Page 13 of No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding

I watch as David wraps his arms around Allison to the jealous eyes of half the men in the room. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Let me know when you do.”

“Fine. Let’s go say hi to the happy couple.”

We push our way through the crowd until we get to Emma and Fred. Emma’s face lights up when she sees me.

“Finally!”

“I wasn’t late.”

We give each other a hard hug, even though we just saw each other this afternoon.

“Are you okay?” I whisper into her ear.

“That stupidnote,” she says, her voice trembling slightly.

I pull back and Fred must catch something in my expression. “What’s going on?”

Emma shakes her head. “I was just saying I can’t believe there’s a storm coming to ruin our day!”

“Perhaps you should consider moving the wedding to the mainland?” I suggest.

“Absolutely not,” Fred says. “As I told Shawnaandthe wedding planner, the location is nonnegotiable.”

Oliver’s mouth twists like it does when he’s suppressing a laugh. “We make plans, and God laughs.”

“What’s that? Oh, yes. It will all work out, though. It always does,” Fred says with the certainty of someone who hasn’t had anyone say no to him in twenty years.

“Fred used to go to Catalina as a kid,” Emma says, smiling at him indulgently. “He’s always wanted to get married there.”

Fred’s cheeks tinge pink. Oh my God. Fred Winter isblushing.

“It’s only that the wedding is all planned,” Fred says. “And it’s too late to change it.”

Emma smiles at him again because he’s fucking adorable, but then her eyes cloud with impending trouble.

Before I can ask her what’s wrong, Tyler Houston, the film’s producer, joins us on the balcony. He looks like his job—sandy hair in an expensive haircut, a well-cut dark blue suit with a chambray shirt and a conservative tie, broad shoulders, an air of authority. Straight out of central casting.

He’s been a shadowy presence on set, more felt than seen. ButI picked up enough scuttlebutt to know something’s brewing between him and Fred. And by the look on his face, it appears that it’s about to boil over.

How fortunate for us.

Not that I’m looking for drama. Only that’s whatyou’vecome here for, right? I mean, a body is going to drop in forty-eight hours. Maybe sooner. And you know me well enough by now—even if you’rejustgetting to know me—to know I’m bringing you to this party for a reason.

Something important is about to happen.

“You must be joking!” Tyler says to Fred in a voice that carries over the din of the party and stops it in its tracks like a record scratch.

“What is it, Tyler?”

“I’ve just discovered this little trip to Catalina this weekend isn’t in the script!”

Fred shrugs. “And?”

“I amnotpaying for your wedding. Bad enough that...I’ve already paid forenough.”

“I don’t know what you’re implying. But I agreed to do this film as a personal favor and—”

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