Page 118 of Shutout
“I’ll take the flowers and drawers.” Jamie does a finger gun at the arrangement.
My brother protests. “I didn’t leave the box in any of the drawers.”
“But you never know.” Dane shrugs. “Didn’t I see you sneak a drink from your father earlier?”
Lee’s face heats up. “Trust me, if I was drunk I’d really have puked all over the bathroom after your biological bomb.”
I expel all the air in my lungs and push my cuffed sleeve to check the watch. “Gentlemen, we have just shy of an hour to find my wedding rings. Let’s focus.”
With that, there’s no more fooling around. Max and Aran slide into the men’s restroom to start the search. Dane and Jamie inspect every nook and cranny of the table, and even go as far as dismantling the flower arrangement. Lee paces up and down the hallway, scanning the carpet and any piece of furniture in the way.
Meanwhile, I force myself to do something that doesn’t come natural to me—and that is to think.
Would not having rings available be grounds for stopping the wedding? Because no way I’m letting that happen. I’m walking out of church today with Olivia Rodriguez as my wife, and not even a lightning storm will prevent that. But she’d also be upset to find out we’re starting our marriage with a blunder already, and all I want is for her to be happy.
The thing is that even if my brother acted like a stooge and lost them, all because of Dane’s nasty farts, he wouldnever lose them on purpose. The box is kinda big, hard to put in one’s pocket, with a velvet casing that can’t get wet. I get why he wouldn’t want to bring it in the restroom with him.
All this leads me to think that someone took it.
And I don’t mean that they took it with ill intentions. The only guests at the hotel are family and friends—Dad and I made sure of that. And the hotel is a small boutique one with a limited amount of staff, no pedestrian traffic, tucked in a wooded piece of land removed from the main town. If this was a mystery, it would be the simplest one.
I’m sure someone saw the box, recognized it, and took it to keep it safe. But if so, who did it?
I pluck my phone from my pocket and start blasting texts to a bunch of people.
This is when the photographer arrives, no doubt coming from the bride’s suite on the floor above. He takes one look at Dane crawling on the floor to check under the table, at Jamie rearranging the flowers, my brother with handfuls of seating chair pillows, and at Max and Aran stepping out of the men’s restroom with faces red from some kind of effort.
“Um, is this a bad time?” the poor guy asks.
“Have you seen a white velvet box yay high?” I make the rough size of it with my hands.
“I’m afraid not.”
While I sigh, Aran turns to my brother. “Are you sure you went into the men’s restroom?”
Lee splutters. “Of course I did! What do you think I?—”
“Just checking,” Aran grouches.
“I’m pretty sure someone took it,” I say, following it up with my deductions. I don’t appreciate how every single one of them looks impressed by the fact that I do, indeed, have some neurons inside my extremely good looking blond head. Annoyed, I finish with, “And anyway, I think we should splitand talk with all the guests until we find whoever has them. There’s only one problem.”
“Time?” Max raises his eyebrows.
Somberly, I shake my head. “No. My future wife can’t ever find out.”
There’s unanimous agreement from the men and the teen, and together with the photographer at my heels, we split in all directions.
OLIVIA
“The men are acting weird,” Mina declares as she walks into the bride’s suite.
“When don’t they?” I take a careful sip of the most delicate champagne flute I’ve ever seen. I’m afraid if I hold it too tight, it may crack and pour champagne down my wedding dress.
“Fair, but this is weirder than usual.”
“What are they up to?” my sister asks from the windowsill. She’s in the same soft periwinkle dress as the rest of my bridesmaids, which includes Dee, Mina, and Maddie. My mom is the only one in a deeper blue, but still in the color scheme reminiscent of the college all her kids attended.
“They seem to be like, interviewing guests.” Mina folds her arms, lips twisted in a grumpy way. “Except they wouldn’t tell me what the deal is.”
