Page 15 of The Wedding Toast
Trick could hear his pulse rushing through his temples.“Who do you mean?”he asked eventually.
Elliott rolled his eyes.“You know damn well who I mean.You always had a thing for her.Don’t pretend you didn’t.Annalise Montclair.”
Trick looked down at the name on his phone before looking back up at Elliott.“And now she’s Annalise Bork?”
Elliott smiled.“She is.Apparently, she finally divorced the old bastard.”
Trick inhaled sharply.
“Well, damn, I’m sorry.I assumed you knew she was back.”
Trick shook his head.“How could I know?In fact, how do you know?”
“I like to stay tapped into the grapevine.”
Trick made a face.“You mean the women you sleep with do, and you can’t help but hear about it.”
Elliott shrugged.“Something like that, yeah.But anyway, why’s her name on our list?”
Trick looked back down.“Because she’s in the party we’re picking up from the airport on Friday.Lunchtime.”
“That’s weird,” said Elliott.
“Why?”
“I thought she’d already moved back.”
“Seriously?”asked Trick.
“Seriously,” Elliott confirmed.“And from the look on your face, I should have told you about this sooner.”
Trick shrugged.He didn’t want to make a big deal of it, but the way his heart was pounding, and his palms were sweating told him that no matter how much he might want to downplay it, Annalise being back in town was a very big deal.
~ ~ ~
After dinner, Jacob left Becca and her folks sitting on the terrace beside the pool.It was a beautiful evening, and they’d all enjoyed themselves, talking and laughing, catching up, and for once leaving the wedding details aside and just enjoying themselves.
He leaned down to kiss Becca’s cheek after he’d excused himself, saying he had a couple of calls he needed to make.He smiled at Chuck.“Would you like me to pour you a Cognac and bring it back out with me when I come?”
“Yeah, thanks, Jacob.”
Darlene laughed.“I’ll have one of those too, thanks.”
Jacob winked at her.“I was planning to bring you one.I know you like it – I didn’t think I needed to ask.”
When he reached his study, he closed the door behind him and took his cell phone out.He still hadn’t heard back from Alara, and Willow had texted him a little while ago to say she’d had no luck tracking her down either.He felt as though he should probably just forget the whole idea, but he didn’t want to.
At the same time, there were only a few days left.If Alara was going to build the arch, he needed to talk to her by tomorrow at the latest.He poured himself a glass of Cognac and paced in front of the window, staring out at the vines as he dialed her number and waited.He was fully expecting to get her voicemail again and was surprised when a woman answered.
Her voice was low, melodic.“This is Alara.”
He gripped his phone tighter.“Hi, I’m Jacob Jacobs.I was given your number by Elena.She showed me photos from the arch at the wedding you did this last weekend.”
“Right,” Alara said slowly.
“My fiancée and I are getting married on Saturday.The whole theme of our wedding is cornflowers, and when I saw the arch that you made… It’s beautiful …” He let out a breath.“This is probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever obsessed over, but when I saw that arch… is there any way you’d be able to help?Can you build me one for Saturday?”
The line was quiet for so long that he wondered if she was still there.Then a quiet sigh.“I appreciate you asking, I really do.But I can’t take on anything right now.”
