Rock Chick Reckoning (Rock Chick #6)(149)

“Be quiet,” he growled.

“And Daisy and Marcus –” I didn’t finish, I squealed because he bent, put a shoulder to my bel y and carried me out of the bathroom. He threw me on the bed and stalked back to the bathroom, slammed the door and I heard it lock.

I giggled to myself.

Juno loped over to me and nudged my calf with her nose.

“That was fun,” I told Juno.

Juno woofed.

I gave her a head scratch and looked at her bowl.

Then I shouted, “Mace, you didn’t feed Juno!” He shouted back, “I walked her, you feed her!” I heard the shower go on.

Stil smiling, I fed my dog then made coffee then I made Belgian waffles for Mace.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Something Borrowed

Stella

We were sitting around Daisy’s dining room table which was littered with every beauty implement known to womankind from moisturizers to makeup to false eyelashes to bronzing powder to shimmer powder to hair dryers to curling irons plus brushes, combs, teasing combs, bobby pins, hair spray, gel, mousse, pomade, finishing wax and shine elixir.

Indy was sitting drinking a latte Tex brought her from Fortnum’s which was closed for the day then he hightailed it out of there, saying he was meeting “the boys” for lunch.

She was calm and chatting with Lee’s mom Kitty Sue, Roxie’s mom (who was in from Indiana for the wedding) Trish, Eddie’s mom Blanca, Jet’s mom Nancy, Duke’s wife Dolores, Lana and Chloe.

She was wearing a beautiful, pale pink, kimono-style silk robe with a huge, intricate flower embroidered on the back (a bridal gift from Roxie, Jet, Ava and Jules), her hair up in a towel, her legs crossed, leaned back and at-ease.

In fact, everyone was calm and chatting.

Daisy had put on a huge, gourmet, catered buffet for our lunch which was sitting on the sideboard. She’d had a half dozen bouquets delivered that were the same as Indy’s wedding flowers (pale pink and white gerbera daisies, white roses and pale pink and white peonies) and these were decorating the room. She’d not gone rock ‘n’ rol but instead a Chopin CD was playing softly in the background.

She was floating around in her own robe, her hair back in a wide band, her face devoid of makeup, offering refil s to those who wished to imbibe early from a champagne bottle she was holding.

Out of nowhere, Tod rushed in wearing a beautiful y tailored navy suit, a pink shirt, monochromatic tie and a harried expression. His shiny, Italian leather shoes clattered on Daisy’s floorboards with his frenzied approach.

His dramatic entrance shattered the peaceful, feminine serenity.

Stevie (also wearing a beautiful y tailored suit) fol owed more sedately.

Tod took in two breaths, his hands up, one clamped around a clipboard and he pressed the air down. “Okay, okay. Update. Just got back from the club. They’re about to start setting up. They have the right colored linens and the florist has already been there. I cal ed her to give her a piece of my mind since she wasn’t supposed to deliver the flowers to the club for another hour and they might get droopy. She promised me she wouldn’t be early with your bouquets. I told her she must go back to the club and personally check that not one single petal droops before we arrive at seven.”

When he paused to take in a breath, Al y suggested,

“Tod, calm down, have a glass of champagne.” Tod’s head swiveled toward Al y.

“Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a briefing! ” he screeched and then he looked back to Indy, face composed and voice back to normal. “Where was I?” Indy was looking a little concerned with the possibility that Tod’s head might start revolving three hundred and sixty degrees, so she said softly, “Petals drooping.”

“Right. Okay.” He looked down at his clipboard and as he talked, he made checkmarks on whatever was on the board. “The cake has been delivered and they’re putting it together now. It looks beautiful. Perfect. The Lana-slash-Chloe update has been noted by the caterers and staff.” He looked at them, pointed to them with the end of his pen and bounced it back and forth between them as he spoke.

“You’re sitting with the out-of-towner Rock Chick people.

Trish and Herb’l take care of you but I moved Stel a to your table just in case.” Then back to his clipboard, he checked something off and kept talking.

He gave updates on absolutely everything, including the state of the asphalt of the drive up to Cherry Hil s Country Club (a location that Daisy and Marcus, as members of the club, arranged for the reception) saying, “They sealed that crack I noticed last week, thank God.”

“Tod, darlin’, did you just say they sealed a crack in the asphalt?” Trish cal ed out.

“Yes, thank God, ” Tod repeated.

Trish shook her head. “Son, as Roxie used to say to her Dad when she was growing up, you need to take a chil pil .” Tod’s eyes narrowed on Trish and everyone sucked in breath.

“I want this to be perfect, ” Tod retorted.

“And it wil be, you been working hard on it for months.

Now enjoy the fruits of your labors.” She pointed at the buffet. “Have some of that cold, sliced chicken. Kid you not.

Melt in your mouth.”

“Trish, there’s a mil ion things to do!” Tod shot back.

“Nothing you haven’t already checked and double-checked, I’m sure,” Trish returned.