Whirlwind (5 page)

Ann’s words were soft but clear, her eyes locked on his. When she finished, she smiled and cradled Mitch’s cheek, wiping his face with her thumb. He sniffled loudly, and they both laughed, drawing a quiet response from the audience. I blinked a tear away myself, seeing my big friend so moved.

Lifting a single finger, the minister cued the guitarist standing to the side of the altar. The musical interlude gave us all time to savor the depth of the promises the couple had made. Ann’s eyes shined as she whispered to Mitch, and he touched his forehead to hers. Feeling like an intruder into their private moment, my gaze wandered, returning to the dark hair and broad shoulders of the best man. Jason shuffled his feet and tilted his head ever so slightly, as if resisting the urge to turn around. At least that’s what I pretended…

The melody faded, and the bride and groom took a more formal stance, their hands intertwined between them. Jason pulled the ring out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the minister’s Bible, where it joined one provided by the maid of honor. The minister consecrated the two circles of gold with a simple blessing, the final seals on the bride and groom’s holy union.

As Mitch and Ann exchanged rings, my mind drifted back to the strange vision I’d had of Jason. In a flash I saw myself in Ann’s place, a thin veil separating me from Jason’s smiling lips. Shaking my head, I tried to erase the irrational image, but only succeeded in blurring it. What was wrong with me?

I’d had crushes in the past, even been in love, I thought, but nothing like
this
had ever happened before. It couldn’t mean anything; he was just a sexy guy in a tux. A sexy guy in a tux who couldn’t keep his eyes off me…

Stop it!

While I appreciated a good-looking man as much as the next girl, it was a guy’s wit and personality that had always attracted me. He
is
witty, my hormones argued. Maybe online, but the computer screen clouded a person’s true character. I didn’t even know who he was when I had the fantasy. Did that make my point or nullify it?

I rubbed my temple, wishing I could shut off my lusty inner voice. Thinking Jason would give me more than the time of day was ridiculous, especially once he connected my face to my electronic banter. Hell, he probably had a girlfriend or fiancée and wouldn’t want to explain our little jaunt through the internet gutter to her. If not—and my heart betrayed me with a flutter of hope—my jaw-dropping reaction when we “met” had to have left the impression I was a nut case. He wouldn’t want anything more to do with me.

Then why can’t he keep his eyes off you? He winked at you, for crying out loud!

I was left shaking my head as the minister concluded the ceremony.

“You may kiss your bride.”

With a grin tinged with a hint of mischief, Mitch embraced his wife. Ann melted into her new husband’s arms, drawing applause and giggles from the crowd when her lips locked with his.

Clapping enthusiastically, Jason turned his coy smile on me.

Reflexively I smiled back, remembering my earlier fantasy of sharing an equally passionate kiss with him.
If only…

My cheeks warmed, and his smile grew, as if enjoying the same image. I tore my eyes away, scolding myself for indulging in such an unrealistic daydream. It had to be my childish expression that had him entertained, that’s all.

Ann and Mitch led the procession out, and Jason winked at me as he passed. On his arm, the maid of honor and Ann’s best friend, Tricia, followed his gaze and sneered. She’d make sure I didn’t clutter Jason’s time at the reception. Pointing her nose in the air, she tightened her grip on his arm, confirming my supposition. Maybe he didn’t have a girlfriend, but he definitely had a companion—whether he wanted one or not.

The parade of black and purple whisked by, and the guests filed out, row by row, behind them. Rather than stand, I turned sideways and let everyone else in my pew pass. I wasn’t ready to face Beth—or anyone else—just yet. By the time I’d collected myself enough to scoot down to the end of the pew, the church was nearly empty.

Without warning, the door the groomsmen had used earlier opened and Mitch appeared, escorting his new wife.

“We made a clean getaway,” he bellowed before wrapping his arms around Ann and gluing his face to hers.

The rest of the wedding party filed in behind them, and while they whistled and teased the bride and groom, I headed to the back as inconspicuously as I could.

Clapping loudly, the photographer attempted to organize the group. “We only have a few more pictures to take. Pay attention and we’ll get done as quickly as possible. Can someone pass the groom a handkerchief? I’m not sure that shade of lipstick suits you, Mr. McAlister.”

In the midst of the laughter, a man’s voice called, “Melissa, hang on a sec!”

I cringed, but didn’t slow. When he called again, I peeked behind me.

“Mel, over here.” Todd held up a white cloth and rushed toward me. Behind him, I caught a pair of bright eyes scanning the crowd frantically. I ducked behind a conveniently placed pillar, willing myself to become invisible.

Todd stopped, having lost sight of me. “Over here,” I half-whispered, peeking around the pole.

He jogged over, the fabric—a sweater—dangling from one hand. “Can you give this to Beth? She left it in the groom’s prep room.”

“Uh, sure. No problem.” I grabbed the sweater and turned on my heel.

“Thanks a lot. Beth gets cold on the warmest days, so I know she’ll need this,” he said behind me.

I avoided making eye contact with Jason and raced to the exit, using an older couple as camouflage. Before I could make my escape, I saw him lean in close to his brother’s ear and point in my direction.
Great.

Bursting through the door, I crashed into Beth.

“Whoa, Melissa,” she said, half catching me, half steadying herself. “Where’s the fire?”

Her use of one of Mitch’s favorite phrases snapped me back to reality.

“Sorry! I just…was…” Running from embarrassment? Not when it was standing right in front of me.

While I tripped over my brain, Beth looked down at my hand. “Is that mine?”

Duh
. “Um, yeah, here.” I thrust the sweater at her, kicking myself for missing the obvious, again. “I was…uh…looking for you, actually.”

“Thanks,” she said carefully.

After an awkward second of silence while the couple I’d used as a human shield hobbled by, I tugged on my blouse and headed down the path toward the parking lot. “See you at the reception,” I said over my shoulder and marched off.

I made it to the stairs before I realized I wasn’t alone.

“Who were they?” Beth asked.

Why is she following me?
“Who?”

“The couple you just spoke to—the people you’re meeting later.”

Nice.
“No one. I was just being polite.”
To you!

I started down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Slow down, Mel. You don’t have to rush. They’re going to be in there awhile,” she said, panting slightly as she trotted next to me.

“I’m not rushing,” I lied, stopping abruptly at the bottom. Now that we were out of sight of the front doors, I could finally breathe. “I’m not sure where the reception is and wanted some extra time to look it up.”

I expected Beth to call me on the fabrication—she always saw through my lies—but her face lit up like a light bulb. “How about I show you instead?” She caught my arm, suddenly as eager as I was to get to the car.

“What about Todd? I thought you’d ride with him.”

“No thanks! The limo ride over with the guys was enough for me. Add the purple people eaters and I’m out.” The venom in Beth’s voice surprised me.

“Okay,” I said slowly. Escaping the wedding alone was clearly not an option. At least having Beth along should mean I wouldn’t get lost.

I unlocked the car with the remote, and Beth yanked the door open before I could stop her.

“Hang on. I’ll move that stuff,” I said. The passenger seat was buried under a load of disheveled newspapers.

“No problem—I’ve got it,” she said, scooping up the stack and plopping down on the seat. She shut the door, preventing me from taking the load off her hands.

By the time I’d gotten my seatbelt buckled, she’d organized and stacked all the papers neatly on her lap.

“I’ll take those,” I said, reaching for the pile. Beth set the stack in my outstretched arms but didn’t let go. She was entranced by what looked like a woman’s graduation photo.

“Oh wow, is that her?” she asked.

I tried to figure out what was so special about the woman while she scanned the page. “Who?”

Beth tapped the top of the stack. “Kerry Stanton. Ann knew her.” Her eyes bugged out as she read. “She was strangled? How terrible!”

Unable to stand it any longer, I angled the stack so I could see the article.

Police Search for Motive in Coed’s Murder

On Thursday the public memorial for Kerry Stanton drew hundreds of mourners to the USC campus. The murder of this popular student and community activist has many questioning why she was targeted.

Stanton
’s body was found in the park adjoining the Theta Pi sorority house last Saturday morning. An autopsy confirmed she’d been sexually assaulted before she was strangled. The coroner would not confirm whether the scarf found at the scene was the murder weapon.

Police have not ruled out
Stanton
’s acquaintances as possible suspects, but friends of the victim continue to refute this possibility. “Kerry didn’t have any enemies. She went out of her way to help everyone she met,” said Theta Pi president Janice…

“Ann and Mitch went to her funeral. She was in one of Ann’s classes or something. I didn’t know she was murdered—how awful.” Beth let go of the papers and hugged herself. “Ann said she was really nice. I can’t imagine what her folks must be going through.”

“That’s too bad,” I mumbled. I knew exactly what they were feeling, and
bad
didn’t come close to covering it. At a loss for words, I slid the papers onto the back seat.

Beth buckled up. “It really is. It would’ve been nice to meet just one girl down here who wasn’t stuck on herself.”

I eyed my friend. “I thought you liked Ann.”

“Oh, I do,” she said quickly. “Other than her. I meant her friends. They are…less than welcoming.”

The purple people eaters.
I finally got her reference to the lavender-adorned bridesmaids. “Tricia and her groupies?” I guessed.

Beth pointed to the right when we got to the street. “Yeah. You thought Tricia was bad when she came up to the barbecue in Santa Lucia last month? She was Hannah
Montana
compared to what she’s like in her natural environment. Even Ann apologized for her snotty attitude a couple of times. Just this morning I was ready to shove a bouquet down Tricia’s throat.”

I had to cover my mouth. No one had been surprised Tricia didn’t get along with me, but pissing off Beth? That took some seriously bitchy talent.

“Why?”

Beth shook out her sweater and refolded it. “She wanted me to hold an umbrella over her between photos, for Pete’s sake. ‘The sun’s too bright. It’s making my eyes water,’” she said with a nasal whine.

“Did you?” I coughed.

“Absolutely not! I’m not a slave girl.”

Luckily we’d stopped at an intersection, because I couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer.

“It’s not funny, Melissa!”

“No, it’s—” I choked on another giggle “—not.” I couldn’t avoid getting smacked on the shoulder. “
Ow
!”

“She makes me want to spit. To H-E-double hockey sticks with her,” Beth muttered, drawing another poorly disguised laugh from me.