Page 128 of Happily Never After

- Touch base with helicopter and limo company

- Remember to take meds

“Canyou move that just like half an inch to the left?” Claire stood ten feet back from the table at Solar Flare. She squinted and craned her neck.

It was here. After five days of frantically re-confirming all the details and a dozen run-throughs, it was finally happening. The biggest proposal day of their entire career. In just half an hour, Brad and Karen would sit down at the restaurant and set into motion the biggest project Happily Ever Afters had ever undertaken. All they could do was wait. And fuss with details, of course.

“Here?” Mindy moved the vase of peonies.

“Yes. Now sit at the table.” Claire ordered. She squeezed her side. Running back and forth had given her a side stitch. California had played havoc with her cardio schedule.

Mindy sat obediently.

“Coli?” Claire glanced over her shoulder. Nicole was checking something on her camera. “What do you think, two inches off the stems? I want to be sure we don’t cover her face.”

Nicole, who had arrived the night before and was finally starting to feel better, checked it through the viewfinder of her camera. “Definitely. Maybe even two-and-a-half inches.”

“Two and a half,” Luke called from the corner of the restaurant despite the fact that no one had asked him. His tripod was somewhat successfully disguised behind a large topiary on the back deck. He swiveled his camera and peered into it.

Luke would film at the restaurant and then head straight for the Getty Gardens. Carlos, a friend Luke knew from the studio, was going to meet Claire at the Santa Monica Pier to film the second stop. They would then both meet up at the ranch to get different angles on the proposal. Luke had insisted two cameras was plenty. If he was wrong, she might murder him.

The door opened, and Sawyer stepped inside. “All clear,” he reported. Every five minutes, he left the building and swept the perimeter. He had spent the last five days tailing them from proposal stop to proposal stop and fussing over the security system Luke had installed.

ESA had once again been suspiciously quiet in the wake of her abduction. A detective from the LAPD had called yesterday to say that her abductor had been driving a stolen car. Another dead end.

Were they intimidated now that there were two men in the house, or were they closing ranks to plan something even more heinous? The convention was tomorrow. But she couldn’t think about that yet. Not until Karen got her perfect moment.

“This is so exciting,” Heather whispered to Claire. She had shown up that morning to volunteer her time and hadn’t made any comments about the other organization offering her a position. If nothing else, she would be an extra pair of hands for the day. “So many moving parts. How do you keep track of it all?”

“Lots and lots of practice,” Claire said with a smile. “And, of course, the master timeline,” she said, flipping open her Day-Of binder to show Heather a color-coded and time-stamped sheet.

“Isn’t that them?” Heather gestured out the window to a middle-aged couple getting out of a limo.

Brad didn’t look nervous at all. Against all odds, he had mostly respected Claire’s new business hours. Although a flood of emails had come in after hours, he had never once called. He was beaming as Karen took his arm. She was resplendent in a red cocktail dress and matching lipstick. A confident stride in kitten heels showed off her shapely legs. A jeweled comb gathered her hair to one side. The camera was going to love her.

“Shit, hide!” Claire said. “They’re here,” she whisper-shouted to the rest of the crew. There was a minor stampede as they all triple-checked everything was perfect before ducking into the restaurant. Luke remained outside, concealed by the topiary. The rest of the party hid behind the wall that separated the bathrooms from the restaurant as Karen and Brad made their way to the table. The restaurant wasn’t busy yet since it was early, but the handful of patrons who were there shot confused looks at the mass of people hiding.

As soon as the couple sat down, Nicole jumped into action. She pulled out a telescopic lens and leaned into the window with one leg resting on the booth. She clicked away as Claire noted the start time on her master timeline. Karen and Brad had arrived five minutes early. He was many things, but at least he was punctual.

Her phone vibrated with a text from Carlos—he was set up at Santa Monica Pier and ready for their arrival. The a cappella group had also arrived and was running through their warm-ups. Things were exactly on track so far. Perfect. It was going to be the most beautiful day. Claire danced on the spot and bent to scratch Rosie behind the ears before remembering that she and Winston were at doggy daycare. Unless ESA and/or Olivia had broken in and stolen them. Maybe she should take a quick peek on the daycare app.

Olivia had been quiet since the roof incident. As far as she knew, anyway. Claire had made it a policy to never go through a boyfriend’s phone. If he left her for that sports bra full of pissed off bees, that was on him.

Satisfied that the dogs had not been kidnapped, Claire fired off a message to Carlos to ask about the lighting and leafed through her binder. Appetizers and wine had arrived at the table. They were still well within the time limit.

“Videography, how are we doing?” Claire asked into her headset.

“Fine,” Luke’s voice muttered. “I wish I had free range over the angle, but it could be worse. She looks stunning in this light.”

“Doesn’t she?” Nicole said dreamily over her headset. She had moved to another corner of the restaurant for more pictures. Had Claire not sternly forbade her from scaling the roof in her condition, Nicole certainly would have ambled up there for a better angle.

Thirty minutes passed, and the last of the entrées were disappearing from their plates. It was time to move on to the second stop. Claire made a note on the master timeline and flipped her binder shut. She was about to step out from behind the wall when a nervous-looking man in a chauffeur’s hat appeared.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Miss Hartley. I have some bad news.”

Fuck. A stone settled in Claire’s gut. Everything had been going so well. What would it be—flat tire? Bird poop? Some idiot had parked them in? Their crew was definitely big enough to roll a car away if needed.

---