Page 54 of The Au Pair Affair

“Burgess. What’s up.”

“Wells.” He paced the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop window, dismayed to see his hair was back to being out of place. What he wouldn’t give to slap a hockey helmet down over the whole mess. “How is wedding planning going?”

A pause ensued. “You called me to talk wedding plans?”

“No. But I’m working up to the real reason I called.”

“The reason wouldn’t happen to have a name that rhymes with awooga, would it?”

“Awooga barely comes close to rhyming with Tallulah.”

“Ahhh, but you are calling about her. See what I did there?”

“This was a mistake.”

“Don’t hang up. Don’t. Josephine will kill me if ?I miss a chance to get the tea.”

“The . . . what?”

“Thegossip, man.”

Ohhh.Tea wasgossip. A couple of Lissa’s recent statements were suddenly making sense. “Are you in charge of planning any part of the wedding or are you just showing up looking smug?”

“I’m going to show up looking smugandI’m in charge of music. It’s called multitasking.”

“Band or DJ?”

“DJ. But I was thinking of surprising Josephine with something a little extra during the ceremony. Like... a choir? Or a harp. I don’t know. Something fucking romantic.”

“Harp.” Burgess quit his pacing, taking a moment to recall why that instrument stood out in his mind. “Sig Gauthier’s future stepsister, Chloe, plays the harp. She’s supposed to be really good. Like a prodigy or something. Let me know if you’re interested.”

“Wow. Look at you coming through with harpist recommendations. Send me the info.”

“Fair warning, if Chloe goes to the wedding, Sig goes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t ask. But if you end up hiring her, make sure you add two to the guest list.” All right, that was enough small talk. He had less than ten minutes now before Tallulah showed up. “I’m meeting Tallulah in the park.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. When?”

Burgess removed the phone from his ear briefly to see the time. “Eight minutes.”

“Is this a date?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“That’s two different answers.”

“Fine. No. It’s complicated.”

“Let me tell you, I’ve been there.”

“That’s why I called you.” Burgess let out a long breath, scanning the park across the street, just in case Tallulah had arrived early. “I’d like to make her my girlfriend.”

A nostalgic chuckle from Wells. “I’ve been there, too.”

“Yes, I know. With Josephine. How did you do it?”

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