by Laura Durham
“I wonder when they hatched this plan.” I took a sip of champagne even though it was no longer cold.
“Almost six months ago.” Reese took long steps toward us, brushing an errant curl off his forehead. Daniel followed behind and both men looked wiped out. “According to the bride, the grandmother told Cara and started planting the idea of getting revenge on Mr. Hamilton for the past two years. Cara finally told Veronica they were sisters when she visited her in rehab, but it wasn’t until halfway through the wedding planning she suggested they get back at their father.”
“So that dried up old granny was behind it all?” Fern made a face. “I never liked her. Mark my words, you can never trust someone with a perm that tight.”
Mack nodded his agreement. “I wonder what Mrs. Hamilton and Aunt Connie think since she’s the reason their daughters will be going to prison.”
“I did hear the bride’s mother scream something about taking her house away,” Daniel said. “And the old lady may be facing criminal conspiracy charges of her own.”
“Good,” Buster said, his voice a rumble. “She should reap what she sowed.”
“Speaking of karma,” Reese added. “Tina Pink was also slapped with enough criminal charges to send her away for quite a while.”
“Whose idea was it to ruin the wedding day?” I asked. “That’s who I want to kill.”
“Get in line,” Kate said.
I immediately felt a pang of guilt. Even though all of us had been stressed out and worried, Kate had been the one to spend her day tied to a bridezilla, not knowing what was going on or what would happen to her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I leaned over to her and asked in a quiet voice.
“I’m fine.” She gave me a sly smile. “All in a day’s work, right? I wouldn’t be averse to discussing hazard pay though.”
Reese rested his hands on my shoulders. “Does today mean I’m officially on your payroll now?”
Richard handed a piece of cake over his head to Reese. “I do believe you were working for me when this day began, although if you wish to continue as a sommelier, we have a considerable amount of work to do.”
Kate raised an eyebrow and mouthed “sommelier?” to me.
“I think I’ll stick to detective work.” Reese eyed the pink cake. “But if I ever need a wheelman, I know who to call.”
“Yes, well.” Richard didn’t look at Reese, but I could tell he was pleased with the compliment.
Daniel took the seat next to Kate. “It looks like your quick thinking might have saved the groom. He lost blood, but not as much as he would have if you hadn’t kept pressure on the wound.”
Kate looked down at her hands, even though we’d washed all the blood off them. “I hope he’s okay. No one should be dumped on their wedding day and then shot. Talk about adding insult to inquiry.”
“Something like that,” Richard muttered, although I knew he’d actually missed Kate’s mangled expressions.
Kate put a hand on Daniel’s leg. “Thank you for coming in with guns blazing to save the day. You were quite the hero.”
“Anytime,” Daniel said.
She angled her body closer to his, and her dress crept up higher on her bare thigh. “Maybe I could thank you properly over dinner.”
Daniel’s face flushed. “It would be my pleasure.”
Leatrice clapped her hands and her outfit jingled. “We could double date.” She looked over at me and at Reese standing behind me. “Or triple date even.”
“Better you than me,” Richard said from behind one hand.
I looked around the table at the weary yet happy faces surrounding me: Mack and Buster on their second pieces of cake, Alexandra happily cutting up her creation for us to enjoy, Leatrice and Sidney Allen making eyes at each other, Fern popping the cork on another champagne bottle, Richard feeding Hermes little bits of icing when he thought I wasn’t looking, Kate flirting with Daniel Reese, and Daniel getting flustered by the attention. I put a hand over Reese’s hand on my shoulder and looked up at him.
He leaned down close to my ear. “I’d rather go on a double date with Richard and Hermes.”
“That can be arranged,” Richard said without looking at either of us.
I laughed, noticing the upturned edges of Richard’s mouth. I had plenty of time to figure out how to wiggle my way out of a date with Leatrice and Sidney Allen. At the moment, I wanted to savor time with my friends doing what we loved to do—drinking champagne, teasing each other, and congratulating ourselves on surviving yet another wedding.
deadringer.lauradurham.com
Also by Laura Durham
Read the entire Annabelle Archer Series in order:
Better Off Wed
For Better Or Hearse
Dead Ringer
Review To A Kill
Death On The Aisle
Night of the Living Wed
Eat, Prey, Love
Groomed For Murder
Wed or Alive
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Thanks for reading and reviewing!
This book is dedicated to all the photographers, florists, caterers, hair stylists, makeup artists, band members, DJs, lighting guys, and videographers I spent almost every weekend with for the better part of two decades. There are too many to name, but you know who you are. Thank you for the friendships forged in the trenches (and for making a tough job fun)!
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to all of my wonderful readers, especially my beta readers and my review team. You are all eagle-eyed wizards! A special shout-out to the beta readers who catch all my goofs and let me know if something doesn’t make sense before the book goes to print: Linda Reachill, Sheila Kraemer, Jan Scholefield, Linda Fore, Annemarie Esposito, Wendy Green, Vivian Shane, Charlene Eshleman, Sandra Anderson, Katherine Munro, Sharon Thach, Tony Noice, Barb Foerst, Karen Diamond, Lisa Hudson, Nicole Drake, Tricia Knox, Patricia Joyner, Carol Spayde, Regina Davis-Sowers, Claire Matturo, and Bill Saunders. You are incredible!
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who leaves reviews. They really make a difference, and I am grateful for every one of them!
Thank you to my ever-supportive and extremely patient husband and children. Living with a writer isn’t always easy. I love you!
About the Author
Laura Durham has been writing for as long as she can remember and has been plotting murders since she began planning weddings over twenty years ago in Washington, DC. Her first novel, BETTER OFF WED, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel.
When she isn’t writing or wrangling brides, Laura loves traveling with her family, standup paddling, perfecting the perfect brownie recipe, and reading obsessively.
She loves hearing from readers and she would love to hear from you! Send an email or connect on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (click the icons below).
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Copyright © 2018 by Laura Durham
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the produc
ts of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.