Page 45 of Rekindled Prophecy

So far, so good. All guests passed guardian angel inspection.

After the round of introductions was over, she glanced over to the corner of the crowded room where Kael stood ever watchful. He had been silent the entire time, but she had felt his presence with every fiber of her being, as if his eyes could send out invisible waves through the air to touch her. The groom noticed the direction of her gaze and let out a huge laugh.

“Kael, dude! Cat got your tongue … again? A gorgeous woman walks in the room, and you just stand there like a dunce? Dude, snap out of it or the pretty lady will get away.”

At that, even Greylyn giggled, gleefully watching a flush creep up his neck to his freshly shaven, smooth cheeks.

Just then, a waiter came into the room, carrying a silver tray with champagne flutes filled with sparkling cider, while another server brought in a tray of canapés.

As the guests indulged in the refreshments and conversation, Greylyn performed reconnaissance on the staff. All checked out fine. There was the one waiter whose leering aggravated her, but nothing demonic. Just as she completed her task, the doorbell rang. Deciding to be helpful, Greylyn answered the door.

More guests. This time a small group of young ladies dressed to the nines with large gift bags. Kelly had told Greylyn about her girlfriends last night – theSex and the Citygirls. All attractive twenty-somethings looking for love in mostly all the wrong places.

Luckily, all passed the handshake test though.

Hey, this may all work out after all.

A renewed sense of confidence filled her. Greylyn escorted the ladies to the sitting room. The buxom blonde, her skin-tight dress with ample cleavage revealed by a near-waist cut V-neckline, where nothing was left to the imagination, made a beeline for Kael. She did not even acknowledge anyone else in the room. The fact that he looked so uncomfortable brought a smile to her lips, but also a little nagging thought in the corner of her mind made it clear that she was not exactly happy with the situation either. Shaking off the negativity radiating from her mind towards the innocent woman, Greylyn decided to leave Kael to her.

Instead, she left the scene with the excuse of checking on Kelly who was in her suite resting before the ceremony. First, she found Maureen at the back of the house ushering in the floral arrangements that had just arrived. Beautiful, large calla lily bouquets! Callas had always been a favorite flower of hers. She found it amazing that she and Kelly shared a lot of the same likes and dislikes. They both loved Callas, the Eagles (the band, not the football team), Atlanta Braves baseball, and they despised the color pink.

She climbed the stairs to the second floor and found Kelly in a separate seating area from the bedroom of her suite with her feet up on the ottoman trying to paint her toenails with several small spongy rollers dangling from her head. Kelly looked up from her toes in exasperation. Tears brimmed in the young woman’s eyes and her mascara was smudged underneath her large now blue-green eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

The bride had been so happy just a short while ago. She had been all smiles and laughing as they had strolled through the aisles of dresses at the boutique shop. What had caused the turnaround?

Half-laughing and half-sobbing, Kelly rolled her eyes.

“I can’t reach my toenails anymore and now it looks as if my feet are bleeding frosty mauve!”

After a slight pause, both ladies burst out laughing hysterically. The tension in Greylyn’s shoulders relaxed. Thank heavens, it was not anything serious.

Regaining her composure, Greylyn took the nail polish out of Kelly’s hand. Sitting across from her on an antique Victorian settee, she grabbed a couple of cotton balls, soaked them in nail polish remover, and started cleaning up the pink mess. The acrid alcohol smell of the remover stung her nostrils, making her crinkle her nose. Once all traces of the polish were removed from the bride’s feet, she commenced giving the poor girl a proper pedicure for her big day.

“I’m so sorry for being melodramatic about something as asinine as my toenails. You know the funny part? I’m wearing closed-toe shoes! Why am I freaking out about my toenails?”

Both howled. Tears of laughter cascaded down Greylyn’s face. “It’s better that your freak-out was due to nail polish instead of something more serious.”

The pedicure continued as they talked about other brides and their irrational hysterics on their wedding day. She related a story about a bride she knew who went berserk when she found out that one of the groomsmen had not cut his ‘80s rocker style hair before showing up for the wedding. “Of course, the guy in question was actually a member of a ‘80s rock band.”

By the time the full pedicure was finished, both were laughing uncontrollably, when the bride’s mother entered the room with a stern expression.

“It’s about time to fix your hair, sweetie.”

Kelly’s face dropped. A faint voice came through Greylyn’s mind. “Oh, this will be a disaster. Why can’t she just let me get myself ready? I don’t want to look like a beauty pageant contestant on my wedding day.”

Greylyn wished she could spare Kelly, but the best she could do was offer to bring up some refreshments for them.

“Tequila would be perfect … alas,” Kelly indicated the baby bump, “I guess ice water with a slice of lemon will have to do instead.” They both grinned. By the narrowing of her eyes and the fists on her hips, Mrs. Calendar appeared on the verge of a full sermon. Kelly had said she came from a strict religious upbringing, so she should not be surprised.

Greylyn really liked this young woman. She had become attached to her assignments before, but she felt a particularly strong draw to Kelly. Her resolve was heightened to protect her.

Perhaps it was time she and Kael had a little chat to make sure he understood that as well.

Chapter 19

The Justice of the Peace

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