Orange Blossom Brides (9 page)

“That would be me.” The polished voice sounded from the back of the room. Lilli groaned when Marisa coyly raised her hand. Just what she needed. The Vandermere mother/daughter tag team.

“Marisa. How are you doing with donations for the auction?”

Marisa shifted in the seat beside her mother. Dressed to the nines, she sported designer jeans and an expensive top, not a bleached hair out of place, her makeup artfully applied. “I have some wonderful items lined up.”

“Can I have your list?”

“List?”

“Yes, so we know exactly what is being auctioned off.”

Marisa glared at Lilli. “It’s all in my head.”

“I need a list.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll get one to you.”

And I won’t hold my breath waiting.
“Thanks.” Lilli smiled politely and moved on. “Mrs. Rumpold and I will be working on matching the models with the volunteer grooms. I also arranged for a harp player. It will add to the atmosphere.” When no one argued with her, Lilli hid a smile. Except for the Vandermeres, so far so good.

Mrs. Rumpold clasped her hands together and addressed the ladies. “The display wedding dresses are to arrive at the historical society office this afternoon. Let’s not forget that we have them due to Lilli’s connection.”

The ladies murmured their thanks.

“Are all the grooms accounted for?” asked a woman Lilli didn’t know.

“Not yet,” she hedged. “I still have a few calls to make.” To whom, she still hadn’t figured out.

The women began to chatter about the line-up of men slated to play groom.

“I know the mayor volunteered. Who else?” another woman asked.

Mrs. Rumpold stood up. “There’s the fire chief, the owner of Pointe Café, Tim from the insurance company, Dane Peterson and the police chief, of course. But I’m holding out for Max Sanders.”

“Max Sanders? That name sounds familiar.” Mrs. Weston said.

“He a security consultant,” Lilli told her.

“No, it’s not that.”

“Yes, that’s his business.”

“No, I mean that’s not where I know him from.”

“He’s been gone from Cypress Pointe for many years.”

Mrs. Weston sat straight in her chair. “I remember now. He tried to steal my husband’s car.”

“That was years ago,” Mrs. Rumpold told her.

Mrs. Weston shot Mrs. R. a dirty look. “And you think he’s an appropriate choice?”

“Oh, he’s more than appropriate,” Mrs. Rumpold gushed. Lilli mentally rolled her eyes. “He’s a security consultant now. I don’t see a problem.”

“Problem? He’s a known thief.”

“Reformed,” Mrs. Rumpold piped in, defending her man.

“Please, ladies.” Lilli tried to calm them down. She couldn’t tell them he’d be working security at the benefit, because she hadn’t convinced him to be a groom yet. And when, not if, he agreed, she didn’t want to blow his cover. “Max has been vetted by my mother and the chief. I don’t think we have to worry.”

The women volleyed questions at Lilli that she had no answers for. When had she lost control? At the mention of Max’s name, that’s when.

Sissy spoke up again. “My husband would love to be added to the groom list.”

Lilli jumped on this change of topic. “I’ll add him to the stand-by list.”

Marisa raised her hand. “Chandler and I have already been selected as the final couple, you know, since we’ll be married soon.”

“Isn’t it bad luck for the groom to see the wedding dress before the wedding?” Mrs. Rumpold asked.

Marisa glared at the woman. “It’s not my actual wedding dress for the big day with Chandler. It’s the other one.”

The “other one” meaning the dress from the previous engagement. Yes, Marisa had been engaged. Twice. Before Chandler. The one she would wear for the fashion show had been created from antique lace and satin, so it fit the theme of the fashion show.

Marisa continued. “You won’t be changing the lineup, will you Lilli?”

Lilli’s teeth hurt at Marisa’s sweet-as-molasses tone. Okay, she could argue on principle or choose her battles. Letting the couple remain the finale was a concession she could easily make. “The lineup will stay the same, Marisa.”

Marisa’s eyebrow angled. In suspicion? If she expected a fight, Lilli decided not to give it to her. She needed all her energy for another battle on another day.

Fortunately the topic of Max never surfaced again. After discussing several more items on her agenda, Lilli declared the meeting adjourned. The ladies mingled and chatted before leaving. Most of them came up to tell Lilli she was doing a good job in her mother’s place. Finally, she met with Mary Gibbons.

“I have to say, I’m a bit overwhelmed with the decorations. I’m not sure where to start. Your mother envisioned the room decorated like a wedding reception. She is very particular, and I don’t want to let her down.”

An idea popped into Lilli’s head. “I may have a solution.”

Mary nodded.

“My good friend Jewel has expressed an interest in helping us. She’s very artsy and I think you might work well together. I’ll set up a meeting. How does that sound?”

Mary took Lilli’s hand. “Now I know why your mother asked you to run things while she’s away.”

“Thanks.”

“Marisa has been circling like a vulture since the moment your mother left town, but thankfully Celeste had the smarts to bring you in. Honestly, if Marisa had her way, this benefit would be a catastrophe.”

The compliment warmed Lilli’s heart.

Finally the room emptied out. Lilli pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed Jewel. “You’re officially in.”

A whoop sounded from the other end.

“Get busy with your ideas. Remember, classic wedding.” Lilli explained that Jewel would work with Mary. “Gotta run. I’m off to meet the curator who is delivering the designer wedding dresses. I’ll call you later.”

Lilli gathered her belongings and stopped by the club office, asking to speak to the events coordinator. Sure enough, Sissy hadn’t made arrangements for the group to come in and decorate prior to the benefit. Lilli talked to the savvy woman and felt more secure that things would indeed go well.

“Is Klaus in his office? I want to touch base with him before the benefit.”

“He’s not there right now, but his assistant, Tom, can help you.”

“That’s okay. I’ll make arrangements to see him next time I’m here.”

She headed for the exit, only to see Max walking down the hallway with Klaus. He stopped before her, his tangy cologne invading her senses. Dark hair fell over his forehead and his lips formed a kind of crooked smile.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Business.”

She stared at him blankly.

“You know, for my security company.”

“Oh, yes, right.”
Stop talking!

Klaus, a tanned, impeccably dressed man in his fifties, held out his hand. “Miss Barclay. Your mother has been in touch.”

Of course she had.

Max stood beside her and she noticed he had abandoned the usual T-shirt and jeans for a pair of black slacks matched with a white button-down shirt. She was glad she’d taken a few extras minutes dressing this morning, even though he probably wouldn’t notice.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“Why would you ask?”

“Because you’re frowning.”

“I am?”

“Can’t you tell?”

She frowned harder. “Apparently not.”

Klaus discreetly cleared his throat. “Max, call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Klaus. I’ll be in touch when we get closer to the event.”

Klaus nodded to Lilli. “I’m free to talk now.”

Lilli smiled at him. “Give me five?”

“Of course. I’ll be in my office.”

As Klaus walked away, Lilli let out a long breath. Bad enough dealing with the Vandermeres, but running into Max? Frosting on the proverbial wedding cake.

“Tough morning?”

“Gee, how’d you guess?”

“Wasn’t that hard.”

“Then pat yourself on the back for such an in-depth piece of investigating.”

He chuckled. “Did you know your cheeks get all flushed when you tell me off?”

“Which would be almost every time I run into you.”

“Yeah. We need to work on that.”

“Look, I’m sorry Max. I have a lot on my plate right now.”

His eyes narrowed.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re getting all prickly again.”

She rubbed her temple. “I’m going to call it a day.”

“That’s going to be a problem.”

“Why?”

“I have the details you’ll need about the Wingate collection.”

“Is that why you’re here with Klaus?”

He hesitated. “Partly.”

“If you were meeting him to talk about the collection, why didn’t you include me?”

“You were in your own meeting.”

“You still could have told me.”

Max ran a hand through his hair. “Lilli, it’s not like I’m running off to meetings and purposely leaving you behind. I had the appointment set with Klaus on a completely different matter. The information about the collection had just become available so we talked about it. It’s my job, remember?”

How could she forget? “Okay. Fine.”

“Listen, I have some work here, but I’ll be finished by one. Why don’t you come by my office and we’ll talk about security for the event.”

“One o’clock.” She turned to walk down the hallway, but not before she heard, “Pesky woman,” muttered in Max’s deep voice.

CHAPTER SEVEN

T
ORN
BETWEEN
WALLOWING
in memories of her emotional wedding rehearsal and driving far, far away from the country club to escape the heaviness around her heart, Lilli finally calmed down enough to grab lunch before heading to her appointment with Max.

As she climbed the stairs to his office, her stomach fluttered. Great. Maybe she was coming down with a case of food poisoning.

She opened the door to find Max at his secretary’s desk reading some papers. He looked up, his easy smile making her stomach flutter even more.

“Thanks for stopping by.”

“You said you had an update?”

“Yes. C’mon back to my office.”

She followed, her steps slow, trying to convince herself she could talk Max into changing his mind about the volunteer groom job. Since she’d been striking out in that area, she needed him to say yes before time ran out to find a replacement.

“Have a seat.”

She moved to the same chair she’d sat in mere days before. The good old days. Before her Tie the Knot coordinator duties got more complicated. “So,” she said in her clipped, business tone. “Bring me up to speed.”

“Let’s start at the beginning. Initially your mother contacted me to evaluate security for the bridal gowns to be exhibited at the historical society office, and requested an upgrade on the existing security system at the office. I put together a report, she signed off on it and I installed the new system last week.”

“Makes sense.”

“With the jewelry being displayed at the country club,” Max continued to explain, “Klaus needed club security evaluated. I didn’t involve you because I knew you were holding your committee meeting and didn’t want to bother you.”

“Fair enough.” Still, she felt like he was holding back.

Stop. He has a job to do. That’s all.

“The Wingate collection will be delivered to the club a few days before the event. It will be kept in the safe at the country club until the benefit. After that, if your mother insists on displaying it at the historical society office, I’ll make additional arrangements for a full-time security guard. I’m hoping your mother, or Mrs. Wingate, will realize that keeping the collection here in town is not a great idea.”

“Sounds like you have every scenario accounted for.”

“Always.”

“Except for one thing.”

He gave her a doubtful look. “Which is?”

“Since you’re the only security business in town, won’t guests think you’re working at the benefit as some kind of guard, watching the collection?”

“And I will be.”

She shook her head.

“You have a better idea?”

Oh, yeah, she did. “You need a guard, but not you.”

“And why is that?”

“Because people expect that. What they don’t expect is for you to show up as a volunteer groom. Anyone who might consider stealing the collection will think your attention is elsewhere. But really, you’ll have a better feel for the crowd if you are one of them.

“I know we already talked about you going undercover. You could move around, mingle, talk to guests and get a feel for who you might need to watch while another guard stands watch beside the collection all night.”

His eyes narrowed but he didn’t say a word.

“Even better, what if you’re a groom and you have a date?”

“A date? Won’t I be paired up with a bride?”

“Yes, but she doesn’t necessarily have to be your date for the entire evening. We just match you up with a bride to walk with down the runway during the fashion show. But if we go together, you can think of it as us working as a team.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” She held up three fingers. “Am I desperate to get you to be a groom? Yes. Concerned about the collection? Yes. Willing to pretend we’re together for the night? Yes, again. All in the name of making the night go smoothly.”

“And if I say no? Again?”

“You’re a smart businessman, Max. Despite our past, this is a perfect option. Please don’t let your grudge against me keep you from securing the collections.”

He rolled his chair away from the desk at an angle to stare out the window behind him. Lilli folded her hands together, squeezing hard as she hoped he’d see her point. It made sense. Surely he’d see that, too?

Finally, he faced her again. She tried to quell her excitement at the resigned look on his face.

“You’re right, Lilli. Undercover is my best shot at surveillance.” He stopped. Ran a hand through his hair. “As much as it pains me to say yes, I’ll do the volunteer groom thing because it does work best.”

Lilli bit her lower lip to keep from saying “I told you so.” She’d gotten him to agree. That’s all that mattered.

“I’m glad you could see this my way. It’s only one night, but it will be worth it in the end.”

“One night that will feel like forever.”

“Maybe you can have a little fun at the same time?”

“Fun? I take my job very seriously, Lilli.”

His somber eyes met hers and she tried to backpedal. “Of course you do. I would never presume otherwise.”

“Fine. As long as we have this straight. It’s only business.”

“Right. Business. Mutually helping each other out.”

“So, we’re officially working together.” He didn’t sound thrilled.

“That would be correct,” she said, infusing her voice with enthusiasm. “Well, I should get going.” She stood on shaky legs. Talk about being out of her comfort zone. Now she was going to work closely with Max, the most attractive man she’d seen in...forever. And she had a date...sort of.

But what happened after the benefit? Did they go back to being polite business acquaintances who said hello when they passed on the street, but nothing more? Her glum reaction told Lilli she was getting way ahead of herself.

“Listen,” Max said, stopping her before she had a chance to escape. “About the other night.”

“The other night?”

“At the animal shelter.”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for clearing up what happened the night we met at the bonfire. It’ll make things easier as we move forward in the work process.”

Work process. Why did that distinction bother her?

“Sure,” she answered, pasting on a fake smile, ready to make her getaway. “Anything else I should know about? I don’t like going into any business arrangement without all the facts.”

“That covers it for now.”

Max rose and she followed him to the outer office. He opened the door and she brushed against him as she passed by. His body heat made her flustered all over again.

Her eyes met his, and she could have sworn she saw heat flash there before he schooled his features. Gone was the cute, dangerous boy she met years ago. The teasing, maddening Max. In his place stood a very capable, very concerned male. A male who, by his sheer presence, made her heart pound and her good sense fly out the window.

She stepped away, putting much-needed distance between them. She had to get to the historical society office anyway. The curator would have arrived with the display wedding dresses and Lilli wanted to talk to her old friend and personally thank her for delivering the collection.

With a curt nod, she hurried down the stairs and walked to the next block. Her heart pounded as though she’d run a marathon. This physical response only happened around Max. She needed to get a grip, especially since she worked with him now.

She had to deal with this crazy attraction, be professional as they came, if she wanted to earn his respect.

Having made that determination, she entered the historical society office to find Mrs. Rumpold speaking to a woman holding a garment bag. She smiled and walked their way.

“Lilli, you’re here for the unveiling.” Mrs. R. waved her over.

“Gab,” Lilli said to her friend. “So good to see you.”

The attractive woman with sleek black hair and sparkling sapphire-blue eyes hugged Lilli. “It’s been way too long.”

“It has. We need a girls’ night out to reminisce.”

“And catch up on our current lives.”

“It’s a date.” Lilli nodded to the rolling clothing rack holding multiple garment bags. “So, what have we got here?”

“Some of Renata’s all-time favorite designs, as well as other designer gowns she’s acquired for her own personal collection through the years. She personally selected each one.” Gabrielle finished unzipping the bag she held. “I think you’ll be pleased.”

Lilli watched as Gabrielle and Mrs. R. removed the delicate gown and placed it on the dress form. White satin and flowing tulle.

Hiding her distress at yet another painful wedding reminder, she hurried into her mother’s office with the excuse she needed to make a phone call.

“Pull it together,” she muttered. Lilli grabbed a tissue and collided with the tidy well-organized desk. A lone picture frame toppled over. Afraid she might have broken the glass, Lilli righted it, expecting to see a photo of Pookie, her mother’s bow-toting Pekinese. Instead, she nearly dropped the ornate frame in surprise.

The picture of her was taken about two years ago. Lilli had hired a professional photographer to take pictures before her wedding. Her mother had liked the pose, so Lilli had given her an eight-by-ten, never expecting that Celeste would place it on her desk. Since the picture had been taken, Lilli had darkened her shoulder-length hair from blond to a rich reddish-chestnut with chunky golden highlights.

Lilli angled the frame back on the desk, just as it had been before. With a sigh, she realized that although Celeste’s fund-raising forays were important to her, so was Lilli. Sure, they’d had their ups and downs over the years, but she had to admit that her mother keeping a picture of her at work touched her heart. With that came the resolve to work this benefit hard so her mother would come back to a success.

Realizing she’d stayed in the office too long, Lilli straightened her shoulders and walked out to the main room. Gabrielle had placed another gown on a dress form. And still the sight made Lilli’s chest ache.

She stayed for another half hour, catching up with Gabrielle. Finally, she said, “Ladies, I’m afraid I have to leave. I have so much work to catch up on.”

Gabrielle looked her way. “On a Saturday?”

“Yes. But I promise to get back soon to see the full display. You’re right, the pieces are incredible.”

Gabrielle glanced at the gowns, then met Lilli’s gaze. Behind the other woman’s smile, Lilli noted sadness in her eyes. What was it about weddings that brought out angst in people? If Lilli asked, she’d probably get another broken-hearted wedding story. Having lived that story once was more than enough.

“Just sign off on the collection and you’re good to go.”

Lilli hesitated, the full impact of being responsible for the beautiful dresses making her think twice. Then she remembered how important this was to her mother and signed the paper.

“Before you leave, I have something for you,” Mrs. Rumpold said. She hurried to her desk, searched through the mess and came back to place a small item in Lilli’s hand. “I had a key made for you. Now you can come and go from the office anytime you please.”

Lilli’s fingers closed around the cool metal. Mixed emotions swamped her. On the one hand, she felt honored. As if she’d been accepted into a special club and now belonged. On the other, she felt the never-ending burden of responsibilities for the benefit grow heavier.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve earned it, my dear.”

Before she could tear up again, she left the building, wondering if she’d ever regain her love of weddings.

* * ** * *

S
HE
’
D
REELED
HIM
IN
.
Hook, line and sea-green eyes.

As much as he wouldn’t admit it to Lilli, she was right. He did need to keep watch on the collections at the benefit, and acting as a groom would solidify his cover. He’d resigned himself to that before the meeting, but there was no way he’d let her think she won this little battle.

As a volunteer he’d have access not only to the guests, but also fellow grooms and brides, and the country club staff, just as Lilli had pointed out. They’d let their guard down, making it easier for Max to watch for any suspicious behavior that posed a threat to either collection.

He’d already asked one of the chief’s officers to work with him the night of the event, so he’d have his obvious security guard in place.

He also had a date. Not that he couldn’t get one himself, but Lilli made that part easy for him. She must be excellent at her job, given the ease with which she’d talked him into her plan, so sure of herself.

He could appreciate that, but his admiration went hand in hand with a big dose of wariness. He needed to stay focused on the plan, not on how good Lilli smelled, especially when she passed him in the doorway and all he wanted to do was kiss her.

Nope. No matter how alluring she was, he had to work with Lilli, and he couldn’t afford to get distracted. He needed to build a name for Sanders Security, and allowing the jewelry collection to be stolen while he drooled over a beautiful woman was not the way to accomplish his goal.

Max spent the next few hours writing up an analysis for a new country club security system for Klaus. This was really his first big job, and he had Lilli and her mother to thank for that. If he hadn’t been involved with the charity event, he never would have gone to the club to discuss storing and displaying the jewelry collection.

Klaus informed him that the board had decided to upgrade the club security system after a recent rash of thefts. Klaus wondered if it was an inside job and wanted Max to present a new security plan to the board. Max couldn’t be happier about the opportunity. Between that and the potential client he’d met through Klaus the same day, his business prospects were looking up.

Klaus had introduced Max to Ned Rawlings, a local resident who owned a nationwide shipping business. His business had grown quickly in the past few years, and with it, security concerns at his various warehouses. Max had pitched Sanders Security right on the spot. Liking what he heard, Ned had given Max his card and told him to call his office and set up an appointment. If Max landed Ned as a client, this would move his business to the next level sooner than he’d anticipated.