A Bad Boy is Good to Find - By Jennifer Lewis Page 0,38
all those nights of steamy passion she’d shared with Con before their One True Love went down the crapper.
“Well, thank you. I’m glad you like my work. Now I have to go get ready, I’ve got a train to catch.”
“On no sleep? No way. Go to bed.”
“Can’t. I’m meeting with the florist at 9:30 and it’s a very long train ride. I’m already running late. I’m glad the hot water’s back on as I’ll need it to get all this paint off my skin.” A fine black mist covered the backs of her hands and arms, not to mention her ratty gray T-shirt and jeans. “I’m off to shower.”
“I can help you scrub.” He winked at her.
She narrowed her eyes and gave him a dirty look. Then she turned and fled before she started wanting to hug him again.
He’d given something back to her. She wasn’t sure what, but it made her take the stairs two at a time.
Chapter 10
The smell of roses made her feel sick. Reminded her too much of the “old days” only a few weeks earlier and that stupid scent she wore.
“No roses.”
“But roses are the bloom of romance,” protested Sven, floral artiste of the minute. “You cannot marry without roses.”
Three pale pink roses, each almost the size of her head, mocked her from a handblown glass vase in the center of the conference table.
“Oh, come on, Lizzie, they’re lovely.” Maisie ripped off a pink petal. Sven winced. “Not a sprig of baby’s breath in sight, thank God. I love what you’ve done, Sven, it’s luxe, yet wonderfully modern. I think it’s perfect.”
“But the bride…”
“The bride will love it. Besides, she’ll be too busy to think about flowers.”
Maisie glowered at Lizzie as Sven gathered his blooms and departed. When the door closed behind him, she leaned across the table. “Are you nuts? No roses?”
“I’m sick of roses. They’re so…Predictable.”
“I’d think you’d like that about them. You used to be the rose queen. You even smelled like one.” Maisie shuffled her papers into a stack.
“Those days are over.” Lizzie stretched. “Since I met Con I’m a new woman.”
“You certainly are different, I’ll give you that. I can’t wait to meet this mysterious Con. He must be quite a character.”
“Oh,” Lizzie looked her right in the eye. “He is.”
“So really, no guest list? What about his friends and family in the area? His parents? Siblings?”
Does he have any? Her questions about his family had been met with swift evasion. For all Lizzie knew he’d emerged from the swamp on webbed feet, alone. While she was curious to find out where, and who, he did spring from, she was a little nervous about it too. She couldn’t bring up the subject of a guest list without tipping him off to their destination, and she certainly didn’t want to do that.
“Con and I want our wedding to be an intimate celebration of our love. Just the two of us. As if we were getting married on a deserted island.”
“What about your parents?” Maisie’s steely gaze made her stiffen.
“Maisie, you know my father is under house arrest.” She wasn’t going to be cowed.
“Your mother, then? What does she think about the wedding?”
No idea. She’d tried calling the ashram and been told her mother had left for an expedition into the mountains. With no contact information.
“Just the two of us.”
“And Donald Trump. Ha ha. Luckily, it’s far too short notice to get any real celebrities so I can pretend I tried and look all sad when I tell Don no one could come. He loves the tight timetable on this show so he won’t complain too much. You came along at just the right time. All the new season shows are bombing so he was ready to grasp at straws. It was this or buy a new Brazilian soap opera, and frankly, you’re cheaper.”
“I’m honored to be the final straw for Celebrity Cable.”
Even in the late-afternoon sun, Lizzie could see lights on inside the house as she walked up the driveway. It was one thing for Con to get the electricity turned on, but did he have to run up the bill like this in broad daylight? She’d begged off a styling meeting and taken the long train ride back early. Who cared how the stinking napkins were folded? Their flight was booked for the following day, and she wanted to get her stuff together. Get her head together.
She pushed the door open. “I’m back.” Dropped her bag inside the door. Heard