Iced Tea (17 page)

I was wearing my best jeans, and a top that my mother would not approve of in public, and I admit that my hair and makeup took longer than usual, but ya know what, if I’m gonna be stuck looking at some gorgeous model, half dressed, and my boyfriend or roommate or whatever the hell he is, telling her she is beautiful and wonderful, I’m gonna look my best doing it.

Since the last time I’d been at the studio, they’d put a partition between the small front section and the actual studio, and I couldn’t see what was going on in there.
 
Very frustrating.

I couldn’t really just walk in, that would be wholly inappropriate, AJ’s workspace is out of bounds for pettiness.

I stood looking at a bunch of framed photos, admittedly works of art, that were hung on a fake wall just inside the building windows, so that people walking by could see the work product of both AJ and Jovana.
 

There was a beautiful picture of a woman on the beach.
 
You could feel the sunset on the horizon, although it wasn’t part of the picture, it provided unbelievable light, the waves had cleaned the sand and it was smooth and shimmered.
 
Just a few bubbles here and there from creatures unseen.
 
No footprints. There was just enough of a breeze to blow the woman’s hair back.
  
She looked ethereal.
 
She was crouched down on her haunches, steadying a little tiny version of herself, a little girl just learning to walk, her toes in the wet sand.
 
The little tiny girl had the same look on her face as the mother.
 
Both looking toward the future.
 
You could see it in their eyes.

It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.

AJ’s business card was next to it.
 

It gave me goose bumps.
 

I couldn’t have been more proud if I’d taken the picture myself.

I was just about to tear up, when AJ came rushing out of the studio and started up the stairs to the office area.
 

He noticed me, smiled, and his eyes lit up.
 
I love it when that happens.

“Hi.
 
I didn’t know you were here.
 
I’m running a little late.
 
Can you give me a few minutes?”

“Sure.
 
Anything I can do?”

“No, I got it.
 
Just give me a few.
 
If you want to go over to the diner, I can call you when we’re ready.”

I got the feeling that he didn’t want me around.
 
Hurt my feelings.
 
I admit it.
 
Part of me wanted to storm off in a huff, but really, that is so cliché and an advertisement for all negative female reactions, so instead, I sucked it up and said, “Can I get you anything?”

“Nope, I’m good.
 
Ten minutes.
 
That’s all I need.”

“No hurry.”
 
I made sure the door didn’t smack too loud when I left.

True to his word, my phone vibrated ten minutes later, the text said, “We’re set.”

I walked over to the studio, not paying attention, and damn near got run over by some idiot in a red car.
 
Granted, I wasn’t really looking, but she wasn’t looking either, and she was driving.

I walked in the door, and AJ was waiting for me.

“Tell me what you really think.
 
If you hate it, well, I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I want to know.”

“Okay.”

I walked in the studio.
 
There were several different areas created.
 
One was a simple brilliant blue background with a white column appearing out of nowhere.
 
Another was a deep red settee sitting on a very vintage looking area rug, with a cream background.
 
Another was yards and yards of beautiful powder pink velvet, molded and shaped to look like pink water flowing down the wall.
 
Another was a very ornate mirror, looked like the huge mirror from the ballroom, only darker wood.

I was walking into the space, when Morgan came around a beautiful rice paper partition.
 

She was beaming.

She was wearing a beautiful wedding dress.
 
Huge.
 
A ball-gown.
 
It had a strapless sweetheart neckline, very fitted at the waist with beautiful crystals and embroidery.
 
The skirt part of the dress had a dropped waist, with heavy embroidery following princess seams and expanding at the bottom to join the embroidery and crystals from the next seam over.
 
It had a long train and scalloped bottom in the front and no veil and it was simply stunning.

I wish Teagan were here, she would explain it so much better.
 
She knows all the proper terms.
 

Suffice it to say, Morgan looked so beautiful, I cried.

Morgan came to me, hugged me, and said; “I don’t know how to thank you for this.”

“I didn’t do anything.
 
I didn’t even know about it.
 
This was all AJ.”

“He said you inspired him.”

“Damn, I’m good.”

AJ laughed, “You have no idea.
 
We won’t make the bride blush just before her photo shoot.”

Morgan had a look of wonder about her.
 
“I still can’t believe that I get to choose any of them.
 
Any.”

AJ filled me in.
 
“I figured that a bride would want a nice dress in Jovana’s ballroom.”

“You figured right.”

“I made a few calls.
 
Morgan is a beautiful woman, but she looks like a real woman, not some model, you can tell she’s an honest to God glowing bride.
 
We’re going to do a shoot, in a bunch of different settings, in a bunch of different dresses.
 
The designer gets to use the images for advertisement.
 
I’m using them in my portfolio.
 
Morgan gets to choose any dress she wants for her wedding.”

“You are a genius.”

AJ laughed.
 
“I have a good idea now and then.”

Morgan laughed.
 
“We haven’t told anybody.
 
Not even Liam.
 
He knows I’ve got a dress, but he has no idea I have a dress like this.
 
These dresses cost more than my car.”

“Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”

“Well, AJ said that last night you were not amused.
 
After the call from Liam, and then his strange comings and goings, I guess I wouldn’t have been thrilled with Liam either, but Cara, AJ is a great guy, you have nothing to worry about.”

AJ blushed, then said, “We gotta get started.
 
The hair and makeup people are on a schedule, and we aren’t giving them all that many pictures for their portfolios.
 
Cara, do you want to stay and watch, or would you rather be surprised with Morgan’s choice for a wedding dress.”

“You’ve already decided?”

“Yep.
 
Yesterday.
 
Just before Liam called.”

“You decided all by yourself?”

“I am capable of making a decision, Cara.”

“It’s not that.
 
I know you can decide on your own wedding dress.
 
It’s just that we would have loved to be a part of it.
 
I know it’s a little bit selfish on our part, but Teagan and I are horning in on everything we can.”

“I’m so used to doing everything alone, I didn’t even think of it.”

AJ broke the tension, “Hey, I’m just a guy.
 
I don’t shop at all.”

“You always look great.”

“Yeah, well, if you ever say anything, I’ll deny it, but almost all of my clothes are from Suzi.
 
She loves to shop.
 
She sends me a big box.
 
I send her a big check.
 
It all works out.”

“Even your shoes?”

“Yep.”

“Men are so weird.”

“Speaking of shoes…” Morgan pulled up the beautiful white dress.
 
She was wearing bright red heels about 5 inches tall.
 
Outrageously sexy stilettos were the perfect juxtaposition from the virginal white dress.

“It’s up to you Morgan.
 
If you want me here, I’m here.
 
If you want to do this on your own, or keep your dress a surprise, or whatever works for you, that’s what I’ll do.”

“I think I’ll just do this with AJ.
 
I am kind of nervous.
 
I’m not a model.
 
I really appreciate all that you’ve done, but I think this will work better if I do it alone.”

“Not a problem.
 
You’re a better woman than I.
 
I’m not sure I could do this at all, but then again, my God, you are beautiful.
 
When Liam sees you, he is going to lose it.
 
The guys in my family try to pretend that Rory is the only emotional one, but it’s not true.
 
You’ll have Liam crying like a baby.
 
Morgan, you bring such good things to our family, including being the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

“Don’t make me mess up my makeup.”
 
She gave me a quick hug.
 
“Thanks again Cara.
 
If it weren’t for you and AJ, and Jovana, none of this would have happened.
 
I’d still have been very happy to marry Liam anywhere, any time, wearing jeans if that is the way that it worked out, but I have to admit, this is a lot more fun.”

AJ walked me to the door.

My voice shook as I said, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure princess.”

I cried all the way home.

Good tears.

I got home, determined to figure out the whole thing with Officer Jerkface, because it was mostly his fault that I was so cranky last night, that I acted like an idiot when AJ was just trying to do something absolutely wonderful for me, well, for Morgan, but if it hadn’t been for me, Morgan would never have met AJ, so I’m taking credit for his kindness and I’m gonna think of it as being directed at me.

I decided to set up a little workstation on the kitchen table.
 
I got a pad of paper and my favorite purple pen, the journals that were still on my desk, which is just weird, because if they had anything to do with undercover police work, the cops should have picked them up long ago.
 
I made myself a cup of tea.

Settled in, I decided the best way to approach the whole thing was to start from the beginning.
 
I decided to create a timeline and see if that told me anything.

I started all the way back when I’d quit my job, because life really seemed to take a turn for the interesting right after I went in and told my boss that I was done.
 
I couldn’t do one more day there.
 
I’d give her two weeks notice if she needed it, but if it was all the same to her, I’d just go home and never come back.
 
I wasn’t mad.
 
I wasn’t even really all that depressed or disgusted.
 
Sometimes you just know when you’re done, and I was done.

I made a little slash across my time line for when AJ moved in, and when Bernie died.
 
I had to look up the date that I started looking for the murderer of Mrs. Ivy-Rosenbloom, which, I will admit, sounds kind of stupid, but at the time, it was a potential income stream.
 
Fortunately, my gazillion searches were still in my search engine history.
 

I made another slash for the date that I wrote the first email to Louis’s brother Steven, that’s when I got mixed up with the whole search the condo get the attention of Officer Jerkface thing.

I made a slash for the day that Officer Jerkface showed up at my parents after Bernie’s wake.
 
Another for when he showed up at my parent’s just to talk.
 
Another for when he showed up at the cemetery when I was bringing Bernie flowers.
 
Another for when he showed up at Louis’s condo and Teagan almost killed him with the Teagan the Terrible Body Slam.
 
Another for the first time he showed up at Louis’s condo.
 
Another for the first time he showed up at my apartment.
 

I decided that I was too focused on Officer Jerkface and I really needed to think about the other stuff that had been going on.
 
I made a slash mark for the day I started reading Louis’s journals, when it hit me.

I’m an idiot.

I grabbed the first journal and opened it up.

I read it again.

I feel stupid writing this down.  I’m not the type of person that writes in a journal.  This journal is tantamount to a confession, and I’m smarter than that.