Three Weddings and a Dress (31 page)

I heard the squeak of the front door, my beads tightened in anticipation. Laughter rang out and joy washed over me at the sound. A deep chuckle joined in and this time my entire train shivered in response.

Gerard. My bride’s mate. Could I hope?

“It’s called the Love Machine?” Gerard’s teased as he asked my bride the question. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he wore a smile.

A thunk, then another, rattled over the apartment. My bolero crinkled in laughter, my bride had dropped her boots.

Love swelled my bodice to bursting. I never thought I would have such an overwhelming emotion.

Ari, my soul mate, was such a surprise. From her straw colored hair to her bright pink toenails. She was my lovely slob. I could envision her design room in the future; scissors, material scraps, bobbins and threads in disarray. I didn’t care in the least. Her spirit was kind and generous. Look how she took care of her friend Conner.

Would I see her children? Maybe she’d save me somewhere safe for their daughter. The thought caused delight to shiver over my beads.

Love.

Ari came into view, her attention focused on Gerard who was still out of my line of sight. She looked so happy and carefree. How could she not know they were meant for each other?

She threw back her head and a laugh erupted, when she’d recovered, she grinned at him. “I wish I had a picture of you on the Love Machine. I could blackmail you.”

I could finally see the back of Gerard, he stood behind the couch, hand on the back as he leaned in to stare at Ari. I assumed this since I couldn’t actually tell what he was looking at, but since his words were directed at her I felt safe in the assumption.

“You would, wouldn’t you? What am I to do? I live by a criminal.” He raised his wrist and looked at his watch. “Sold out game at Yankee Stadium, tell me you’re not a Met’s fan.”

“Bite your tongue. We could order pizza and watch the game. I love the subway series.”

I heard the door again. My thread on my
like
spool for Conner unwound again, but I guess it wasn’t his fault.

“Hey what’s up?”

Both heads swiveled in the direction of Conner. “We’re ordering pizza and watching the game.”

“Great, I’ll go to Ziggy’s market on the corner and buy some beer.”

“You have money?” Ari’s tone surprised.

“Yup. Tips.” Conner must have left because the door snapped again.

Gerard and Ari regarded each other. Finally, Gerard said, “That’s good news. You have a phone book around here?”

Ari jumped off the couch. “Better, I have Manny’s pizza’s magnet on my fridge.”

Now I could no longer see either of them.

I’m not sure what tips were, but it must be positive since Gerard thought they were. This was good news. Maybe Conner would be out of the picture soon and my soul mate would be able to focus on Gerard.

Hey, a dress could dream.

Chapter Twenty

Ari handed the magnet with Manny’s number on it to Gerard. While he called, she wandered into the living area to find the Yankee game on the tube.

“They’ll be about forty-five minutes. That will give Conner enough time to pick up the beer.” Gerard settled onto her couch.

“Tips must be a good sign, whatever he found, I hope it’s permanent.” Ari aimed the remote to flip through stations, having no luck finding the game.

“Hand that to me.” Gerard snatched it out of her hand she watched as he punched up the sports channel and the Yankee announcer’s voice filled the air.

The door rattled and a second later Conner entered. “Sam Adam’s we’re celebrating.”

Ari raised her brow at Gerard. High-end beer must be good news for Conner to spend that kind of money.

“Thanks!” Gerard said.

“The pizza will be a while. But the game is starting.” Ari moved from the chair and snuggled in next to Gerard.

Again, a zip of electrical energy raced over her skin. Also, again, he didn’t seem to notice. Just as well, with her design aspiration set high, there was no time for men.

Yet here she sat with two. What was up with that?

“I made sure it was cold. Here Ari.” Conner handed the first bottle to her, and then turned to give one to Gerard. He popped the lid for his. “Here’s to me landing a job first day of hunting.”

Ari jumped up to throw her arms around his neck, careful not to brain him with the bottle in her hand. “That is wonderful. Sit tells us details.”

“After I go put on my lucky Met’s shirt.”

“What?” Gerard and Ari cried in unison.

Conner laughed. “Someone has to root for them when they play the Yanks.”

He grabbed his bag off the floor, then disappeared around the corner to the bathroom. He used the door from the living area instead of through Ari’s room. One of the deals he’d made with her in exchange for his living arrangements.

“Well hell. We’ll have to watch the game with a Met fan.” Gerard sounded so disgusted Ari giggled.

She hadn’t laughed, giggled or smiled this much for years. “It will be fun to have a little opposition. It could get rowdy. And he has tips.”

Gerard winked at her. “Good point. Betting is a favorite pastime of mine.”

“I have to go put my Yankee shirt on.” Ari raced to the room gave a jaunty wave at her new gown. “Hey Bella! Game time.”

She quickly pulled shirts out of the drawer, some flying to the bed, others to the floor due to her frantic search. “Found it.”

Only a few minutes had passed when she re-entered the living area. Conner had made himself at home in his old ratty chair. Not only did he have his shirt on, he had a ball cap and a flag for the Mets.

“Where’s Gerard?” She tried to keep the disappointment out of her words.

Not taking his off the screen, “He went to find some Yankee stuff. He thinks you guys can tip the scales.”

Relief swamped her as the door opened. Gerard stepped in and stared at her shirt. “It’s pink?”

She frowned. “What?”

How many times had she said that to him in one afternoon? He must think ‘what’ was the only response she knew.

He nodded with his head toward her chest, his brows lowered, his gaze focused. “Your shirt. How can a true fan have a pink Yankee’s shirt?”

Ari dropped her gaze to her shirt, what was wrong? “It has the Yankee emblem on it.”

“You are such a girl,” Gerard said in disgust. He grasped his beer off the coffee table and made himself at home.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Conner took a second to glance over his shoulder. “Hey there’s a game on, I thought we were watching. Your Yanks are down two runs.”

The knock on the door interrupted, before Ari or Gerard could comment. Ari fetched the pizza, Gerard insisted on paying. Ari threw a tablecloth over the coffee table to protect it from cheese.

“While we eat, tell us about your new job,” Ari said. Her words muffled by her mouthful of pepperoni, crust and cheese.

“I love to cook.” Conner shrugged and took another bite.

When it didn’t seem he was going to explain further, Ari wanted to throw her plate at him.

Gerard seemed focused on the television as if not even listening.

“You better tell her everything or we’ll never watch the game,” he said, indicating he had been listening.

“Whatever.” Fine if Conner didn’t want to explain she’d let the boys watch their damn game, although she wanted to watch also.

Conner set his pizza down as he chuckled. “I had a bunch of papers to fill out at the employment office. One asked about job preferences. There was a list of chef’s jobs, sous, sauté, dessert, pastry and salad chef’s, not to mention line cooks etcetera. Johnny’s had an opening for an apprentice. I filled out the application and delivered it in person. Henry, the executive chef, is the manager of his domain, the kitchen. He hired me as an expeditor.”

“What?” Ari couldn’t believe it. Apparently, Gerard couldn’t either because he pulled his gaze from the game to give her a brief astonished look and then through back his head and laughed. Why was he chuckling about Conner’s job?

“Be quiet, Gerard.” Ari was confused.

“Sorry,” Gerard said. “You say ‘what’ a lot. I need to figure out if you’re lacking in education or you don’t understand men.” Gerard ducked in time to save him from the pillow she lobbed at him.

“I think I missed something?” Conner raised a brow and looked for one to the other.

“Never mind. What is an expeditor? It sounds like a weekly cop show or something.”

“It’s a non-cooking role. I’ll organize the orders by table, garnish the dishes before the server takes them out to the dining room. I’m not a server. I guess you could say I’m one step above. To be fair to everyone, the tips are divided up at the end of the shift.”

Ari dished herself up another slice, for now, ignoring the calories. She’d dance an extra hour later while thinking of her next design. “I thought you said you loved to cook and you applied for an apprentice or something.”

Gerard stood by the fridge. “Who wants more beer?”

Ari hadn’t noticed him move. She must have been to intent on trying to figure out exactly what Conner’s new role would be with Johnny’s. It was one of her favorite places, when she could afford the high prices.

“I’m learning the menu, and the other duties. The sous chef is the assistant to the executive but she’s leaving to start her own restaurant in Virginia in a few months. I’ll start training with her a few days each week.”

“You’re going to be a sous chef at one of my favorite restaurants. Oh, Conner that’s wonderful,” Ari said.

“That is great,” Gerard added. “You’re probably working for chump change while you’re training I bet.” He pulled his gaze from the television, where the Yankees had finally pulled ahead by a run, to smile at Conner.

“Yes. Ari, are you okay with me staying until she leaves for Virginia? Until then I’m not going to make enough. But once I’m sous chef, I can get my own place.”

A few months? A lot longer than she’d planned. But his face held such hope and she’d told Darlene she wanted to help him. She let her attention turn to Gerard for a moment, his gaze intent on her, waiting to hear her answer. His expression encouraged her.

“As long as you help with food, in fact…” She tilted her head and then grinned. “…I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to practice some of Johnny’s signatures dishes.”

“Great idea, Ari.” Conner beamed back at her. “Your kitchen is a little small, but it has all the essentials.

“I hope I’m going to be invited to some of these practice sessions.” Gerard winked at Ari. “Hey come on let’s watch the game. Any bets that the Yanks are going to win?”

Conner settled himself further into his ratty chair, focused on the game and without glancing at the others, “Sure ask for a bet now when you’re up. If the Yanks win I’ll make dinner tomorrow night.”

“You’re on. Sunday is shopping day here at Chez Ari’s. Give me a list of things you need and I’ll pick them up in the morning.”

“Let me chip in too,” Gerard said.

“Sounds good, you cook Conner. Gerard and I will spring for the food. Besides you haven’t received anything but tips.” Ari pulled herself up to clear some of the plates, bottles and pizza off the table.