Lucky In Love Read Online Free Page B

yet—although Rudy Gillespie and Jordan Marsh’s commitment ceremony would have caused a stampede had it not been held in the Big Boss’s apartment. But that beam might come in handy yet—I had a feeling the upcoming wedding that would finish off the tv show might spark a riot of shutterbugs eager to memorialize a fleeting pop culture moment.
    The interior of the Temple was a vast space, uncluttered but for some reed mats covering the floor and subtle palms softening the corners—an empty room which the happy couple could furnish as they pleased. Flames under glass dotted the walls and provided a warm, welcoming glow.
    Delphinia excused herself from Ella and rushed to meet me with a warm smile and a steaming mug of coffee clutched in both hands. To the casual observer, Delphinia was the personification of plain—until you looked into her eyes. Deep pools of violet, they were windows to an old, kind soul.
    “Vanilla nut cut with milk, just the way you like it.” At my raised eyebrow, she continued. “Miss P called. She said you weren’t... up to speed today.”
    “That’s one way of putting it.” I smiled as I took the proffered mug. My body practically vibrated in anticipation. Caffeine, a drug of necessity—thank god it was still legal. “I left a warm bed and a hot guy so I’m not feeling all that magnanimous, I’ll admit. So forewarned is forearmed.”
    She lowered her eyes and colored a bit.
    One sip of coffee and my whole body sighed. “You will be rewarded by the gods, thank you. Now, come, show me what you’re thinking for the wedding.”
    Apparently unwilling to be cast out of the spotlight any longer, Ella pounced. “ Lucky!”
    I winced. “Too many decibels, Ella. Can you please use your inside voice?” I took one of the three chairs that Delphinia had pulled together in front of the altar/dais/podium/whatever—the place where the minister would stand. Minister that would be Ella. With her over-the-top personality, she was just Vegas enough.
    She collapsed in a heap into the chair across from me, her full skirt billowing like a parachute giving up the wind. As if beating glowing embers scattered on a breeze, she patted down the fabric. Finally, she came into view—all four feet, eleven inches and ninety pounds, including several pounds of strawberry blond hair that cascaded in a magnificent wave down her back and well past her butt. Batting her green eyes at me, she looked stricken.
    “Isn’t it a bit early for you, Ella? Aren’t we cutting into your couch time?” I savored another sip of coffee and felt a few brain cells come on line.
    “ Oh,” she waved a delicate hand. “I’ve cleared my calendar for the next few days . Can you believe it? They hired me as an expert on the Forever Game . I’m to give some insight into what makes a couple, you know, compatible . We’re looking for the couple most in love !” She clasped her hands together and wiggled like a puppy. “Isn’t this fun ?”
    All of this came out in a mellifluous accent carefully steeped in the cauldron of the Deep South—if I remembered correctly, some tiny burg outside of Birmingham, the name of which always eluded me. Why did a Southern accent sound stupid on men—but sound like mint juleps, cool linen, and gentrified manners when dripping off a female tongue? I had a feeling I wouldn’t like the answer. It probably had something to do with stereotypes and expectations that would flip me to the pissed-off position, so I didn’t waste the tiny dollop of energy I had thinking about it.
    “And of course I’m going to preside at the wedding !” Ella emoted, punctuating her words with grand gestures. “That’s why I’m here, actually. What will you be providing for the production ?”
    “Local color,” I said, with a straight face.
    Delphinia, who had taken the chair next to mine, also kept a bland expression, but her eyes sparkled as she refilled my mug from a coffee pot I hadn’t noticed on a side