Badge Bunny Page 13

  The servers are ushering the wedding guests back into the building once I make it around to the veranda. The wedding party is holding back to be officially announced by the DJ. I make a beeline for Drew as soon as I see him, grabbing him by the arm and giving him a little tug away from where he’s humoring Sonnet’s parents and grandmother, and his own mother. I think they’re pressing him about when there are going to be some mini-Drew and Sonnets running around. Geez, give them a chance for the ink on their marriage certificate to dry first!

  “Whoa, thanks, bro!” He mimes wiping his brow of imaginary sweat. “That was one conversation I never wanted to have.”

  “I can only imagine.” I laugh, shaking my head before turning serious again. “Is Sonnet holding up okay?”

  “Yes, she’s over there talking to Ken, Jack, Claire and Winston.” He catches his bride’s eye and gives a little wave. “What’s up? Did you ask Brynne out?”

  “What?” My eyes pop open at the mention of her name. “No, just for a dance. Wow, word travels fast around here, doesn’t it?”

  He glances around. “Well, it’s a confined space out here! What did you expect?”

  I shake my head as I try to wrangle the conversation back to the one I need to have with him. “I just talked to your dad, and the weather situation is not looking good.”

  “It’s not?” His jovial grin is washed away as quickly as the tide going out to sea.

  “No, that Nor’easter is headed right toward us, and we both think it’s a good idea to get everyone over the bridge by nine o’clock. Do you think that’s doable?”

  He glances down at his watch and purses his lips. “That gives us…what…three hours for dinner, dancing and cake?”

  “Yeah, will that work?” I know I’m asking. I want him to think he’s in charge here.

  “Yeah, I don’t see why not. I mean, we were originally thinking we’d be out of here by ten, but I think moving it up an hour is reasonable. We want everyone to get home safely, of course.”

  “Good. Well, I don’t think it will put a damper on anything, and we don’t even have to announce it until maybe when you guys cut the cake. I don’t want to stress anyone out. I just hope people don’t keep checking the weather.”

  Right then, a huge gust of wind sends a long thick tree branch flying out of one of the trees and onto one of the cars parked a few yards from the veranda. I brace myself, thinking their alarm system might start blaring, but thankfully, nothing happens. It lands on the luggage rack on top of their SUV at first, then another gust of wind makes it slide down the windshield and onto the hood of another nearby car.

  “Hey, it’s almost time, guys!” Sonnet calls from the doorway. “Get your asses over here, pronto!”

  Well, I see becoming Mrs. Clark hasn’t diminished her bossy attitude one bit.

  “Just a sec, honey!” Drew shouts back, then gives me a little elbow in the side. “Don’t worry, things will be fine.”

  He turns to join his newly minted wife just as I hear the wind rip off another branch and send it flying into the cabin at the back of the property.

  It’s going to be a long night…

  Thirteen

  We’ve all been announced and ushered to the long banquet table against the far window. When I sit down, I can hear the glass rattling in the panes. I shoot Chris a nervous look, and he reaches under the table to squeeze my hand in his. I haven’t really felt nervous about the weather for the past hour or two. I could tell the tide went out, and the flooding around the marshes eased. We actually managed to get some photos directly after the ceremony over by the beach, and mercifully the winds were relatively calm, just adding enough breeze to look artsy in the photos, I’m sure. Ken may not be the official photographer, but I thought he did a great job posing us. A good wedding coordinator will step in anywhere he’s needed, and Ken has done a fabulous job keeping Sonnet calm, cool, and collected. I’d definitely hire Ken if I were ever to get married.

  Listen to me. I shake my head in disappointment at these silly internal musings I’ve been having all day. How I’d do this if it were my wedding, or that. I knew when I moved here that my likelihood of finding Mr. Right was highly unlikely. There are locals and tourists here. That’s it. Most of the local men who would be my age left Delmarva for bigger cities when they went to college, and they never turned back.

  How did Lindy, Claire, and Sonnet find local men? I’m not sure, but I think Meric, Jack and Drew are huge exceptions. And besides, Meric and Jack aren’t from here anyway. Meric is a self-professed tourist who never went home. The other men around here my age either seem to be gay or just not my type. I don’t want to say blue collar or uneducated because that makes me sound like an elitist bitch, but I just don’t know how they’d feel about marrying a doctor.

  I mean, that’s kind of the trouble I ran into with Todd, right? Ugh, I never want to think about that sexist jerk again.

  “You okay?” I hear Chris mumble in my left ear. I startle at the sound of his voice, I’m so violently ripped from my crazy little world of thoughts.

  “Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what my problem is today. What were you and Drew talking about?”

  “Is that your embarrassing secret?” he questions, piercing me with his hazel eyes. “You’re easily distracted?”

  I feel my cheeks start to heat with an impending blush. No! a voice inside me screams. Come on, capillaries, don’t let me down!

  Maybe that’s my embarrassing secret he can discover this weekend. My skin betrays me every single chance it gets. Being a fair-skinned redhead is such a drag sometimes.

  “I’m a doctor. I can focus when I need to,” I answer with a wink.

  He lets out a little chuckle. “Well, there has to be something.” He scratches his head with curiosity right before a glowing smile blossoms on his lips. “You know what? I forgot to tell you that you look absolutely beautiful tonight.”

  He’s not literally touching me, but as he speaks those words, his eyes are caressing me in such a way that all of those capillaries I just begged to stay under control rebel and start to flood with hot, red blood, turning my cheeks a bright, unmissable scarlet. His compliment is so unexpected, I’m momentarily too stunned to even answer.

  I grab the water from my table and take a cool, refreshing sip, trying to gather my wits. “Thank you,” I choke out. “You look very handsome yourself.” I smile, trying to pretend like my skin didn’t just turn roughly the shade of a steamed lobster.

  His eyes are still boring into mine, as though his focus is so narrow, he can’t begin to notice my flaming cheeks or fidgeting fingers. He takes my hand into his again.

  What the hell is happening right now, and why can’t I seem to simply pull my hand away gracefully and without attracting an audience?

  Before I have a chance to respond, the DJ announces it’s time for the toasts. My eyes flash to Claire, who smiles at me radiantly. The only reason I walked down the aisle in the position of Maid of Honor is so I could be paired with the Best Man. Claire is officially the Matron of Honor, and she has agreed to give the toast. Chris clears his throat because he will be delivering one as well.

  The DJ calls Claire up to his table, and she stands up and floats over gracefully. I sure hope I develop some kind of poise and grace by the time I’m Claire’s age. I feel like I only do blunt and pointed at this stage of my life. The wind outside howls and rattles the windowpanes again, but it’s drowned out by a screech of feedback when she takes the microphone from the DJ.

  “Good evening, everyone, I’m Claire Reilly, the Matron of Honor, and I’d like to give a toast to the happy couple! I met Drew through my husband Jack, who is in Drew’s band. We might be hearing a number from their band a little later tonight, isn’t that right, gentlemen?”

  There are not only a few nods from Jack, Drew, Luke and Sam but a chorus of whooping and hollering from the wedding guests. I glance over at the family table, and Sonnet’s parents and grandmother are both wearing sc
owls. Nice. Can you imagine being that absolutely miserable all the time? Yuck.

  Claire continues, “I will never forget the first time I met Sonnet. These two were trying to flip a house they coinherited, and it was coming down to the wire. They bribed all their friends to come over and have a painting party. I had only been there a few minutes when Drew was already giving Sonnet a hard time about her taste in music, and I felt so sorry for the girl. I asked Jack if Drew was always that mean to her, and he told me they had a ‘complicated relationship.’ Yep, he used that exact word: complicated.

  “I was like, ‘complicated’? ‘How hard is it to just be freakin’ nice to someone in front of all your friends?’ I’d fired back. And do you know what Jack said?”

  The entire audience collectively shouts, “What?!”

  “He said, ‘Trust me, Sonnet gives as good as she gets. That girl can hold her own, and if anyone can handle Drew, it’s her.’ Boy, was my husband right. Did you hear that, honey?” she calls over to him at the head table. “I admitted you were right! In front of all these people!”

  Everyone laughs.

  “It was only a couple of months later that Sonnet decided to move back to Delaware, and you know that house they were flipping? Oh, yeah, that’s where they currently live. In any case, I know these two are perfect for each other, and I couldn’t be happier for both of them. Here’s to a long and happy marriage!”

  “Here here!” everyone shouts.

  Chris pats my leg before he slides his chair out from the table and begins to make his way toward the DJ station. Claire passes him the microphone, and he plants a little kiss on her cheek during the exchange.

  “Good evening, everyone! I’m Chris Everson, the Best Man. Are y’all ready for this? I’ve known Drew since we were like eight years old or something, so this has the potential to run very long.”

  The crowd laughs. Claire makes it back to the table and leans down right in front of me to whisper in my ear, “Chris is a great guy, by the way. I think you guys make a lovely couple.”

  What?!

  Where is this coming from?

  I try to calm the nerves zinging through my body like microscopic torpedoes and listen to what Trooper Asshat has to say. Yeah, that’s right, I called him Trooper Asshat because I need to reach deep within me and pull out that pragmatic medical practitioner side of me, you know the one that has to use her head instead of her heart when making important life or death decisions. Where the hell did that side of me go?

  “So, I have a confession to make,” Chris continues. “I didn’t like Sonnet very much when we were in elementary school together. I may have even pulled her braids and teased her about her glasses a time or two. But the real reason I didn’t like her is because she was the only kid in the entire school who made my best friend—who I thought was the smartest kid in the entire school—look dumb sometimes. Boy, she was such a know-it-all! Am I right?”

  There are some murmurs of agreement and laughter from the crowd.

  “But she really is that smart. And you know how I know?”

  “How?” everyone asks in unison.

  “Because my man Drew, the guy I love like a brother, is a great catch. He’s brilliant, funny, and creative, and he’s a kick-ass guitarist—not to mention an all-around great guy. Sonnet is smart as hell to snatch him up before any other ladies sink their claws into him!”

  Everyone laughs.

  “On a more serious note—yeah, yeah, you all know I’m the tough guy cop around here, but I’m going to get emotional on you guys here for a minute, okay? Do you all think you can handle that?”

  There are some “awwwws” and applause from the audience.

  “Like I said, I love Drew like a brother. I don’t have a brother in real life; God didn’t see fit to give me one. I have a sister, but we’re not close. But anyway, it’s hard for me to admit any woman out there is good enough for my brother, because like I said, he’s freakin’ amazing—and I’m not saying that just because he knows all my secrets. Well, almost all my secrets…”

  I swear he looks right at me and winks. My heart nearly stops right then and there.

  “But Sonnet is. She may be almost too good for you, bro,” Chris says, laughing and pointing at Drew with a huge grin on his face. “I just love you both so much, and I know the two of you make an incredible team both in flipping houses and running a business, so I can’t help but think you’re going to totally kick ass at this whole marriage thing. And judging by the way not even a hurricane or nor’easter could keep you two from tying the knot today, I think that’s an excellent indication that your future is going to be smooth sailing. I’m sure everyone here joins me in wishing you both nothing but eternal bliss and happiness. To Drew and Sonnet!”

  Another cheer goes up before everyone sips their champagne. Chris returns to the table, and I notice him covertly flicking a tear out of his eye. See, I’m not the only one to get choked up today. Even the tough guy cop couldn’t conceal his softer side from everyone.

  Holy crap, how can vegan food be so filling? I still don’t understand how half of that was vegan. I had pasta piled high with alfredo sauce and sautéed vegetables, a hearty Caesar salad and the most amazing Italian bread I’ve ever tasted. Sonnet swears to god not one animal was involved in the production of this food. I generally try to eat healthfully, but I never really thought the whole vegan thing was feasible. Maybe Sonnet will have to share some recipes with me?

  I’m so stuffed, I’m about to slip into a food coma right at the table when Brynne abruptly gets up and slips away. Judging by the look on her face, I’m a bit concerned. I wait for a moment, wondering if I should check on her or just stay put. I know we’re not “officially” together at this wedding, but I do feel a sense of responsibility toward her, as though she’s my date. So when she’s gone longer than what a routine ladies’ room visit would take, I decide to go find her.

  I step out onto the veranda where we’d all gathered for the cocktail hour after the ceremony. The wind is violently whipping the tree branches again, and I see limbs and leaves strewn all across the parking lot. Then I spot Brynne across the porch with her phone to her ear. My heart starts to pound when I see the worried expression twisting her features. Something is definitely wrong.

  She looks down at the phone after she presses to end the call and shakes her head. She still hasn’t noticed me yet, so I approach carefully, not wanting to startle her. The wind rustles some leaves around her, jarring her back to the present. She whips her head toward me, then shakes her head again. I don’t know if she’s asking me to go away or…

  The skies are darkening. Behind those thick layers of clouds, the sun must be in there somewhere, sinking toward the horizon to call it a night. But instead of getting a beautiful sunset, we’re just going from a slate gray to charcoal, and soon the sky will be black as ink. The rain has picked up again too, and I can hear it pelting the metal roof, drowning out the sound of the music coming from inside.

  All the sudden her head pops up. “Are they playing Def Leppard?”

  I strain to hear, and sure enough, the refrain of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” is just starting up.

  “You like Eighties hair bands?” I question, my brow wrinkling in disbelief.

  “Uh…” She looks down at her feet and sniffles for a second, like she’s ashamed of having a momentary smile on her face when she’s supposed to be upset about something.

  “What’s wrong?” I gently turn her body to face me, watching the way her coral-colored skirt flutters around her shapely legs.

  She shakes her head again. “I love hair bands,” she says as though she’s trying to throw me off the scent of whatever has upset her. “I’m a total metalhead.”

  “What? Really?” I look at her, all soft and beautiful with her upswept hair and exquisitely made-up eyes. There is no way this woman standing in front of me could love heavy metal.

  “Really,” she assures me, smiling through one last tear that h
as inadvertently slipped down her cheek. “Metallica, Slayer, Pantera. I love old school metal. I like some of the new stuff too, but the old stuff is my fave. And the glam metal too, of course. Love me some Guns N’ Roses. Def Leppard too. They’re still touring, you know. I’m hoping to go see them this summer in DC or Philly.”

  I chuckle, wondering if this counts as the deep dark secret I hoped to learn about her this weekend. It doesn’t seem so deep and dark when she just freely admits it, though. I look down at her arms and notice her hands are visibly trembling.

  “Brynne?”

  Her gaze shoots up to mine, and her eyes are full of tears again, just from that tiny lull in the conversation.

  “What’s wrong? Will you please tell me?” I take her hand in mine like I did earlier when she noticed the shaking glass in the windows from the violent winds.

  She lets out a sign and half-rolls her eyes. Not in an exasperated way; more in an I can’t believe I’m going to tell him something personal way.

  “So, long story short, my brother and his wife just adopted a little girl a few weeks ago,” she explains. “Oh, the one you signed your books for, do you remember?”

  “How could I forget? She was absolutely precious!” My memory bank contains a more vivid image of Brynne that day, but I also remember the little curly-haired girl in the pink stroller and the man I correctly assumed to be her brother. The lady that was with them must have been his wife.

  “She loves your books,” Brynne says with a smile that quickly fades when she begins the next part of her story. “Right before the ceremony, my brother texted me to say that Harmony—that’s her name—has been throwing up all day. She can’t keep anything down.”

  “Oh no.” I lean toward her, resting my hand on top of her arm as she continues.