Page 5 of Exposed

He sits up straight and throws a hand out. “You know the owner? Even better. Trippy is retired. She doesn’t need to get married on a Saturday night. Surely you can swing a weekday afternoon. Hell, she’ll take midmorning. She’s old. Old people do everything two hours early. But it needs to happen at The Pink.”

I forget all about my carefully applied lipstick and pull the delicate skin between my teeth. “I don’t think I can swing that…”

Daniel reaches for his sunglasses and starts to push his chair away from the table. “I have a limited amount of time. I mean, Trippy has a limited amount of time because of her condition, and I’ll do anything for her. I guess I need to move on to another wedding planner.”

“No. No-no!” The tiny, desperate words fall from my lips before I have a chance to bite them back. “Let me make a call. I’ll see what I can do.”

He pauses where he’s still sitting on the edge of his seat. “You do understand the urgency of the situation? It needs to happen fast.”

My heart speeds as I break into a sweat that has nothing to do with the hot Florida weather. “Aunt Trippy’s on her deathbed. Make all her dreams come true before it’s too late. I get it, Mr. Armstrong.”

The waiter returns with Daniel’s drinks. “May I tell you about today’s lunch specials?”

“No.” Daniel reaches into his front pocket and pulls out amoney clip with a wad of bills neatly folded within it. He peels off a crisp fifty and tosses it on the table. “We’re done. This is for your trouble. I need these drinks to go.”

I don’t know who’s more relieved, the server since he scored an easy tip, or me since the weirdest meeting I’ve ever taken is over, and I don’t have to foot the bill.

“Of course.” The server really is ready to get rid of us. He picks up Daniel’s fresh drinks and disappears.

“There’s one more thing,” Daniel mutters as he reaches for his aviators.

Goodness. As if booking a mid-morning wedding at The Pink isn’t impossible enough, what more could this man want from me? My manners have taken a hike. My mom would be so disappointed if she were here. “What now?”

“I want to make sure this is done right. I’d like to see the venue in action. I assume since you have an in, you can make that happen.”

“You…” Just when I thought this horrible meeting was over, it gets worse. “You want to attend a stranger’s wedding at The Pink?”

He shrugs like this is no big deal. “Doesn’t have to be a wedding. Any event will do. Since they’re booked solid, there will be plenty of opportunities. I’m free Saturday night. Let me know what time—I’ll meet you there.”

The waiter returns with Daniel’s weird drink order in to-go cups and places two paper straws on the table next to them. He doesn’t take a chance on losing his free tip and grabs the fifty. “Enjoy your afternoon.”

I know for a fact I will not enjoy anything until I’m done dealing with Daniel Armstrong and dying Aunt Trippy.

Daniel pops the lid off the iced tea, lifts the cup, and proceeds to down ninety percent of its contents. He swipes his bottom lip with the back of his hand as he stands, grabs the soft drink, and slides on his shades. Standing before me, tall, broad, and menacing,I can only imagine his intimidating icy blue eyes glaring at me. “I’ll wait for your call to let me know what time on Saturday. This has to happen for Trippy.”

“For Trippy,” I echo, internally worrying about the demise of Trippy. “I’ll be in touch.”

And with that, he’s gone.

I slump into my chair and close my eyes, dreading the predicament I just got myself into. I have to make a call that I do not want to make and ask for a favor from the one person I swore I’d never ask anything from ever again.

“Excuse me, but are you staying?”

I open my eyes to find the waiter clearing the table that we didn’t dirty.

I gather the few things I was prepared to use to showcase my talents and toss them in my bag. “No, I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for taking the reservation. This meeting didn’t turn out as I expected.”

I pull my own shades from my bag and stalk toward the door.

At least I didn’t have to buy lunch.

But I’d rather add to my increasing debt any day than to have to call Dex.

It’s Thursday. I have to find a way into The Pink with a plus one for Saturday night.

And I thought paying next month’s rent was going to be the hardest thing to conquer on my ever-growing list of impossibilities.

King

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