Haunting Leigh: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Literal Leigh Romance Diaries Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

nobody interrupts me, sure, I can pull it off in an hour. I just get into the character of an emergency room doctor. And if any guy ever asks why a girl has to have virtually every beauty product, hair iron, and blow dryer laid out across the bathroom vanity, it’s because that is how emergency operating rooms are laid out. Everything is out in the open, easily identifiable, and immediately accessible.
    It does help to have the guy who gets ready in five minutes and then aimlessly wanders about like he has all the time in the world. He unwittingly becomes your personal assistant that you can call out requests to while you work on your priorities. I called out over the motivational jams loudly pumping out from the little speaker plugged in to my phone. “Hunter? If you’re ready, would you please make sure Luna has food and water? Oh, Hunter? Could you grab my pink bra? I think it’s on the floor by the bed. No, wait. Check in the living room somewhere. And would you look in my closet for one of those old gift bags and put that gift in there that we picked out?” I don’t wrap gifts. I once spent forever carefully wrapping my dad’s birthday gift, getting it just right, it was painful to see all that work undone in mere seconds by my dad’s carelessly fumbling fingers. The giant gift bag is probably the best time-saving, frustration-reducing invention of the century, in my opinion. Perhaps not the best, but it’s in the top twenty for sure.
    After Gertie and Brad showed up, we headed to Skokie. When we arrived at the reception hall, I was amazed at the huge crowd of people that were in attendance. On the stage, my parents sat together with their original wedding party at a banquet table. This made them visible to everyone present. Lindsey and Kelly brought along Derek and Luke. It was good to see those boys in human form for a change.
    “Leigh! Over here.” My sister, Sarah, pointed out a big round table reserved for us to sit at. Hunter dropped off the gift bag at the table heaped with other gifts.
    “Sorry, Leigh. I forgot to mention the only bag I found in your closet had pictures of balloons. I think it was from a birthday.”
    “I wouldn’t worry, I bet they won’t even notice.” We had to weave our way through the maze of tables until we reached Sarah. “Perfect! Front and center with room for all of us.”
    “Wow. Forty years is a long time.” Lindsey remarked.
    “I know. They were going to wait until their fiftieth anniversary for something like this, but my mom said that she didn’t know if the entire wedding party would be able to make it by then. This is another downside of having been born when they were both around forty. Everyone is getting old already.” The thought made me a little sad. On the other hand, I was happy that my parents’ renewed love seemed to be in full bloom. I’ll always take full credit for that act of witchcraft.
    “Where’s Randy? Didn’t he want to come?” Lindsey asked.
    Gertie lamented. “Randy is taking care of things at the plantation. See what I mean, Leigh? Our business keeps one of us tied up.”
    “Yeah, well, the way my brother talks he probably doesn’t mind.” Kelly quipped. “Hey, isn’t that your dad’s brother, Ron? The washed up comedian? God forbid he should start with the tired jokes.”
    Ron stood next to where my parents were seated and he dusted off his old routine. “Forty years. Forty years! That’s two life sentences!” The room quieted. “I remember the day that Harry brought Elizabeth home for the first time. He brought three girls into the kitchen and said to our mother, ‘I’m getting married to one of these three girls. Can you guess which one?’ Mother pointed to Elizabeth and said, ‘That one, I know because I already can’t stand her.’ Seriously folks, these two have had quite a marriage. Just the other day Harry told me he takes his wife with him wherever he goes. The problem was she kept finding her way home.”