Читать книгу: «Something Borrowed»

1

STOP THE WEDDING or the bride will die.

Lifting her gaze from the letter on the boardroom table, wedding planner Edie Benning glanced at Emma Goldstein, a writer from Celebrity Wedding magazine, then toward Julia Darden, but the bride-to-be only continued kissing her fiancé. Julia and Lorenzo weren’t the brightest couple, but their passion could melt Siberia. Still, Edie was surprised when they didn’t stop kissing to voice concern for their safety. Not that Edie would mention it, since Julia’s daddy, Sparky, CEO of the Darden hotel empire, had given Edie carte blanche to create New York’s best-ever wedding, an event that could make her a real player in Manhattan wedding-planning circles.

The responsibility would have been daunting under any circumstances, but as Julia’s bodyguard, Pete Shriver, slid another letter across the table, Edie felt her dream of building a business slipping through her fingers.

“Someone wants to put a damper on the wedding,” Pete announced, “so we’re going to tighten security around Julia.”

Edie just hoped Pete wouldn’t suggest the couple nix the celebration and elope for safety reasons. The couple was still making out, and since Edie’s love life sucked, the smoochy-face was hard to take. During the month since she’d started dating a guy from New Orleans named Cash Champagne, Cash hadn’t even tried to progress things beyond their few lackluster kisses. It was the sort of thing that made Edie feel sure her Granny Ginny wasn’t telling tall tales; clearly, just as her sisters Marley and Bridget had always believed, and as Granny had proclaimed, the Bennings really were victims of a wedding curse.

“From now on, Edie,” Pete was saying, “Marley needs to give Julia her morning workouts at the Darden estate. Julia and Lorenzo were already in the city, so they could meet us tonight, but until we catch whoever’s sending the letters, Julia should stay in Long Island. We found out the guy’s mailing the letters from a box on East Ninety-Sixth Street, so hopefully, we’ll catch him soon….”

“I’m sure Marley won’t mind coming to the estate.” At least Edie hoped not. But who knew? Edie had done everything to help her twin get back on her feet after her divorce, including giving Marley this opportunity to be Julia Darden’s personal trainer, but Marley, who’d become hopelessly cynical since her divorce, hadn’t even said thank you.

The rest of the family made up for it. Edie’s father, Joe, was catering the affair, and her mother, Viv, a seamstress, was making gowns; Edie’s youngest sister, Bridget, worked at Tiffany’s and was producing ring designs. Despite the excitement, Marley kept saying Edie’s luck in landing this assignment was too good to be true. No man as wealthy as Sparky Darden would take a chance on an unknown such as Edie, Marley had argued.

Ever since her divorce, she’d been difficult, especially when it came to accepting help from Edie. She also distrusted anyone Edie dated, something Edie understood since Marley’s ex had wiped out the funds from Marley’s fitness club, Fancy Abs, putting Marley out of business. As far as Edie was concerned, the end of the marriage had been brutal, even by the high standards set by other Benning-sister breakups. Yes, when it came to marriage, the Bennings were definitely cursed….

Edie cast a glance at Emma Goldstein, who was taking notes, and continued, “At Big Apple Brides, we’ll do everything to ensure Julia’s safety.”

“It’s appreciated,” Pete returned. “The letters have been coming since October when the wedding was announced.”

Edie frowned. “You weren’t worried then?”

“We stepped up security, but with the wedding so close…”

Six months wasn’t enough time to plan, but Julia would only agree to the April date, now three months away. As near as Edie could tell, the heiress would elope tomorrow, but she hadn’t done so because she wanted to please her father.

“Go ahead with your plans, Edie,” encouraged Pete. “My guess is Julia’s not the real target. Probably, the letters are from an old business rival of Mr. Darden’s, someone hoping to cast a cloud over the big day, but who doesn’t want to hurt Julia. Most perpetrators with serious intent don’t pussyfoot around like this. And Sparky will be the first to admit he’s made enemies. We need to take more precautions, though.”

“I didn’t mention it, but…”

Pete’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

Edie shook her head, thinking she was being paranoid. “Maybe I’m just nervous, but in the past few days, I’ve felt…as if someone might be outside the shop watching me….”

“Hudson Street stays busy.”

Edie cast a glance toward the conference room’s open door, the windows and crowded street. Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but congratulate herself. Her business was impressive. No one would guess the Bennings had redone the interior of Big Apple Brides themselves, the women painting while Joe carpeted the floors and built shelves that were now lined with wedding books.

The windows were her mother’s idea. On one, the words Big Apple Brides were painted in gold. Draped with satin swags, both glassed cases brimmed with wedding items: champagne glasses, a hope chest, garters and bouquets. A winged mannequin wore a gown of white feathers, a bed waited in invitation, and roses were strewn across the floor. The effect was pure fantasy, inviting couples to create their ultimate dreams. Not that the ambiance had done anything for Edie’s love life, of course. How could it, she thought with a sudden rush of pique, when a century-old curse ensured failure in the area of romance?

Pushing aside the thought, she stared at the corner of Hudson and Perry Streets. “The street’s especially busy now,” she continued. It was late January, but after-Christmas shoppers were still combing stores for sales.

“I’ll have a man check in with you once a day. Okay?”

Nodding, Edie glanced toward the bride, who was shooting Lorenzo a dazzling smile. Julia was beautiful. Taller than average and model-slender, she had brown eyes, a clear complexion and an unusually wide mouth. Despite being camera shy, her looks had made her a media darling. Lorenzo was no slouch, either. The pro hockey player could have body-doubled for Benicio Del Toro.

Months ago, the lives of the rich and famous had been the furthest thing from Edie’s mind; her main focus had been opening the wedding boutique and involving her family members. All the Bennings knew this was Edie’s way of counteracting the curse. Years ago, Edie had thought Granny Ginny was only being entertaining, of course, but as time wore on, Edie had never fallen in love, Marley had divorced, and their youngest sister, Bridget, had actually applied to the Guinness Book of World Records, hoping to be recognized for having survived the most bad dates in Manhattan.

Edie was sure that sending good wedding karma into the Universe by planning weddings would turn the tide for the Benning sisters, and so far, things seemed positive. Even if the chemistry wasn’t right, at least she’d gotten some dates with a real hunk, right? And while her relatives weren’t technically employees, they’d begun to offer their skills, which meant Edie now had talented, trustworthy subcontractors at her fingertips.

“At least you got a restraining order for Jimmy Delaney,” Emma was saying, addressing the next order of business.

Since the wedding announcement, Julia had become a magnet for paparazzi, and Jimmy Delaney was the most persistent photographer. Pete looked proud of himself. “Yeah.”

“Only photographers from Celebrity Weddings can cover the event,” reminded Emma. “We have the exclusive.”

“Delaney won’t get near the estate,” Pete assured.

“Lighten up!” Julia interjected with a laugh, breaking a kiss and pulling her gaze from Lorenzo with difficulty. “I thought this was supposed to be a wedding!”

Lorenzo leaned over, tugging the bill of a baseball cap Julia wore with old jeans and a sports-logo sweatshirt. She’d draped a Gore-Tex jacket around the back of her chair. His eyes never leaving hers, Lorenzo said, “Let’s start talking hearts and flowers. If I don’t marry this lady soon, I really will die.” Crossing a finger over his heart, he shot everyone a lovesick expression.

Edie smiled. “You’re in luck, Lorenzo. I brought more tapes for review. And about the ring.” She slid drawings toward the couple. “We’re hoping you’ll approve….”

“You need to decide,” urged Emma. “Our next article appears soon, and while readers have loved sharing the pressures of a rushed celebrity wedding, they want to see results.”

“The wedding’s going to be amazing,” assured Julia.

Not if she didn’t choose the music, thought Edie uneasily. And the ring. On so many other points, Julia had been amiable. The cake she’d approved was a design Edie had initially conjured for her own fantasy wedding. The traditional gown was perfect, and the pink roses twined with lavender glass beads. Edie just wished the wedding wasn’t in April. The wedding and reception were at the estate, and Edie didn’t know what to expect—a blizzard or spring rain.

Julia gasped. “Look, Lozo.” Lozo was her pet name for Lorenzo.

Unbidden, Edie’s heart pulled. These two were so in love that they’d marry happily with no ceremony, much less a ring. Lorenzo had proposed with a pop-can lid, now silver-plated and hanging from a chain around Julia’s neck. It would be on Julia’s finger if Sparky hadn’t insisted that his daughter have a diamond.

Edie still couldn’t understand why Julia had rejected the first designs. While Big Apple Brides really wasn’t officially a family business, Edie’s relatives were helping with the Darden wedding, a trend Edie hoped would continue since she was picking up clients daily, and she really appreciated how Bridget had gone the distance.

Working around her hours as a clerk at Tiffany’s, Bridget, the youngest sister, had put her heart and soul into the ring design, and the initial offering had wowed even Marley, which was saying something. Sure that Julia would be impressed, Bridget had commissioned a model made of cubic zirconia, but Julia had rejected it, after all, and now Bridget was wearing the ring, which was sort of pathetic, Edie decided. Just as determined as Edie to counteract the wedding curse, it was as if Bridget had placed an engagement ring on her own finger….

“This is it,” Julia announced.

The ring wasn’t as beautiful as Bridget’s first design in Edie’s opinion, but it was impressive, as was Lorenzo’s band. “The diamonds will be of the best quality,” Edie assured. “Set at Tiffany’s.”

Julia flashed a grin. “Great!”

“Oh,” cut in Emma. “Before I forget. Since you’re going on Rate the Dates after this meeting, Edie, I want Celebrity Wedding’s photographers to meet you at the studio. Okay?”

Edie wondered what to say. Just days after she’d been hired by the Dardens, Celebrity Weddings had phoned, asking for exclusive rights to cover the wedding. In turn, Edie had broached the subject with the Dardens, feeling sure they’d decline, only to find that Sparky was ecstatic. Despite Julia’s camera-shyness, he wanted her to have the documentation of her special day forever. Well and good. But one thing had led to another, and Celebrity Weddings—which had been a bit pushy—wanted Edie and Cash, a man she’d only casually dated, to appear on a nationally televised reality show called Rate the Dates.

“Just audition, Edie,” Emma had urged at the time. “It’s a promotional thing and you can always cancel. Since it’s a weekly show and airs live, they have alternates waiting in the wings.”

On the show, newly acquainted couples were videotaped during dream dates in Manhattan while a studio audience and two-person judging panel rated their likelihood of sharing a future. So the audience could see how well it had judged, each show included a segment called “Where Are They Today?” By generating interest in Edie’s love life, Celebrity Weddings hoped to boost circulation for the issues covering Julia and Lorenzo, and when the idea was initially broached, Edie decided to do it, since she might get new clients.

But then she’d come to her senses. After all, the Benning sisters were affected by a wedding curse, something proven by their lifelong histories of bad dates, which meant Edie’s appearance on Rate the Dates could backfire. If Julia’s wedding was somehow tainted, Edie would never forgive herself.

Feeling a rush of guilt, Edie told herself she was being ridiculous. Surely curses couldn’t rub off on third parties. Still, from a practical standpoint, it was better not to complicate matters by focusing on her own romantic life while planning this wedding. She didn’t need any distractions, which was another good reason to quit dating Cash Champagne.

Yes…she’d concentrate on only one wedding—Julia’s. When it came off perfectly, that would prove to Granny Ginny and Edie’s sisters that the Benning name was to be associated with marital bliss—not tales of spinsterhood.

“Emma,” Edie said with conviction. “I’ve thought about it, and I’m going to cancel. As you say, Rate the Dates always has alternates.” Deciding not to mention the unpromising, dry-as-dust kisses she’d shared with Cash, Edie added, “Cash and I only dated a month.”

“That’s the point,” argued Emma. “Contestants get to know their dates while America watches!”

Edie hardly wanted America to witness her and Cash’s lack of passion on TV. Besides, as far as her sisters went, any failure would be interpreted as proof that they were cursed and never likely to marry. “No, I really can’t appear.” Refusing to consider the show’s hefty grand prize, a sum that would help with the overhead at Big Apple Brides, Edie continued, “Marley’s going to let Cash know.”

She wished she’d been able to track him down herself, but the man was definitely elusive. And the way the day had progressed, ending in this impromptu meeting, finding him had been impossible. Frowning at her watch, she wondered if Marley had succeeded yet, and then why her twin had been so unusually helpful. Since her divorce, Marley had viewed men suspiciously, but today, she’d seemed almost eager to help Edie find Cash. Well, maybe it was because Edie had decided not to appear with him on Rate the Dates, despite the sizable grand prize….

AS SHE APPROACHED Rockefeller Center and NBC, Marley tried to ignore the fact that the hike uptown had made her thirsty, and she wished she had time to stop for water, but she didn’t. Catching a glimpse in Saks’ window, she barely recognized herself. Was she really wearing press-on nails, sheer pantyhose that couldn’t protect her legs from the biting wind, and black pointy-toed come-love-me heels that were cutting off circulation from her toes to her hips and probably damaging her sciatic nerve?

Her usually curly hair was blown out straight—her arms ached from an hour’s work with the hair dryer—and because she was wearing a fur coat, her twin’s pride and joy, she’d already been accosted by an animal rights activist who’d followed her from West Fourth to Thirty-Fourth Street station, educating Marley about the trials and tribulations of being a mink.

Marley had finally lost her temper and explained that she was only human, which meant she didn’t feel competent to speak for minks. However, she could definitely say it wasn’t easy being her. She’d proceeded to tell the activist about the wedding curse that had ruined her marriage, offering details about her divorce before bringing the man up to the present, explaining that she was impersonating someone else right now, so this wasn’t even her coat. Besides, the coat wasn’t mink, she’d informed him, but beaver, and it had been bought by her sister secondhand, so her sister wasn’t responsible for an animal death, at least not directly.

The coat was hanging over an itchy red-wool suit that reminded Marley of why she favored clothes made of cotton. As it turned out, that was something she and the man had in common, and on that basis, he’d asked for a date, but Marley had declined, quickly reminding him of the wedding curse. As much as she missed sex and romance, the curse was a reality—her divorce proved that—so she really did feel compelled to swear off men forever.

Now she just hoped she could help Edie. She definitely looked like her now; before she’d left the West Village where her parents and Edie lived, she’d passed the deli, the drop-off laundry and a restaurant where the Bennings often ordered takeout, and no one had seen through the disguise.

Still, she was second-guessing her plan to show up at NBC and fool Edie’s latest boyfriend into thinking she was Edie. “But you don’t have a choice,” Marley reminded herself, licking at lips that felt like cotton. She had to stop her sister from making a devastating mistake, such as the one Marley had made when she’d married Chris Lang. Edie was too much of a romantic to see through Cash Champagne’s surface charm….

And Cash definitely had some ulterior motive in dating Edie. Not only did Cash Champagne sound like a stage name worthy of a Broadway show, but he didn’t seem to have reliable employment, either, just like Marley’s ex-husband, Chris. And his looks were too good to be true, at least judging from the few times Marley had seen him. He did, however, seem to be from New Orleans—his accent indicated that was the truth—but the way he’d appeared in the Bennings’ lives was fishy, so Marley just wanted the chance to probe deeper into his background than Edie seemed willing to do….

Marley lowered her head as she crossed Fifth Avenue, holding her stiff hair-sprayed locks in place with both hands and keeping her eyes glued to the pavement, hoping one of Edie’s high heels wouldn’t catch in a subway grate and send her sprawling. No, poor Edie just didn’t get it. She was still such a romantic fool.

While Marley didn’t want to be condescending, she couldn’t help but feel her twin—who was older by two minutes—was really years younger. Despite the wedding curse that Granny Ginny had said ensured their failure in romance, everything remained hearts, flowers and happy endings for Edie. She still fantasized about the perfect wedding day—the sun shining, spring flowers blooming, a tall, dark, handsome man who looked like Cash Champagne waiting at the end of the aisle….

Oh, Marley and Edie might not hang around together as much as they used to, and they’d always had different friends, but Marley would hate to see her twin get hurt. She felt a pang in her chest as she visualized Big Apple Brides’ display windows and thought of the loving care that Edie, not to mention all the Bennings, had put into the business, despite the fact that none of the sisters were destined for success in love.

Only Marley had made the mistake of marrying. Refusing to give credence to old family stories, she’d seen her love for Chris Lang as proof the curse didn’t exist. Only a year ago, while signing divorce papers, had she smelled the coffee. Obviously, Granny hadn’t been spinning wild yarns as the sisters had sometimes hoped, and until this curse was resolved, Marley, Edie and Bridget were destined to be alone. For that reason, Marley was glad her elderly relative was coming in from Florida this week. Now that she took the curse more seriously, maybe Marley and her sisters could ask Granny Ginny how to rectify matters.

As things stood, Cash Champagne was just one more heartbreaker who’d wind up harming Edie. Not that Marley cared about her own love life any longer. What was the use? In fact, she wanted as little to do with weddings as possible, which was why she wished she had any other option besides working as Julia Darden’s fitness trainer.

Fortunately, Marley had almost rebuilt the clientele she’d had when Chris depleted their joint bank account, and she’d had to close her spa center, Fancy Abs. As difficult as it was to listen to Julia’s deluded chatter about gowns and crystal, Marley always refrained from reciting divorce statistics since she desperately needed the job. She was working in clients’ apartments right now, and unless she could open a commercial space soon, people would switch to the new fitness franchises springing up all over Manhattan.

Bitter air hit the back of her throat, making her even thirstier as she wrapped Edie’s coat more tightly around herself and headed past the Sea Grill restaurant. Silently, she damned her throat for feeling so achy. She really didn’t have time to stop for something to drink, and if the truth be told, a martini was starting to sound better than a bottle of Evian. She heaved a sigh. Why did Edie always wear short skirts? And such sheer hose? Her sister was so impractical!

A month ago, when six feet of pure temptation had waltzed into Edie’s life calling himself Cash Champagne, Edie had taken that as a positive sign. At least at first. Admittedly, he was a dream to look at, his body big and hard with muscles, his dark eyes always squinting as if he were staring into sunlight, his lips curling into absent smiles as if to say he’d seen it all and nothing surprised him. Not exactly the kind of man who dated women slated to be old maids.

But what was wrong with being single, anyway? Marley suddenly fumed. Throughout history, countless women traversed the years when, as Florence Nightingale had put it, “forever turned into never.” The Bennings were hardly the first. Many “bachelor girls” wound up happier, able to concentrate on their own life goals. Which was what Marley intended to do….

When she, Edie and Bridget had met Cash last month in an East Village comedy club, Marley had reacted on a purely physical level, of course. In fact, when he’d sent a round of drinks, then headed toward their group, she’d been sure her smile had lured him. Just as she was kicking herself for flirting accidently, the low, sexy rumble of his voice had helped bring her to her senses, reminding her of her divorce, and everything that she’d gone through in the past year.

Luckily, the following morning, she’d scheduled a workout with a TV executive who could refer more clients, so she’d been unable to stay at the club and seduce Cash. She did remain long enough to realize he’d never even heard of the feminist stand-up act—a local talent. He’d seemed out of place, too, a lone man surrounded by a female audience enjoying jokes about hair loss, penis size and men’s bizarre relationships with their electronic equipment.