The Marrying Type

by Laura Chapman

  “Oh my God.”

  The girl was a natural. Forget Heloise’s earlier encounter, Elliot wondered what Eric would do if he saw his innocent little sister behave like this.

  “We’re allowed to touch them?” Elliot asked. “It’s not against the law?”

  “I’m not a legal expert,” Jessie never tore her eyes away from the stage, “but I imagine they’ll only take us to the limits of what is and isn’t allowed—not push past them.”

  It was sound logic.

  The brave soldier grabbed Sadie’s hands again to guide them over his well-defined arm muscles and back. After giving her the full tour, he led her back down the stage steps to make room for his next lady. Before they parted ways, he placed a kiss on her cheek.

  “He was fantastic,” Sadie murmured breathlessly. “His body . . . Adam’s is . . . fine, but maybe we should get some weights at home.”

  “I wasn’t sure whether I should blush or light a cigarette after watching that show,” Jessie said. “And I’m not a smoker.”

  “How did you know what to do?” Elliot asked in a whisper.

  “I didn’t.” She took a few shallow breaths to bring her heart rate back to normal. “He gave me directions, and when I didn’t follow them fast enough, he helped me.”

  Interesting. Elliot hadn’t realized they’d give a tutorial to first-timers. The men were clearly true professionals.

  The women said farewell to their soldier, and the much-coveted construction worker took the stage next. While finishing her second and final drink, the stage curtain opened once more. Elliot choked on the last sip. If she ever bought a lap dance, it would be at this moment.

  The room went black, a spotlight landing on the police officer center stage. His voice boomed over the loud speaker. “Ladies, we’ve had a noise disturbance. I’m going to have to take you in. You have the right . . . to remain sexy.”

  Elliot was too caught up in the monologue to notice Heloise raise a fist of dollars over her head. She didn’t realize what had happened until one of the dancers stood in front of her.

  “Come on, you,” he said, pulling Elliot out of her seat. “You’ve been a bad girl, but I have someone who can deal with you down at the station.”

  “Oh, I can’t . . .”

  The other girls’ screams drowned out Elliot’s protests. As she was dragged to the stage, she gave a parting glance to the table where Sadie mouthed, “Go for it.” It was Elliot’s job to please the bride, and she wouldn’t let her down tonight. She’d endure this next task without grimacing too much.

  Still wearing his aviators, hat, and pants, the cop turned on his heels to scope out his next victim. Removing the sunglasses, he walked purposefully toward Elliot.

  “Young lady,” he said, his voice husky, “It’s time to take you downtown.”

  “Officer,” she said in a pitiful voice. “I swear I didn’t do anything wrong.” Where had that come from?

  “Oh yeah?” he asked. He raised an eyebrow. “How about now?”

  Before her brain even processed his words, he grasped her knees and pushed them apart. Her jaw dropped. She barely had time to thank God she’d worn jeans, when the stripper grabbed both of her hands and threw them above her head against the mirrored wall. He rigidly pulled them to either side of her body.

  She was completely defenseless, and she kind of loved it. Going with her instincts, Elliot resisted arrest and tried without much effort to pull loose from his grasp.

  “That a girl.” The cop encouraged her in a whisper. “Now, I’m going to let you go, but only if you do what I say.”

  She nodded dutifully.

  “Tear off my pants.”

  Orders were orders. He released her hands, and she ripped off the tear away pants, tossing them aside. The cheers continued, and Elliot grew braver. The cop grabbed her hands and placed them on his naked thighs. She took a shaky breath. They were as nice as the soldier’s.

  IT WAS WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT when the women called an end to their strip club adventure. The rest of the group planned to take the limo to a night club to dance until the bars closed. While she genuinely would have liked to join them, Elliot needed to go home. She’d put in a long day and needed her rest to make sure everything went smoothly at the shower the next morning.

  Sadie pulled her into a tight hug when she said farewell. “I’m glad you came. Did you have a good time?”

  “Definitely.” Elliot squeezed her back. “I had more fun than I probably should have on a school night.”

  “But there’s no school tomorrow.” Sadie shook her head, seemingly struggling to make sense of the logic. “It’s Saturday night. And it’s summer. You shouldn’t be going to school.”

  Elliot smiled. “Of course there’s no school, but we have another party to throw in the morning.”

  “No fun!” Heloise shouted from the limousine’s sunroof. If she leaned forward an inch more, she was in danger of a wardrobe malfunction.

  “Thank you for inviting me. Keep the party going, but be safe,” Elliot said. “Call me if you need anything—absolutely anything. I don’t care how late it is.”

  On her cab ride home, Elliot remembered the evening and grinned. She’d actually had fun. And she’d surprised everyone, including herself. She couldn’t believe she’d had not one, but three lap dances. After the first one on stage, she’d received another at the table from the cowboy. The soldier had also stopped by, and she’d finally had the opportunity to scope out his muscles firsthand.

  She’d never been so happy to have a night off from the camera crew.

  While Elliot had no plans to go back to a strip club any time soon, tonight’s visit was worth the experience.

  Elliot was sleeping when the phone rang at 2:30. Blindly fumbling around her nightstand, she frowned at Sadie’s name on the screen. She’d only call this late if something had gone wrong. Her heart slammed against her chest.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We’re in trouble.” Her voice was strained, and she seemed to struggle with her next words. “Heloise was arrested, and we’re at the jail.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years.”

  ~ Simone Signoret

  IT TOOK ELLIOT LESS than twenty minutes to meet the bridal party at the police station. In her rush she’d thrown on a pair of jeans, but left the house without even putting on a bra or brushing her hair. Libby would freak out if she ever found out a Lynch left the house without proper undergarments. It didn’t matter to Elliot. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone. She needed to fix this problem.

  After finding the women more drunk than helpful, Elliot had the driver take everyone home so she could take care of the situation without their interference. Sadie refused to leave.

  “Tell me everything,” Elliot said.

  “This police officer who brought Heloise in was nothing like the one who danced for you at the club. He wasn’t sexy or anything.”

  Elliot chewed on the inside of her cheek to avoid laughing. This wasn’t an appropriate time to show humor at the bride’s drunk rambling.

  “Now, they’re talking about pressing charges, and I don’t know what to do,” Sadie said. A fresh tear slipped down her cheek. “Why did she have to fight someone during my bachelorette party? She promised to give me this one night.”

  This final statement sent Sadie into full sobs. Elliot offered the bride a tissue and gently patted her back. “Heloise didn’t mean to cause trouble. You’ve been around her when she’s drunk. She loses control.”

  “I’m sorry we had to bother you.” Sadie blew her nose in the tissue. “I was too scared to call our brothers. They’ll be furious when they find out. Adam is out of town, and I’m not calling her parents.”

  Heloise’s parents wouldn’t be much help even if they got through—they were on a Mediterranean cruise. Elliot needed to figure out the best possible
plan. Given her lack of sleep and the early hour, she had to slug through a thick haze to process anything. She needed to stall.

  “Call Adam,” Elliot said. She pulled up his number on Sadie’s phone. “He might be in Las Vegas for his bachelor weekend, but you promised you’d get in touch at the end of the night. He’s probably worried.” Or drunk, Elliot thought but didn’t say out loud. “Call him, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Leaving Sadie to make her call, Elliot went to the front desk to ask the clerk questions the bride wasn’t answering clearly.

  “Your friend got into a shoving match with another girl at the bar,” the clerk explained. “By the time we got there, she’d given the other girl a bloody lip and pulled out chunks of hair.” The clerk pursed her lips. “Come to think of it, she might be missing some, too. They’re both blondes, so it’s hard to tell where all of the hair came from.”

  “Is the other girl okay?”

  “She’ll be fine, but we have her in holding, too. Separate cells of course.”

  That was a relief. Elliot’s head spun as she tried to figure out what came next. “What’s her bail?”

  The clerk gave a figure and Elliot winced. She’d need to get more money to cover it.

  “Can she leave once we post it?”

  “Not until seven. We don’t process any releases before then.”

  Elliot glanced over her shoulder at Sadie, who was tearfully reciting the story to Adam. She thanked the clerk and stepped away from the counter to place a few calls of her own.

  First, she called Marissa, who put Chase on the phone. Unfortunately, they’d taken advantage of the rare weekend off by going to Atlanta. They’d leave as soon as possible, but that still left them more than five hours away.

  She considered calling Smyth next, but while he’d be able to offer solid moral support, he wouldn’t be able to help with the bail money. His finances were in even worse shape than hers.

  Her father and Libby wouldn’t be much help if she asked either of them for money, and she didn’t want to have to ask Rosalyn for a favor this big.

  At the end of her list, she tried the only other person who came to mind. Eric’s groggy voice answered on the third ring.

  “What’s going on?” His voice sharpened suddenly. “Is everything okay? Who’s hurt?”

  “Stay calm.” She realized it was too late for that, but she tried to keep her tone relaxed. “Everyone is fine, but we need your help.”

  She filled him in on what had happened, and he promised to be there before seven with the bail money.

  “Thanks for your help,” he added. “I’m pretty sure bailing the client’s sorority sister out of jail wasn’t in your contract.”

  “No.” Her lip curved up. “It wasn’t, but we do what we can to help, right?”

  “Some more than others. I’ll see you soon. Elliot, thank you.”

  Elliot sat with Sadie while they waited for Eric to arrive. It reminded her of the evening they’d spent in a hospital waiting room a couple of months earlier. This time Elliot had her arm around Sadie.

  Maybe Sadie only called because she was the wedding planner, but Elliot came because she cared. She cared more than she should with the fast-approaching expiration date on their friendship. No matter how far they’d come together, Sadie would always be Eric’s sister.

  Lulled to sleep with the promise of waking to a freed bridesmaid, Sadie snored on Elliot’s shoulder. Despite her own exhaustion, Elliot refused to close her eyes. They might be sitting in a police station lobby, but she didn’t trust the other patrons to leave the bride’s designer bag and shoes alone.

  The seconds ticked by on the rusty clock hanging on the wall. Elliot’s mind drifted to her to-do list. With every tick, another item popped on.

  Tick. Make sure the caterers ordered organic quinoa for the vegan wedding reception.

  Tock. Send copies of sheet music to the string quartet booked for the Hyatt-Bloomberg ceremony.

  Tick. Remove the flowers from the cooler.

  Tock. Review the shower’s schedule.

  The fluorescent light flickered overhead. Elliot’s eye twitched. She wished she was in bed or tackling that to-do list. Neither was possible at the moment. She awkwardly tried to roll her neck without dislodging the sleeping bride.

  Still, if she could reach her purse, she might be able to check her emails. With one eye on the bride, Elliot inched forward. Her finger grazed the phone, but she froze. If she moved even half an inch more, Sadie would fall face first on the floor.

  Giving up on the phone, Elliot leaned back. Sadie flinched, but never opened her eyes. A drop of saliva formed in the corner of her mouth. With a mix of horror and amusement, Elliot waited for it to fall.

  Visions of her phone, emails, and her pile of work disappeared. Instead, Elliot watched the tequila-infused drop grow bigger and heavier. Where would it land? Sadie abruptly shifted, and the drop splashed on Elliot’s shirt, settling the question.

  The front door of the station swung open, and Eric stepped inside. She met his gaze. Not cool or polite at the moment, but piercing. With long strides, Eric covered the space between them. Noting his slumped over sister, Eric rolled his eyes. He took the empty seat on Elliot’s other side and handed her one of the three cups of coffee he carried.

  “I figured you might need this.”

  Did she ever. She murmured thanks and inhaled the scent of well-brewed coffee. Her toes curled in pleasure. She had to give the man props. Not only did he bring her a caffeine boost, but he’d found good coffee. She took a sip, pleasantly delighted to discover it was lightly sweetened.

  “Two sugars, right?” Eric asked, waiting for her slow nod. “Good. I’d hate to make you drink crap after your night.”

  “It hasn’t been that bad.” Taking a deeper drink she waited for the caffeine to flow through her veins. “I’ve had worse nights.”

  Eric raised an eyebrow. “Waking up in the middle of the night to bail out an idiot bridesmaid isn’t your idea of a bad night?”

  “I didn’t say this wasn’t a bad night. I only said I’ve had worse.”

  “I had no idea the wedding business was so brutal.”

  “Who would?” She sighed. “To the layman it’s flowers, cakes, and ribbon. For me, it’s my job, and like any job, it can be a complete nightmare.”

  “I’ve always thought weddings were nightmares,” he said.

  “Congratulations.”

  “For what?”

  “For being a stereotypical wedding-hating man.” She inhaled deeply, hoping the smell of the coffee would speed up the impact of the caffeine. “In my vast event planning experience, most men only care about the free food and booze.”

  Eric’s eyes crinkled when he laughed. It was so good to hear him laugh she forgot to question his good humor, given the circumstances. The man seemed awfully carefree after being dragged into a police station to bail out his girlfriend.

  “It must have been a crazy night,” he said.

  “Mmm.”

  “Were you with them for long?”

  “Until midnight.” She didn’t offer any details. Eric didn’t need to hear how many lap dances the women had purchased the night before.

  “Then they dragged you back here a few hours later to spring Heloise from the slammer.”

  “It happens.” She shrugged. “Maybe I should bill you for the extra time later.”

  “You’d have earned every penny.”

  “I was kidding. I’m not going to charge—”

  “Sure you will.” Eric leaned his arm across the back of her chair. “And if you don’t, I’ll add it myself.”

  “I suppose the customer is always right.”

  “I’m glad we’re agreed on that point.” He craned his neck to take another glance at his sister. “Maybe while the bride sleeps off her bachelorette party, I can make some executive decisions about her wedding.”

  “For a man who doesn’t like weddings, you’re awfully involved
in planning this one.”

  He shrugged off the remark. “She’s family, and you do what you can for family. And right now, I want my family to have karaoke at the reception.”

  Elliot imagined him on stage belting out “I Will Survive” or “Time of my Life” with Sadie’s bridesmaids. She downed the last of her coffee to hide a smile. “Won’t Sadie notice something is up when she watches the sound guys unload microphones and projectors?”

  “Probably.” Eric took her empty coffee cup and exchanged it with the untouched cup. “But if I give you her coffee, maybe this can be our little secret.”

  “It’s a pretty big secret.”

  “We’ll tell her she requested karaoke before she blacked out.”

  “She didn’t black out,” Elliot defended. “It’s after six. She’s tired.”

  Eric shrugged. “It’d teach her a lesson.”

  “I’m sure this incident is lesson enough.”

  “Let’s hope.”

  They fell silent, but without the awkwardness that accompanied their reunion months earlier. They drank their morning coffees hours too early.

  A SCRATCHY VOICE JOLTED Elliot awake. “Is Elliot Lynch here?” the uniformed woman at the desk asked. It took her a few seconds to regroup. How long had she been asleep? That concern evaporated when she realized her head was resting on a firm surface. Her eyes widened as she took in the source of the surface. In her sleep, she’d somehow managed to snuggle up to Eric.

  Eric, she noted, had also fallen asleep sometime in the last half hour. His arm curved around her shoulder, and his head slumped forward. She wondered which had happened first: him holding her in a protective embrace or her leaning on him for support.

  The clerk called her name again, and Elliot snapped to attention. She did a quick purse check, but stopped when the clerk cleared her throat. Slipping out of Eric’s embrace and laying Sadie down across the seats, Elliot stepped up to the counter.