Read Online Orange Blossom Brides by Tara Randel - Free Book Online Page B

imagine trying to accessorize? The sweet doctor taped my wrist and said I need to stay put for now so I don’t aggravate it. Although I can’t complain—even though your father abandoned me to go back to work. Between you and me, I think your father is trying to kill me.”
    “I doubt it.”
    “It seems that way.”
    Yeah, it always did with them.
    “Mom, you should be here. The fund-raiser is your baby.”
    “The prep work for the fund-raiser is already done. I have lists and committees all set up. All you need to do is step in and take over. Oh, have you read the information about the Wingate collection yet? I can’t believe my old friend Clare came through for me. Especially since I asked her on a whim. It’s the pièce de résistance of the benefit.”
    And an additional responsibility to take Lilli away from her job.
    “Her late husband presented her with this antique jewelry collection the night before they were married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. It is rumored to have been smuggled out of Russia by one of the last royal family members of Czar somebody-or-other. I’ve seen the necklace myself, just once, and it is stunning! We’re not only going to display the necklace, but also the matching earrings, bracelet and ring, as well. After the benefit, Clare is letting us show the collection at the historical society office.”
    Celeste stopped to catch her breath. While her mother saw another successful event, Lilli saw a logistical nightmare go from bad to worse.
    “Now, Lilli, as I was saying—” On her mother’s end, a knocking sounded in the distance. “Hold on, dear. Someone is at the door.”
    Lilli held on while her mother put the phone down. From now on she vowed to let her mother’s calls go to voice mail.
    An untimely growl sounded from her stomach. Lunch had been a quick stop at a to-go burger joint and Lilli hadn’t made much of a dent in the burger before they’d returned to work, hurrying inside so Jim didn’t make a scene. She scanned the office. With Jim safely ensconced in his office, she slid open her top drawer, snuck a fry from the box tucked away inside and nibbled.
    Her mother finally came back on the line. “I called for fresh towels. Did I tell you they have the most extravagant amenities here? Why, yesterday—”
    “Mom, where are you? You said Aunt Marian needed you.”
    “She did. We rendezvoused at the spa.”
    “That’s your emergency?”
    “We didn’t come here until after her troubles. Now she has some personal issues we needed to discuss.”
    “At a spa,” she reiterated in a flat tone.
    “What better place?”
    Lilli tried to ignore the throbbing in her head. “I need to get back to work.”
    “Oh, of course. Well, then, one last thing, dear. Did Max agree to be a volunteer groom?”
    The question sent a chill through Lilli. “Not yet.”
    “What do you mean ‘not yet’?” her mother asked in her steely tone.
    “He wasn’t exactly receptive to the idea.”
    “And you explained why he should volunteer?”
    “Yes, but he still refused.”
    “Hmm. That’s hard to believe. Police Chief Gardener assured me he’s a lovely man to work with. And he was perfectly pleasant when he came to set up the security system.”
    Max Sanders? A lovely man? “I wouldn’t go that far.” Handsome, yes. Focused, most definitely. But lovely? No possible way. And she couldn’t imagine a man’s man like the chief using the word lovely to describe Max. Or anyone else, for that matter.
    “Keep working on him. I don’t have any other single men to choose from.”
    “I can give you a list.”
    “No, Lillian. Get Max to commit. I hired him for security and he has to be there now that we have the jewelry collection. Don’t let him get away.”
    Suddenly Lilli heard a muffled voice on the other end of the phone, sounding suspiciously like a PA system announcing some sort of activity. “Mom, are you still there?”
    “Lillian, I must run now.”
    “Run