-a-Wee B&B just down the road, so they won’t be a bother at all.”
“So long as people don’t go into our rooms, I don’t care if they poke around the building,” I said slowly.I was mildly annoyed, but decided that in the big picture, it didn’t matter if there were a few extra people hanging around the hotel.
Fang leaned close and whispered into my ear, “They’ll be damned lucky if your mother doesn’t rope the whole group into attending the ceremony tomorrow.”
I had to turn my laugh into a cough, so as not to offend Mace.
“Of course, of course, and I’m sure you’ll have a delightful time with your respective parties,” Mace reassured us, but his voice dropped when he glanced over his shoulder.“Don’t think too harshly of Gerard.He thought you were coming in tomorrow, and that the hotel would be empty tonight.As it is, Gerard has spoken to the leaders, and they understand that they are not allowed into any guest rooms, and will confine themselves to the attic areas.”
“Doesn’t sound like it will be a problem, then,” Fang said in his calm, reassuring-animals voice.
“I’d rather have a few ghost people around than no cake,” I told him, thinking about the delicious chocolate orange wedding cake a local bakery was making for us.“I have plans to take home the leftovers, since everyone knows calories don’t count for a bride on her day.”
“You plan to eatallthe leftovers in the space of a day?”Fang asked as Mace hurried off into the back rooms, and we started up the stairs.
“I’m stretching ‘day’ to mean three or four days.Depending on how much cake is left.I’ll save you a piece,” I offered.
