A Convenient Proposal(47)

“All the credit belongs to my wife,” he said, passing them along to the plump blonde woman on his left. “I just make the money. She spends it. Look who’s here, honey. Griff and his friend.”

“Griff!” Dee Patrick’s squeal turned several heads in their direction. Standing on tiptoe, she threw her arms around his neck. “It’s so good to see you home again.”

His face reddened—from embarrassment or lack of oxygen, Arden wasn’t sure which—and he stepped back as soon as she released him. “Thank you, Mrs. Patrick. This is—”

“Arden.” Dee’s look was coy and her hands were cold. “But I’ve heard there’s a little more than friendship going on with you two. I expect we’ll be having another nuptial party here real soon, won’t we? Now, y’all go get yourselves something to drink and something to eat. I’m sure everybody here will want to talk to you, once they’ve seen Zelda and Al.”

To Arden’s dismay, she seemed to be correct in that prediction. As soon as she and Griff moved away from the reception area, two friends he knew from high school stepped up to talk to them. A married couple of about the same age joined them, but then the two men were replaced by an older man and woman whose daughter Griff had dated. As his date, Arden couldn’t move from the spot, hemmed in as they both were by a constantly changing barrier of busybodies.

Across the room, however, the official stars of the evening drew an even bigger crowd. Zelda wore a fitted red dress that brought highlights to her honey-blond hair and depth to her blue eyes. The diamond on her left hand flashed under the lights, but was not remarkable for its size. Her smiles seemed genuine, and when she looked up at her groom-to-be, Arden felt her throat catch. Their locked gazes blatantly conveyed love and trust.

Al McPherson was not the brawny type Arden had expected, but slender instead, even bony, with a long, serious face, deep-set eyes and a sheaf of straight dark hair falling over his forehead. He wore a plain charcoal suit and a nondescript tie, and though he smiled easily, he never released his grip on Zelda’s hand.

The crowd around Arden and Griff shifted again, but when she focused on the new faces, she was relieved to recognize Kathy and Lauren.

“We thought you looked trapped,” Lauren said in a stage whisper, as Griff remained captured by an older gentleman who would not be dislodged. “So we brought you some punch.”

“Wonderful.” Arden took a sip and closed her eyes in relief. “I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.”

“You two are a sensation,” Kathy said. “Zelda’s probably jealous that you’ve taken over her party.”

The thought made Arden even queasier. “I hope not. I certainly didn’t intend to.” Turning away from Griff slightly, she drew the sisters closer. All the noise in the room made following the conversation difficult enough. She didn’t want Kathy and Lauren to speak loud enough to be overheard—especially by their brother.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lauren told her sister. “Zelda’s not the jealous type and you know it.”

Arden looked at her in surprise. “She isn’t?”

Kathy pouted but Lauren shook her head. “Zelda’s a nice girl. We were all ready to call her sister until she dumped Griff.”

Giving in to her own curiosity, Arden asked, “You didn’t have a clue that she might not be committed to marrying him?”

“Nobody knew,” Lauren replied.

“I did,” Kathy said at the same time.

Arden and Lauren both stared at her. “You did?” her sister demanded.

“I saw her with Al once, up in Clarksville, in the mountains. They were sitting at a table, holding hands, talking. Neither of them looked happy. I knew it was serious.”

“And you didn’t tell Griff?”

“I’m not a snitch. And I didn’t want to hurt him…or make it any easier for her.”

“For who?” Griff said at that moment, pivoting to join them. “Or whom, maybe?”

Lauren and Kathy seemed to have been struck dumb, so Arden supplied an answer. “Dana. We were discussing our shopping trip the other day.”

“Was everybody as successful as Arden?” he asked his sisters. “Because the dress she’s wearing is a scorcher.”

Arden smiled, glad to think that she’d made the right choice with her clinging, strapless black dress and finely woven stole.