Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [7]
“It was ... uh ... it was a lovely ... uh ... ceremony ... for the most part,” the minister said, trying to be cheerful.
“Yeah, it was just peachy.” Megan said. The best-laid plans of mice and men and librarians sometimes went to hell very fast. Little did Megan know that things were about to get much, much worse.
Chapter Two
“Don’t say anything!” Megan was told as she was grabbed from behind the minute she entered the hotel’s elegant ladies’ room down the hall from the wedding chapel.
Megan turned to face her attacker. “Gram?”
“I don’t want Faith upset,” Gram continued.
“Neither do I.”
“Then don’t mention the situation with Buddy.”
“What if she asks?”
“Lie. Say everything is fine. That it was all a big misunderstanding. She didn’t see me crying, thank goodness.” Gram released Megan to move closer to the large mirrors along one wall, and dabbed on more mascara.
“She’s going to wonder why Buddy isn’t here.”
“I told her Buddy and Logan have gone to try the slots.”
“Didn’t she think it was strange that Buddy ditched the reception?”
“Strange or not, that’s my story and we are both sticking to it. Understood?”
Megan nodded obediently. “Did you tell Dad and Uncle Jeff?”
“I already told Jeff to behave himself or else. I told your dad too.”
Megan couldn’t imagine her father not behaving. All her life, he’d been good. Absentminded, sometimes, often in his own world. But always good. Playing it safe. Just like her. If in doubt, don’t do it. That was their motto. She’d been raised with the belief that taking chances was not a good thing.
“Come along.” Gram hooked her arm through Megan’s. “Showtime.”
They entered the reception together. Barely a minute later, they were joined by Faith. “I know you said that Buddy and Logan were playing the slots, but they can do that later. Buddy is the best man. He needs to be here. He can gamble with his grandson later.”
“Buddy is only a stand-in best man,” Gram said.
“Is he upset about that?” Faith asked. “Is that why he’s not here?”
“No, of course not,” Gram said.
“Then what’s going on?” Faith eyed them suspiciously. “I know something is going on, so don’t bother denying it.”
“It’s your wedding reception,” Gram began when Faith interrupted her.
“Yes, it is, and I want the best man here. Never mind, I’ll go get him myself.”
“Don’t be silly,” Gram said with a touch of desperation.
“I’ll go,” Megan volunteered.
“Thanks.” Faith gave her a quick hug. “Come on, Gram. Wait until you see the chocolate fountain they’ve got set up.” Over her shoulder she added, “Megan, if you have trouble finding them, I’ll go myself.”
“Right.” There went Megan’s plan A—to say she’d looked but couldn’t locate them. Still, maybe Buddy and Logan had taken off for parts unknown.
She didn’t get to hold on to that hope for very long because she spotted the pair near the end of the very first casino aisle she walked down. There had to be a thousand or more slot machines here—all with bells, whistles and flashing lights.
Logan spotted her first. When he’d barged into Faith’s wedding, Megan hadn’t really paid a lot of attention to the details about him—like the fact that his light blue shirt encased his broad shoulders and his black pants hugged his lean waist. Had she noticed way his dark hair fell over his forehead or the intensity of his blue eyes? She wasn’t sure, but she definitely knew that he did not look pleased to see her.
On the other hand, Buddy’s face lit up when he registered her appearance. He immediately slid off the stool and stood. “Did Ingrid send you? Has she forgiven me?”
“Uh, no. Faith sent me. She wants you to attend the reception. She doesn’t know what happened between you and Gram and we want to keep it that way. But Faith is getting suspicious that something is up because you’re down here gambling with Logan.”
“Tell her to mind her own business,” Logan said.
“No way. Why don’t you both just come with me ...”
“Because we don’t want to,” Logan said.
“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to because it’s the right