Driving in Neutral (12 page)

Chuckling, Olivia nodded. “How about after the wedding I leave some bath salts and what’s left of the Bailey’s in there for you.”

“Oh, you
are
kind to the hired help!”

“Let’s see if you still feel that way. I need your help bringing some of these goody boxes upstairs.”

Once they’d ferried boxes to the second floor, Olivia set to work personalizing each bedroom with small gifts, snack foods and bottles of liquor. The last thing she did was tack Ella’s activity schedules and reminder memos, printed on shocking pink paper, to the mirrors in all the bathrooms.

In twenty minutes Ella’s suite was transformed into bridal central. Fragrant flowers were set beside the bed and in the little sitting parlor. Boxes of Ella’s favorite dark chocolates were in crystal jars and placed around the room. Off the suite, inside an alcove dressing room, Vivian had slipped the wedding dress on a padded tailor’s form. A tri-fold mirrored dressing table reflected every gorgeous angle of the white gown.

Shortly before noon, Craig and Ella arrived. Vivian escorted the bride upstairs to settle into the suite. The groom waited with Olivia at the front of the house, watching a convoy of vehicles emerge from the wooded area of the Hutton Estate. The second florist delivery van of the day followed a messenger in a yellow hatchback. Bringing up the rear in an old red Pontiac convertible were the bridesmaids, Ella’s old law school friends, Suzanne and Justine. Barely visible in the back seat amid the luggage was Al, Suzanne’s husband. He had his nose stuffed in a book.

“Aw, geez,” Craig muttered. “The pit vipers…I mean the divorce lawyers are here.”

Olivia snickered and nudged the bridegroom. The clipboard he held against his chest made him look like someone from the old
Love Boat
TV show instead of a bridegroom-to-be. The sky-blue polo shirt he wore matched his eyes and was tucked into the same style of shorts the ship staff wore. “You know you look like the cruise director, don’t you?” she said.

Craig nodded, watching lanky Al climb out of the car. “Yeah, love, it’s exciting and new…and sometimes horribly out of fashion. This is what Ella wanted me to wear. You know she cried three times on the drive up here and I was worried if I said anything about the shirt, I’d make it four. I’d swallow venom for this woman if it made her happy, but please tell me this will be over soon because she’s biting me so hard and it kind of, you know, hurts.”

“You are such a good man.”

“You know I don’t mean my fiancée is a hormonal rattlesnake like those two, uh…ladies.” His eyes flicked toward the two women approaching. “I’m glad you know what I’m up against, Liv. Ella’s nerves are rubbing off. Thank God you’re here as the tranquility touchstone.” Craig brought his teeth together in an artificial grin, speaking in a monotone voice, rattling off a few memorized lines, “Ella is the most radiant creature on the face of the earth, and I can’t wait for our lives to be forever intertwined, forever as one. How was that? Was that better? Was that convincing?”

“I liked that last bit about forever entwined.”

With a laugh, he stepped aside to let Olivia meet two of the three bridesmaids. He shook hands with Al, who nodded perfunctorily and yanked a huge black suitcase from the back seat.

“Careful with that bag, Al!” Justine removed her sunglasses, and poked Suzanne. “Hey, Sooze, it’s little Olivia!” She tossed her mass of nearly-black sausage curls over her shoulder, wiggled her
Playboy
voluptuous butt, and cooed in a breathy, Marilyn Monroe voice, “You’re still going for that tomboy look at your age Olivia? Well, you know, sometimes I wish I could too!”

“It’s really great you’re here for Ella,” Olivia said as Justine’s feathery hands patted her shoulders. “She’ll be glad to see you.”

Strawberry-blonde Suzanne wrinkled her freckle-sprayed nose. “Hello, fellow bridesmaid!” She snapped a wad of mint-scented gum and added an air kiss to her greeting. Then she smiled, broadly, very broadly, and ran her tongue over her teeth as if she was checking to see if there was spinach stuck somewhere. “What do you think, Livvy? Justy said my teeth would glow in the dark. Do you think they’re too white?”

Justine rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say they’d glow in the dark!”

“Yes you did!”

“No. What I said was
they’d show up in the dark
.”

“Same thing.”

“No it isn’t.”

“Look counselor, we both know it’s a semantic thing. Don’t…”

While the two women continued contradicting each other, Olivia moved around to the back of her Aston Martin. She lifted out the blue suitcase and red bag she’d left in the car earlier.

“Liv!” Craig called out. “Leave your stuff and your keys. I’m not only the cruise director today, I’m the cabin boy and parking valet as well. I’ll take your bags upstairs to your room. Says here on my checklist you’re to bring these two for an audience with the princess royal the moment they settle.”

With a shrug, she tossed Craig the car keys, barely missing Pete as he came around one side of the floral delivery van.

“Good thing you throw like a gir—” Pete clutched at his chest. “Oh, sweet Mother of Jesus, it’s
those
two!” he hissed, tipping his head in Suzanne and Justine’s direction. He grimaced. “Ever notice, Liv, how Ella loses ten IQ points when they’re around?”

“She thinks they’re fun.”

“You don’t.”

“What gives you that idea?”

“You’re standing way over here.”

Olivia smiled. Diplomatically.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked, rolling his shoulders.

“It’ll be a piece of wedding cake. Even with those two giggling like a couple of plastered sorority girls at a keg party. I’ve got a list as long as my arm to keep things moving like clockwork and that should reassure Ella.”

“If you think she’s a bundle of nerves, you should take a good look at Craig and his list. I’ve never seen him sweat like this before, even when we shoot hoops.”

“You think he’s getting cold feet?”

Pete shook his head. “No. He’s terrified something’s going to go wrong and Ella will be devastated. I don’t know how he swung the bowling bachelor party.”

“Well the groom is entitled to
some
kind of fun, isn’t he?”

“What’d you say to get her to agree to pizza, beer and bowling shoes?”

“I asked if she’d rather let you play a few frames or have Martin and Maxwell throw Craig a bachelor party with a large-breasted stripper named Nurse Renob.”

“Nurse Renob…Nurse Renob…why do I think I should know that?”

“Spell the name backward, Pete.”

“Gotcha.”

They both laughed and turned at the sound of Craig locking his cousin in a backslapping manly embrace. A moment later, the best man set a blue suitcase and green leather bag beside Pete.

“Pete, Olivia,” Maxwell said.

Olivia managed a noncommittal smile, except her insides did a loop-de-loop when a silly grin lit up his eyes.
Oh, get back on the track, Olivia
.

“You want to pick up Jason? Em?”

Sure he was leering at Olivia like a pervert, Emerson scratched his chin and swung his attention to Pete. “Yeah if you give me the keys to the Jeep I’ll pick up our fellow groomsman.”

“Cool. Don’t let him talk you into stopping off for a pre-lunch palate-cleansing ale.” Pete dredged the Jeep’s keys out of his pocket.

“I know, I know.” Emerson glanced at his watch and took the keys. “We’re to stick to the schedule or
Ella will excise our nads with a fondue fork
. See you later.” He moved around the van to Pete’s Jeep, climbed in, started the engine…and winked at Olivia as he drove by.

Pete’s chicken cackle cut through the noise of the car’s tires on gravel. Emerson glanced in the Jeep’s rear vision mirror and got an eyeful of Olivia standing with Pete, laughing, her head thrown back. They were laughing at him. And rightly so.

It had been decades since he’d been clownish about a woman. He thought he’d outgrown buffoon back in his mid-twenties. He’d figured it all out then, learned to be comfortable with himself and women. He always liked dating. He appreciated the casual, occasional girlfriend who lasted a few months. So why did this feel different? Why was he suddenly that dorky kid all over again?

Was it the fact she’d said no and kept saying no? Did that turn it into some kind of thrill of the chase thing? Is that why he couldn’t be sensible and let it go?

She’d made herself clear and he’d done his damnedest to keep things professional. For weeks he’d gone on with the routine of his life. In fact, he avoided her when he could. He discussed business matters with Pete, had dinner with his parents and went to physical therapy for his knee, but all the while his mind kept kicking out odd, out of place connections to Olivia.

As his mother sipped a cappuccino, Emerson recalled Olivia had tasted faintly of coffee.

When Pete said it was almost time to update the server, Emerson’s mind turned it into a comment about dating Olivia.

Then, when the physical therapist mentioned the words
weight bearing exercise
, Emerson pictured Olivia sitting naked in his lap.

Today, it was set off by the leaves of a poplar tree that were the exact shade of the green dress she wore when she kissed him in the elevator.

He realized that, regardless of how diligently he focused on work and the mundane goings-on of his life, the prospect of spending time with her at this weekend’s wedding fell like raindrops of exhilaration at his feet.

French doors stood open onto a balcony overlooking the garden where the ceremony would take place. To the left of the doors, a wall of large windows framed a window seat. Olivia fluffed up a pillow, sat, and watched Ella unpack her things.

With a smile, Ella slipped a négligée onto a padded hanger in the adjoining dressing room where her perfect wedding gown had been displayed. A light breeze from the open balcony doors stirred the gown’s white organdy and Ella spun around, arms outstretched. Nearly dancing, she sashayed across the room to take Olivia’s hands. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so much. The chocolate, this room, this house is beautiful. It’s so romantic. It’s really happening.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Everything is just…perfect. The flowers you had waiting here are gorgeous and I love how you sent a bouquet to that newlywed couple staying in the gatehouse. That was so sweet!” She sniffled. “You’ve done this so well, you should give up automotive engineering and become a professional wedding planner because you’ve thought of everything. This wedding is going to be so good, wonderful, and the best thing is I can see it’s already been so good for you.”

“Good for me?”

“Yes. You’ve saved me from becoming a complete basket case, but it’s given you…” Ella sighed, rummaging for the right words.

“Given me what, a headache?”

Ella giggled. “That goes without saying. I should have gotten you a big bottle of Advil for a thank you gift. Okay, now don’t take this wrong. Promise you won’t take this wrong.”

“Yeeeaah?” Olivia narrowed one eye.

“It’s not bad. You thrive on stress. Your competitive nature needed a boost and it’s been a little while since you’ve taken on anything with as much gusto.”

“It’s been fun.”

“All those silly things from when we made that bridal book as kids, the color of the flowers, the dress for Mommy, the tiara for my hair, right down to the gown I always wanted, you remembered all of it.”

“So did you.”

“Yes, but you remembered so much more.” Ella’s eyes filled again. “And you’ve done such a wonderful job. You’ve got it all in perfect order, but, there’s one thing I have to know.” She sniffled and reeled her tears in.

“What’s that?”

Hands pressed to her stomach as if to quell the nervous butterflies, Ella bit her lips together for a moment. “Please, tell me…”

“What?”

“Please tell me…” Ella took a deep breath.

“What? What do you want me to tell you?”

Ella rubbed her tummy. “Please tell me you’re fine with being here alone, being on your own. Martin’s coming by himself and I…well…if you—”

“Are you trying to set me up with Martin?
Martin
?”

“He’s not bad-looking and I really don’t want you, well, I don’t want anyone to be, to feel, alone, or you know, left out.”

“Martin?” Olivia made a face and shook her head. “You’d subject me to
Martin
just so I’m not a wallflower? What did I ever do to you? You could at least give me a nice guy option, like Jason or, hell, even Maxwell, but Martin?
Really
? Um, no, and that’s a very adamant,
NO
.”

Ella poked her tongue into the corner of her mouth. “Well, what about Jason or…Emerson?”

“Ella, I think your blood sugar’s dropped and you need to eat, because you’re talking out of your ass.”

“Oh, is lunch ready yet?”

“Not for another forty-five minutes.”

“Damn. I guess I’ll just have to eat the rest of the chocolates.”

“Yeah. That’ll really help. Why don’t you come down and have a drink and some hors d’oeuvres instead? I was about to put them out.”

“I’m not going to find onions or anything as revolting as onions downstairs, will I?”

“Only if you count Martin.” She looped an arm through Ella’s. Their shadows passed across the shaft of sunlight as they moved out into the hall. “You know,’ she said, “Martin’s like bad onion breath. Thank God he’ll be down the hall from my room and I won’t have to breathe him in more than necessary.”

Ella laughed. Then she suddenly bit her bottom lip and stopped dead. “Uh-oh. I forgot to tell you. When you were downstairs earlier, Craig reminded me about his brother’s allergies. I’m sorry. I forgot all about it. You’ve had it arranged for weeks, but there’s a big Russian olive or cottonwood tree just outside the window of the room you gave Jason. I had to switch you into his room. Craig put your stuff in there. You don’t mind, do you? I know it means you’ll have to share a bathroom with Martin and his bad breath, but now you’ve got that nice balcony that overlooks Lake Michigan and you’ll get the good breeze. Do you want to kill me?” Her brows were a mismatched squiggle of worry.