Wedding Survivor (19 page)

They were greeted at the door by a small Asian man. "Hallo, Mr. Mac," the man said with a quick nod.

"Hello, Steve. Vince said he'd be around. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes, Mr. Mac. He's by the pool."

"Thanks. We'll just go on out if that's okay with you."

"Yes, yes, okay," he said, nodding enthusiastically and opening the door wider.

They walked through a tiled entry and into a living area with twenty-foot cathedral ceilings. At one end of the room was a massive fireplace in front of which were two leather couches, four overstuffed armchairs, and a large coffee table that looked as if it had been carved from a tree. Big, thick rugs covered the tile floors. The back wall of the room was windows and doors—six floor-to-ceiling windows and three sets of French doors in all—overlooking a sparkling pool and pristine lawn.

Eli walked across the room, opened a pair of French doors and looked back at Marnie, who was taking her sweet time moving across Vince Vittorio's living room, trying to absorb as much of it as she could.

"Sprain your ankle, slowpoke?" Eli asked, and stepped outside.

Marnie really wanted to check out the framed pictures that graced the built-in bookcases, but reluctantly followed Eli. As she stepped outside onto the tiled porch, she saw that the pool was the popular lagoon style—made to look as if it were some wild pond. At one end, the pool disappeared over the edge—she wasn't quite sure how that happened, but it literally looked as if it spilled over the edge. On the other end was an airy loggia—a roofed gallery, open on the sides and enclosed with sheer silk drapes that lifted on a breeze. Inside the loggia was a chaise longue—double wide, she noted—as well as a bar and a smattering of padded deck chairs. It was like walking onto an American Classic Movie set.

The only thing missing was the leading man and woman. "They're not here," Marnie said, looking around.

"They're here," Eli said, and when she looked, he nodded to the end of the pool that seemed to disappear. There, in the corner, she saw two bobbing heads, face to face. "I'm gonna venture a wild guess here and say they made up," he said, and winked at Marnie before he called out, "Vince!"

One head turned from the other. "Oh hey, Eli! Great! You're here!" And the two floating heads moved languidly to the side. Vince was the first one to climb out.

He emerged completely and utterly naked.

Marnie sucked in her breath—her first instinct was to look the other way, but then good sense took hold—she was standing near a naked Vincent Vittorio and she wasn't going to
look
? Like hell!

She looked.
Wow
. That was so disappointing.

Vince grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his disappointing self, and Marnie looked away. Only her gaze landed on Eli, who was looking at her with one eyebrow of his arched high above the other. Marnie shrugged, her hands out, palms up, in the international sign of
what
?

But Eli's brow came down into a V, and in a huff, she turned away—just in time to see Vince give Olivia a hand up. She rose out of the water gracefully and strolled with her Brazilian bikini wax to a chaise to get a towel.

Marnie looked at Eli.

Eli was looking at Olivia.

But when Olivia picked up a towel, Eli glanced at Marnie and smiled. She gave him a slight frown, just as he'd given her moments ago. But Eli merely winked as Vince walked into their midst, shaking his head and scrubbing his fingers against his scalp to make his hair stand tall.

Marnie noticed that without his boots, he was even shorter than she'd previously thought, and once again, she was made to feel like an amazon next to another human being.

"Say listen, Eli, I'm glad you could drop by," Vince said, lifting a couple of fingers to Marnie, which she guessed was his way of saying hello. "I think we've got a little problem."

"Oh yeah?" Eli asked nonchalantly, as if he didn't know they had a problem already, and its name was Marnie Banks. "Why don't we sit down and talk about it?" he suggested.

"Yeah, come on," Vince said, and he and Eli started toward the loggia.

"Hi, Marnie!" It was Olivia, who'd arrived at the group powwow now that she had a towel wrapped around her tiny little body. "I love your dress! That's so cute—where'd you get it?"

As she was not about to admit she got it at Ross Dress for Less, Marnie said, "You know, I don't remember. But thanks!" Her smile was only halfhearted, because she was certain Vince had already begun to tell Eli he didn't want her on the job anymore.

"We should go shopping at this cute place I know on Montrose. I think you'd really like it," Olivia said as she wrung water out of her blond tresses.

"I'd love that," Marnie said weakly, knowing that Olivia was just being polite. Olivia would not shop with her after they fired her.

"Come on," Olivia said, Unking her little kiddie arm through Marnie's. "I've got an oatmeal shake in the fridge. You want some?"

"I, ah… I don't think so," Marnie said, but allowed Olivia to tug her into the loggia. She pointed to a chair Marnie could sit in, and walked around to the other side of the bar, bent down, then popped up again with a big pitcher full of oatmeal. Really. It was
oatmeal
.

"Eli, you want an oatmeal shake?"

"I'll pass, thanks."

"Marnie?"

"I'll pass—"

"No you won't. You'll love this stuff!" she insisted, and poured two glasses, and smilingly handed one to Marnie.

"So where are we at, guys?" Eli asked, leaning up against the bar, and for a split moment, Marnie imagined him in a saloon, a six-shooter at his side, his hat pulled down low.

"Look, I'll just get right to it," Vince said, settling in a chair and crossing one leg over his knee so that Marnie had an almost unobstructed view of his less-than-impressive genitalia. "You're not going to like this, but I think we need to make some changes."

Oh boy, here it came.
I want you to fire her ass, Eli! She's meddlesome and she's not that good a wedding planner
!

"Like what?" Eli asked, appearing completely unconcerned.

"We want to get that arch up there," Vince said, and hadn't finished his sentence before Eli was moaning. "Hey, I know it's a big deal, but Livi really wants it, and I'm willing to pay for it. Besides, I figure we're trucking up china and linens and… and what else was it?" he asked, looking at Marnie.

"The lighting equipment?"

"The
lighting
equipment?" Eli echoed.

"Yes, Eli," Olivia said. "Rose and amber lights will make everything so pretty. Everyone does it."

Eli looked, predictably, unconvinced.

"So anyway," Vince said, "I figure we got a couple of truckloads on their way up, and I think we just strap that arch on the back of an eighteen-wheeler and haul her up there, too."

"Vince," Eli said, not looking quite so calm and collected now. "It's a logistical nightmare."

"Yeah, I know," he said apologetically, and glanced at Olivia, who smiled sweetly at him as she sipped her oatmeal shake through a straw.

"That's really going to cost us time and money," Eli added.

"Not a problem. I've got nothing but time or money when it comes to Livi."

"You're so sweet, Vince!" Olivia said, and beamed at Marnie.

Marnie smiled back, wondering what happened to the reasonable guy she met a couple of days ago who said they weren't going a dime over a million five.

Eli sighed. "Okay," he said. "But on a couple of conditions—you plan on setting up a pavilion tent in case of rain, and you hold the invite list down to a manageable number. No more than two hundred."

Vince looked at Olivia. Olivia looked at her oatmeal and shrugged. "Deal," he said.

"I'm glad that's settled," Eli said, and stood up. "You need to chat with Marnie? I can get a cab."

"Oh, that would be great! I wanted to talk about the tables," Olivia said.

"No problem." Eli gave Marnie a very self-satisfied smile. "I'll call a cab, then. Marnie, you want to walk me out?"

That was
it
? The whole big breakup and Marnie-is-so-fired was over like it never happened in the first place? "Right," she said uncertainly.

"Just come on back here when you're ready," Olivia said, who had moved to sit on Vince's lap, seemingly unaware that her towel was slipping.

Marnie thankfully put aside her oatmeal shake and walked out with Eli.

At her car, she asked, "Are you sure you want to take a cab? I could drive you—"

"Ah, no," he said instantly. "No thanks. I think I prefer to take a cab." He pulled his cell out of his pocket. "I gotta couple of things I need to do this afternoon, but maybe we can catch up later."

"Sure," Marnie replied, her thoughts still on Olivia and Vince. "I don't believe it," she said, shaking her head. "Do you believe it? It's over, just like that. The whole ugly scene is over. It's like it never happened."

"It didn't," Eli said with a grin.

But Marnie shook her head again, ignoring Eli's amused smile. He might be used to the roller coaster they were on, but it still baffled her. As he called for a cab, she dipped into her backseat and pulled out her wedding organizer. When she stood up again, Eli had put the phone away and was standing there with his weight on one hip, his arms folded across his chest, looking very sexy in a very Texas way. "So… you think you can finish up here? Or will Vince's package hold you spellbound all afternoon?"

Despite her instant blush, she laughed carelessly. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous."

"I wouldn't know—I didn't look. Should I be?"

"Well, that's very hard to say," she said, her smile going deeper. "I don't have many other, ah,
packages
, as a point of comparison."

He gave her a very lopsided, sexy smile. "That's a shame."

It was a shame, all right. And here he was, this splendid specimen of man, giving her warm fuzzies again. If there weren't such a tropical heat climbing through her at the moment, she'd remember that he was a little on the schizo side. But damn, the heat he generated in her was a surprisingly nice feeling—so nice, in fact, that Marnie impulsively forgot everything he'd said about poking earlier and shifted her weight to one hip. "We had a bet, you know."

"I know."

"So?" she asked with a smile as she absently jiggled her keys. "Are you ready to name your prize?"

The grin in his eyes made her melt; he glanced down the drive. "Nan… not just yet," he said, and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I think I'll save it for later. When we catch up."

"Great Gives me something to look forward to."

Eli smiled and stepped toward her, so that they were standing almost toe-to-toe, and let his gaze casually slide down the length of her and up. 'Try not to kill yourself driving, all right?"

"I'm the safest driver on the road."

"That's highly debatable. Try not to hurt yourself ogling Vince, either."

She laughed lightly. "Can't make any promises—the dude sort of lets it all hang out."

Eli grinned, let his gaze dip to the halter of her dress, and another shot of fire went right to her groin. As if drawn by a magnet, Marnie stepped closer to him. Her breasts were just a hair's breadth from his Tommy Hilfiger shirt.

He lifted his gaze from her dress, looked at her with mild curiosity, and touched the tip of her nose. "What do you think you are doing, coppertop?"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure."

"I think you're trying to lead me down the path to debauchery."

"Maybe I am," she said, lifting her face to his. "Do you have a problem with debauchery? Afraid it will get under your skin?" Before Eli could answer, however, some fool cabdriver chose that precise moment to honk his damn horn and ruin The Moment.

Marnie closed her eyes and sighed, but Eli laughed low. "That's a sign," he said, and shifted away from her. "So… you think you can keep a lid on it today? Or are you aiming for more air time?"

"Dude, I have got it under control," she said breezily, and hoped he knew she meant the wedding, because at the moment, her body was out of control, on a little vacation from her good sense, radiating toward Eli and inviting him in for a drink.

Another blast of the stupid cab ruined it for good. "Call me when you're through here, okay?" Eli said, and with a sly wink he sauntered down the drive toward the cab, his butt a moving work of art.

Marnie watched him walk, and had an image of him wearing chaps and walking with a lasso over his arm… and as he followed the curve of the drive and disappeared behind some shrubbery, she told herself to stop drooling. Besides, she had a naked Vincent Vittorio to look at inside.

SHE made surprising progress that afternoon, nailing down a lot of details, including the food (lobster), the music, and the decorations. Olivia liked the idea of the bowls of floating stars, but was insistent on crystal bowls. Baccarat crystal bowls, to be precise. And then she thought it would be lovely if each guest could take home a little Baccarat crystal bowl as a memento. "Do you think you can round up a couple of hundred?" she asked Marnie in all innocence.

"I'll see what I can do," Marnie responded, trying not to think of the expense.

They talked about table arrangements and a stage for die music and dancing, and about the professional guests, the photography, and of course, the bar. They talked about a gown, too. Olivia had already talked to a new designer who was going to make a- gown just for her. Marnie was slightly disappointed because she had wanted to shop for a gown with Olivia. Olivia promised to make it up to her with a shoe-shopping date in the next couple of days. "Saks," she said. "They'll give me an exclusive look."

Marnie had no idea what that meant, but it sounded fabulous.

By the time Marnie left Vince's house, she was satisfied that she finally had a handle on the event, and felt confident that even with the cost of getting the arch to Colorado, she could manage this affair for a million five.

Somewhere on Sunset Boulevard, she dialed Eli's number and told him she'd made significant progress.