Page 77 of Lipstick Kiss

“I am not taking that spanner from you until I know what the problem is,” Luke said.

“She says she bought the dress before she booked the venue, and her mother came here to view the place.”

“So?”

“She has a big poofy dress.”

“So?”

“Don’t you know anything about weddings?” Stan asked, exasperated.

Jason laughed unashamedly.

“Fuck off,” Luke said to Jason. “Go bake some muffins. Those dark chocolate ones with melt-in-the-middle white chocolate.”

“They’re in the pantry. Help yourself. I’m staying for this,” Jason said.

It was still early in the day, not even nine. The kitchen staff had started drifting in, chattering as they stored their stuff in lockers. Side glances over to Luke, Stan and the spanner and then smirks rippled about the kitchen team. They all knew what a spanner meant, as some were food-related.

“Stan, what is the actual problem here. Spell it out like I’m a medic and know nothing about weddings. Oh wait, that’s what I am.”

Jason folded his lips in, and his shoulders shook but remained silent.

“She has a poofy dress, and the wind has picked up.”

Luke took one large step back and held up his hands, palms facing Stan.

“I’m not taking that spanner. I cannot change the weather.”

“The thing is, when she walks down the aisle, the wind coming in from the west will pick up her skirts, and she’s scared she’ll have to clutch onto her dress and look like a fool. A bride doesn’t want to look awful in the photos as shewalks down the aisle with her daddy,” Stan explained like Luke was a child.

Several vocal agreements came from the kitchen staff, and much nodding.

“Save me from this madness,” Luke muttered. “Give me the spanner and come with me.”

Stan gleefully handed over the tool, and Luke tossed it into the nearest bin. “I’ll see you for dinner, Jason, at Archer’s,” Luke called out.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Jason called back.

Luke muttered under his breath as he walked out to where they had set up the marquee. The bride was right. The wind had picked up. His t-shirt rippled in the hard breeze as they walked around the tent.

“So the ceremony is this side of the marquee?” Luke asked.

“Yeah, so they get married in the sunlight and not the shade of the marquee.”

“Okay, so let’s go the other side and see how far away we get from the shade of the marquee, and the wind picks up.”

Stan nodded and led the way to the other side. He paced until the breeze flapped at his trousers. “Here,” Stan shouted.

“All right. So that’s still in the sun. What if we move the platform to this side, set up some windbreakers along the edge of the marquee and move the guests’ chairs? Some of them will be in the shade, but I don’t think everyone wants to sit in the sun, anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Stan agreed.

“Let’s go talk to the bride. If she agrees, I can grab a couple of the kitchen staff and move the chairs and podium quickly. It’s a small wedding, so it shouldn’t take long.”

Luke sat on the balustrade while Stan walked the brideand her father down where the aisle would be, pointing out what they would change. When Luke saw both of them nod and a shielded thumbs up from Stan, Luke went to get extra sets of hands.

Once everything was shifted, and the bride gave him a hug from saving her blushes, he jogged back to Sabrina Lodge to get a shower. He didn’t expect to find Freya languishing on a living room sofa in the back patio area.

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