Page 147 of Say Yes to the Death

Jerry launched into a story about the first moment he knew he was in love with Sarah, which involved a lost patient and a large tub of water balloons. Was it her imagination, or was the tower leaning a little more? Hurry up, Jerry.

Claire’s phone buzzed in her pocket. They had forty local applicants to look over. Although they had lost a client and a potentially beautiful proposal over the alleyway incident, couples were still applying. It had been days since she’d seen a reference to herself as an alcoholic in the West Haven Times. Maybe the press really had moved on.

Wait a minute, was something burning?

She glanced at Mindy. The candle in her hand had seemingly re-ignited. The ends of her willowy black hair were on fire.

“Oh my god,” Claire whisper-screamed.

Mindy’s mouth was frozen in an O of surprise. Claire took off her shirt and beat Mindy with it until the flames receded. The smell of burned hair was growing stronger, and it did not fit Claire’s vision for a Parisian proposal. She pulled a perfume tester out of her purse and squirted Mindy with it.

She slapped Claire’s hand.

“Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?” Jerry asked, apparently unfazed by the kerfuffle unfolding behind them.

“Yes!” Sarah called.

Claire’s heart grew in her chest. She had almost missed the “yes.” Damn faulty pillar candles. These were going straight back to the trading company.

Claire shuffled back into her shirt, elbowing the underside of the table and almost swearing. When the couple broke apart, she stepped out from under the table and gave them another minute before walking over with their coats and Sarah’s purse.

“You have a reservation in twenty minutes at Barrel Twenty-One,” she said, handing over their personal effects and a bouquet of freesias. “And congratulations.”

The happy couple wandered off to dinner, leaving a void in the room. As the front door closed, the Eiffel Tower fell over and snapped into two pieces. At least it waited.

“Get some good shots?” Claire asked Nicole as she texted a member of the crew she had hired to help set up and tear down.

“Amazing ones,” Nicole said, coming over to Claire and quickly flipping through a few on her camera. “They’re going to look great on the blog.”

“You are so good at what you do, Coli.”

“Thank you. So are you,” she said and gave Claire a hug. “Do you have any good candidates coming up?”

Claire climbed a stepladder and cut the fishing wire from the wall. Mindy stood by the entrance, frowning at the ends of her hair. “We do. Sorry, Min. Can you grab the Tupperware boxes by the door? Thanks. She turned back to the task at hand and addressed Nicole. “There’s a hiking-themed one, a Christmas village flash mob, a luxuriously decorated rooftop proposal. I would love to do them all.”

“Maybe once all this settles down, you’ll be able to take on a few more clients at a time,” Nicole said, shoving some fake greenery into a storage bin.

“I really hope so. I’m tired of men blowing up my cars and threatening me. They’re not going to be happy about my midnight spray painting escapade. One way or another, this is going to end.”

“It sounds like we need to schedule another Code Purple.” Nicole met Claire’s eyes over a clump of freesias.

“I think you’re right. Girls only. Thursday night.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

To Do:

- Invest in better bedtime restraints

- Send candidates screening test

Claire paced in front of the whiteboard. Her footsteps echoed in the cavernous warehouse. “Thank you for joining me for another girls-only Code Purple. With your help, I’m going to infiltrate ESA’s meeting on Friday.”

Mindy raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“We’re coming with you. Obviously.” Mindy had trimmed a couple of inches off her burned hair and looked more beautiful than ever.

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