I give her a flat look. “What we were told to wear,” I reply, and she looks at Stacey.
“Surely you didn’t pick those for your bridesmaids?” she asks in disbelief, and Stacey smothers her smirk.
“No, I certainly did not. The dressmaker must have messed up the instructions.” Her bottom lip quivers like she’s going to cry. “My wedding will be ruined.”
Her aunt shoots us a glare that could kill. It’s like she’s blaming us for the whole debacle. “Well, you will just have to leave them out of the photos. It’s too late for them to change. We are already going to be late.”
She shoos Stacey toward the limo, her humongous dress, which must have fifty layers of tulle, making it so it takes the three of them a whole ten minutes to get her into the car. Just when they thought they had gotten her in, the hoop under her dress would bend under pressure and poke out the door again.Vienna and I were just about in stitches by the time they finally wrangled the door shut.
“No room. You two will have to find your own way there,” the aunt announces as she squeezes into the limo through the other door.
“Fine by me,” I reply. “See you there.” I take Vienna’s hand and tug her back into the house and down the elevator to the garage. I grab the keys to my baby and click the remote to unlock it. Before I let her enter the car, though, I grab the bug scanner off the work bench and run it over my car. I’m completely stunned when it comes back clean and free of bugs. I look at Vienna with surprise.
Vienna scoffs. “Mario’s a misogynistic piece of crap. I bet he didn’t even think this was your car. He probably thought it was Gio’s.” She strokes the hood of my Hellcat with admiration.
“You drive so I can make some phone calls.” I toss her the keys and climb into the passenger side.
“Fine, but you’re still doing the girls’ day with me and Addi,” she reminds me.
We make our way to the Suncity Botanical Gardens, and I touch base with Mickey, Sam, and Dean. All the teams are in place, and the minute the ceremony starts, the raids will begin. Sam tells me our tech specialist has arranged for the cell phone coverage in the area to be down for maintenance or something, so even if one of Mario’s plants tries to call and warn him, the phone call won’t go through.
Mickey assures me everything is under control and to worry about our side of things. Vienna and I identified all the innocent people on the list last night, and the two of us will work the reception and quietly encourage everyone to leave early. It shouldn’t be too hard.
Finally, I make my last call to Sage. “My dad and Carla are in the penthouse of the Lucky Diamond. You three need to join that team before heading out to the vineyard.”
“Should I tell them why?” he asks, and I grimace.
“Yeah, I just hope everyone forgives me once this is all over. Fucking secrets and lies are going to make trusting me in the future difficult.”
“Bullshit,” Sage snaps. “Everyone is just going to be happy to see each other alive. The rest is easy because we all love you and know you were doing the best you could for this family.”
“I love you,” I tell him, and Vienna smirks at me.
“Me too, Sagey. Give my girl a kiss for me, and tell her I’ll see her tomorrow,” she calls out.
“I love both you beautiful girls, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life showing you with my tongue and cock,” he replies, and I hear laughter in his voice.
“Romantic,” I reply dryly.
“You know it,” he replies before hanging up. I toss the burner phone into my glove box. If it’s discovered now, it’s too late to stop anything. I just have to hope everything goes to plan. I wipe my sweaty palms down the front of the ugly dress as Vienna pulls my car into the parking lot. We climb out just as the limo pulls in with the bride and her family.
“Showtime,” I mutter as we grab our bouquets and move to the side to watch as Stacey struggles to get out of the car.
We smother our giggles when her aunt glares at us, but it is difficult. She looks like a bridezilla. I mean, the dress would be pretty with all those tulle layers if it wasn’t also covered with a gazillion sequins that reflect the light enough to blind someone. It’s a case of throwing so much bling at the dress, she almost looks like a disco ball on crack.
Music starts to drift through the trees as Mario appears at the start of the trail we have to stroll down through the gardens to the altar.
“Where’s Daddy?” Stacey looks around, and I see her swallow nervously. I’d almost feel sorry for her, but she’s a heinous bitch, so I won’t.
“He couldn’t make it,” Mario tells her in a voice that practically orders her not to argue. Her aunt and cousins exchange fearful glances and hurry to take their seats.
I guess they do have some sense of self-preservation, but they are such bitches that I won’t be encouraging them to leave early the reception. They should have known better than to start something they couldn’t finish. It’s not like my reputation doesn’t proceed me in our circles.
Stacey waves her hand at Vienna and me, and we start our walk through the trails. Neither of us have any desire to drag this out, so instead of walking in time to the music, we move briskly with Stacey hissing at us to slow down the whole time.
When we enter the clearing with the gazebo where the ceremony is being held, all the guests stand as we walk down the red carpeted aisle.
Their reactions at seeing us are kind of priceless. There is shock, disgust, and sheer ridicule, but Vienna and I hold our heads high. When my eyes meet the guys’ at the front, the expressions on their faces promise retribution, and I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.
