Janelle Taylor Read Online Free Page B

she’d have to offer some explanation—and Phoebe had made it clear that she wasn’t to say a word to anybody.
    “I’m leaving right away,” she told Jeremy.
    “As in … today?”
    “As in, consider me gone.”
    “What about—”
    “The Goff-Anderson wedding? The cold salads are already prepared, the lobsters are being delivered at noon, and the flowers at twelve-thirty. Make sure you’re there by ten, though, because the tables and chairs—”
    “I know.” Jeremy yawned again. “The tables and chairs are coming at eleven. The paperwork is in the office, and considering your anal-retentive habit of writing everything down, I’m sure I won’t have any questions. But if I do—”
    “Then call me,” Jordan said. “On my cell phone. I’ll have it on.”
    “Fine.”
    “And the small jars of cherry jelly for the Clark shower favors are—”
    “I know.”
    “I already tied the gingham fabric around the tops of the jars, so all you have to do is bring them with you. The shower is at—”
    “I know, Jordan. I know what you’ve scheduled and when, I know where to go and believe it or not I know what to do and how to do it. For Christ’s sake, just go away and forget about work for a while, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “And have a fabulous time.”
    “I will.” Could he hear the hollow note in her voice?
    She sipped the acrid coffee. She’d made it too strong.
    “Jordan?”
    “Hmm?”
    “I hope I get to meet him when you get back.”
    Meet him?
    She almost choked on her coffee. “How did you know…?”
    “I figured it had to be a man. It’s about time you met somebody.”
    A man? She smirked despite herself.
    What would Jeremy say if he knew the “man” was three feet tall and wore Winnie the Pooh sneakers?
    She sighed. “Jeremy…”
    “I know. No details. But I’m filling them in myself. You met someone, you’re wild about him, and he’s whisking you off to some fabulously exotic romantic locale.”
    Well, okay. Let Jeremy think whatever he wanted.
    “Bon voyage, Jordan,” Jeremy said, making kiss-kiss noises into the phone.
    “Good-bye, Jeremy.”
    She hung up, pressing a finger on the talk button and then lifting it again to hear the dial tone.
    She had to look up the number. It wasn’t one she knew off the top of her head, so seldom had she dialed it these past few years. Regret seeped into her at that realization. Growing up, she knew Phoebe’s phone number better than her own, having called it at least a few times daily for more than a decade. There was a time, around fourth grade, when they went through an open-the-window-and-holler phase, but their parents swiftly nipped that in the bud.
    Jordan’s smile at that memory faded quickly as she punched in a Philadelphia area code and the unfamiliar number for Phoebe’s home there.
    The line rang four times before an answering machine picked up.
    Reno’s monotone announced, “We aren’t here to take your call right now. Please leave a message at the tone.”
    Jordan hung up, staring into space.
    There were so many things she needed to ask Phoebe.
    She would just have to try again later.
    Beau got to the gym early for his morning racquetball game, which wasn’t surprising. His mother had taught him that a gentleman was always punctual.
    Ed wasn’t there yet. That wasn’t surprising, either.
    Ed was late for everything. Beau had noticed long ago that his friend and partner seemed to spend a big chunk of his life on his cell phone, phoning in apologies and making excuses for delays.
    He should be used to it by now. After all, he and Ed had known each other since their days as roommates at Rice University’s school of architecture. Back then, Ed managed to go late to some classes and miss others and somehow come out with excellent grades. The guy was a bona fide genius.
    After graduation, Beau drifted in Europe before marrying Jeanette, having Tyler, and settling back in his hometown of DeLisle, Louisiana.
    His father