Page 3 of Say Yes to the Death

Claire laughed. “She would be crazy not to. I had one other thought.Are you an artist yourself, Aaron?”

The man shrugged and fiddled with the bottom point of his paisley tie. “Not like Jane. I used to draw cartoons when I was a kid, but that’s about the extent of it.”

Claire smiled, bouncing on her toes in excitement. She’d bet anything he was being modest. “Perfect. I want you to draw a sketch of the proposal before it happens, and then I want to blow it up as a huge print and hang it in a closed room at the back of the gallery.”

His face flushed. “Oh, no. I couldn’t.”

“You can. And you will. Now I don’t know about your creative process, but I would suggest?—”

“Claire?” Footsteps echoed from the back of the warehouse.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

She wasn’t expecting another appointment. Her shoulders hunched up as she flipped on a light switch. She reached underneath the conference table and tugged at a strap. Krrrrshhhh. A Taser fell into her hand. Her mother had sent her a half dozen after the abduction, and they all had unique homes.

Aaron jumped backward like she had suddenly transformed into an armed assassin. He bumped against a shelving unit, jostling a row of glass vases.

She pointed the weapon toward the door. “Who is it? If you’re a member of the press, I’m only going to tell you once that you are trespassing on private property, and unless you have a scheduled appointment, you will be strung up by your toes and dangled over a tank of piranhas.”

Jason Goldman, the last man she expected to see today, stepped into the pool of fluorescent lighting. A manila envelope was clutched under one arm. His gaze darted around the room as if he expected to be attacked by a mannequin or a length of ribbon. He was built like the football player he once was, but he must have gained thirty pounds since they broke up nearly a year ago—now more bowling ball shape than linebacker.

“What do you want?” Claire stared her ex-fiancé down even as her stomach lurched like she was aboard a broken carnival ride. “I’m in a meeting.”

“I just wanted to talk to you about something.It won’t take long.”

Aaron checked his watch. “We’re just two minutes short of an hour anyway, Claire. Email me the updated quote when you talk to the caterers?”

“Of course. Sorry about this.” Her cheeks were hot. Jason had already single-handedly ruined her ability to trust, and now he was storming into a client meeting. Would he ever leave her alone?

“I’ll send you the breakdown of my other ideas, and we’ll schedule the next meeting.” She flashed a bright smile at Aaron.

Aaron waved as he disappeared into the maze of matrimonial paraphernalia.

Jason shuffled closer and cleared his throat. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead. It wasn’t that hot outside. What had her ex so hot and bothered? She wrinkled her nose. His musky cologne hadn’t changed a bit since college.

“How have you been?” The envelope crinkled in his meaty fists. He seemed to be addressing an organizer full of drywall screws over Claire’s shoulder. Apparently, he could leave her thirty singing voicemails begging to take him back, but he couldn’t maintain eye contact for a fifteen second conversation.

The side door closed, signaling Aaron’s exit, and the customer service smile slipped from her face like a mask. “You mean since you cheated on me with my nemesis? Or since I was abducted and stabbed? You’ll have to be more specific—it’s been a busy year.”

She didn’t have time for whatever this was. Jason had stalked her for eight months after their breakup. Constant phone calls, flowers, even visits to her apartment. She had finally succeeded in getting him to leave her alone after she had given the police his name as a suspect for a break-in that had occurred in her apartment the previous month. But now here he was, with shifty eyes and holding a curious envelope.

He took a deep breath and reached for her hand.Oh hell no. She snatched her hand back as if his was dripping with fire ants.

“Claire, we were close once. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard that the hearing is coming up and today was supposed to be?—”

“Don’t,” she said sharply. “We are not going to talk about what today was supposed to be. Why are you really here? And what’s that?” She gestured to the envelope. “Are you going to ask me if I have a minute to hear the word of our Lord and Savior Wendy Flutter?”

Wendy and Claire had a long history. Almost four years ago, they had been pitted against each other for Event Planner of the Year at the West Haven Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards. Claire won. From that night on, Wendy had made it her personal mission to ruin Claire both personally and professionally. She had slandered her on public television, slept with her fiancé, and tampered with the biggest proposal Claire had ever orchestrated. Nevertheless, Claire kept winning.

Jason handed her the envelope. “Not exactly. But these are some legal documents. They’re for you. I have to go.” He turned and scurried back through the warehouse.

Legal documents? The envelope was heavy in her hands. She turned it over and ripped it open. A pile of papers slid out. She skimmed the first few lines. Her mouth dropped open.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” She slammed the pile of papers down on the conference table and picked up her phone. For an instant, her vision blurred and the numbers swam in front of her eyes. Every breath burned in her chest, and her heart beat so hard and fast she swore she could hear it.

“Mindy? You’re never going to guess what just happened. Jason just came to the warehouse and served me papers.Wendy is suing me over the fight at Nicole’s engagement party. Suing me. For five million dollars.”

“What do you mean?On what grounds? Get off for a second, Gavin, it’s Claire,” Mindy said, slightly muffled. There was a shuffling sound as her assistant and best friend presumably disentangled herself from her British boyfriend.

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