Page 83 of To Have and to Scold

I am so glad he’s here.

I open my mouth, ready to say, “I guess I’m fine if Lila and Ryan are fine,” but it dies on my tongue because…it defies all reason. I’m certainly notfine. And at the risk of thinking I’m more important than I actually am, the whole “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” tenet is pulsing inside my head.

Except, Beck is here, and together, we’re going to clean up this mess and grow stronger in the process.

Still, there’s an ache in my belly. Despite the laughter of the guests, which is actually really great. Despite this Prince Harry town-mascot fellow who I can admit is kind of cute, I can’t help but feel…weighted. Doomed. Like my fate has been sealed.

There is no way Shoshana isn’t going to hear about this. And no way I’m getting my job back.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Beck

When Dallas answers her door, I’m hit again with such a feeling of happiness and longing that I’m not sure I can survive it. Like I might really need to be called in as a DOA.

She’s barefoot, her lightly golden legs and feet in fine form under a black, oversized Vampire Weekend T-shirt with a photoof a chandelier on it. Her auburn waves are disheveled, and she scrubs her face with the heels of her hands.

“Beck?”

“Hey, beautiful.”

She cocks her head to one side. “I was sleeping,” she says with a small smile, her gaze going to the bakery box I’m holding.

“I didn’t think you ever slept past eight.”

She yawns and opens the door wider so I can come in. She seems surprisingly okay, all things considered. “I don’t sleep in. Except for this morning. I had a hard time falling asleep last night, what with my career in a dumpster fire and all.”

“Why didn’t you call me when you couldn’t sleep?”

“I just…I’ve caused enough trouble,” she offers feebly, then points to the box. “Did you bring me something?”

“I’ll get to that. But first, you haven’t caused any trouble. It’s been the opposite, actually. And I want to help. When you’re sad or frustrated or stressed or happy or excited about anything, I want to be there.”

“Once that video goes viral, it’s all over for me.”

“How is having a llama showing up at a wedding and causing a bit of a mess your fault? How does that reflect poorly on you at all?”

“It just does, Beck. I could have better secured the area. Besides, it’s all in people’s perceptions, anyway. I’m bracing myself that in a few years, Lila and Ryan will be just another casualty to the Death List.”

I ignore the Death List comment. “That wedding was the nicest, most beautiful wedding we’ve ever had here. I had a few different people tell me that.”

“Well, the venue had a lot to do with it.”

“True. But so did you.”

She turns to go into the little living area off the kitchen. “Anyway, I’m not trying to whine or be all ‘woe is me.’” Sinkingdown into the sofa, she pulls her feet up, stretching her T-shirt over her thighs. “It was just disappointing, that’s all.”

I set the pastry box down on the coffee table. “You were prepared for it. You said yourself something bad was going to happen and it did. But it didn’t even matter. It’s an outdoor wedding, the unexpected is expected. And Lila and Ryan and their families got over it. I think they’re looking forward to their fifteen minutes of fame.”

“They did seem to be good sports about it.”

“It’s like a badge of honor. They’ll forever be known as the people whose wedding was crashed by a llama. How cool is that?”

She cringes. “‘Decimated’ is more accurate. Just ask my arch.”

“I am sorry about that. But we got it standing again and it still looked good, even after the unfortunate fabric amputation.” I feel a laugh coming again, but I’ll rein it in for Dallas.

Turns out I don’t have to since she’s now trying to hold back laughter, too. “It’s just so—I thought my other wedding mishaps were bad, like the groom opening his new box of shoes for the wedding moments before and realizing he’d been given two left shoes, or the mother of the bride breaking out in the worst case of hives I’ve ever seen during the ceremony. But this? This wins first prize.”

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