Page 70 of 4 Weddings and a Feud

“Oh my god!” Rochelle rushed up in a swirl of white satin. “Is everyone okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Alex repeated. “You can all go back to watching…” But the show had stopped, and now every eye turned his way. “It’s all good,” he announced, louder, hoping that saying it would make it true.

“Rochelle, do you need to sit down?” Mary asked.

It was only then he noticed the bride shivering. Like he had an extra sense for his bride’s health, Rohaan rushed up to her. “Baby, are you all right?”

“I—I think so. Do you think we need to cancel the wedding?”

“Cancel the wedding?” Alex’s pulse whooshed in his ears, louder than the muttering guests. “Over a little fire? No need. Look, it’s already out.”

“Alex.” Mary set a hand on his arm. “Give her a minute to process.”

“Process?” Fear licked up Alex’s spine, faster than the blaze had moved on the curtain. “There are five hundred people here. To see a wedding.” What would Ray Richardson think if he’d spent six figures on a wedding that didn’t happen?

“Baby.” Rohaan rubbed Rochelle’s bare arms. “We’re okay. All our friends and family are okay. Even the gladiator and the fire dancers are okay. And I’d really like to marry you tonight. Take all the time you need.”

Alex winced. The longer they delayed the wedding, the more upset the father of the bride was likely to be. Richardson was no prude, but how angry would he be if it was Alex’s fault his grandchild was born out of wedlock?

“If I may,” he said. “I think we should all take a deep breath. Let’s try it. Breathe in blue. One…two…three…four. Hold it. One…two…three…four. Then let it out pink. One…two…three…four…five…six. Now repeat.” He led them through the exercise again, and even Luca joined in. By the fourth time, Rochelle’s face had returned to her natural color, and her hands were steady.

“Better?” Alex asked.

“It’s okay if you need more time,” Mary said.

Alex scowled at her. It was anything but okay.

“I’m good,” Rochelle said. “Though if one more thing goes wrong, I’m going to take it as a sign.”

“Nothing else will happen,” Alex promised. “Your wedding will be as glorious as we planned. Now, should we go set up?” He tipped his head toward the other end of the room where the wedding dais waited.

“Okay.” Rochelle gathered up her skirts and headed toward the main doors.

“Joey,” Mary muttered into her earpiece. “Please have the ushers seat the guests.”

Alex took another calming breath. The flaming gladiator would be a funny story the Richardson family could tell at their next gathering.

“Rohaan, please gather your groomsmen at the front.” Mary waved at the dais.

The ushers were already organizing the guests into their seats. Good. Though it would take a few minutes. Five hundred people didn’t do anything quickly.

“Don’t forget the video monitors,” he said.

He caught her eye-roll before she said, “Joey, the screens.”

Along both sides of the room, the video screens lit with a prepared slideshow of Rochelle and Rohaan, from baby photos to their engagement portraits. All except one. The screen closest to the fire-blackened curtain remained dark.

He tapped Mary’s shoulder. “That one’s not working.”

“I’ll check on it.” Then, into her earpiece, “Evie, you’ve got eyes on the bride?” She walked to the video screen, tapped the power button, then circled to the back of it.

“Oh,” she said. She moved behind the massive screen.

A second later, the room went black. Someone shrieked.

It was black like only an interior room can be, the darkness so thick it pressed on his eyeballs. It was dungeon-dark. Desert-dark, but without the starlight. Doomsday-dark.

A few camera flashlights flicked on. Giggles and murmurs filled the guests’ initial startled silence.

---