Marry Me by Kristin Wallace Read Free Book Online Page A

back. Good, you’re getting settled.”
    â€œBetsy,” Julia said, trying hard not to panic. “What does this note here mean?”
    She trotted over and glanced down. “Oh, Maureen Ashley’s wedding.”
    â€œDid you happen to notice the date?”
    Betsy looked closer. “Oh, dear.”
    I’m going to throw up. “Oh dear, is right. Get Sarah on the phone.”
    It only took a minute to get through to Sarah’s room. Julia grabbed the phone. “Sarah? How are you feeling?”
    â€œReady to get out of here,” Sarah said, with a put-upon sigh.
    â€œYou’re sure you’re doing all right? No more scares? Baby’s fine?”
    â€œNothing in the last forty-eight hours.”
    â€œGood. Can I ask you a question?”
    Sarah must have sensed something was wrong because she hesitated. “Sure.”
    â€œDoes the name Maureen Ashley mean anything to you?”
    There was a brief silence. “Oh, my goodness.”
    â€œOh my goodness is right,” Julia said. “Now, tell me what I’m supposed to do when there’s a wedding scheduled for this Saturday?”

Chapter Three

    Julia couldn’t remember the last time she’d prayed, but she figured now was as good as any to start. After taking a deep breath, Sarah had somehow convinced Julia she could handle Maureen Ashley’s wedding. Everything was already in place, and all Julia needed to do was direct traffic.
    So here she was, sitting in the parking lot of the Covington Falls Country Club at 11:00 a.m., wondering how on earth she ever let herself get talked into such madness.
    In her lap was a bulging folder outlining every detail of Maureen Ashley’s wedding. Sarah had insisted the affair was simple, but looking at the file Julia felt as though she was about to march an army across Europe. The battle plans included a schedule of activities which seemed to account for every second of the day. 11:10… meet with country club manager, 11:15… begin setting up tables, 11:17… inventory glasses, 11:25… call Bride to ensure she’s at hairdresser.
    This was insane. What happened if she was a minute off with one of these things? Julia was terrified she was going to miss a crucial step and spin the whole wedding into chaos. She stared at a hand-drawn diagram that explained where everything should go. It looked like a ninth grade geometry book. Squares for tables, circles for chairs, triangles for—
    Actually, she had no idea what the triangles were supposed to be.
    Worst of all Betsy was at the church setting everything else up, so Julia was completely on her own.
    Well, one thing was for sure, she couldn’t spend any more time in the car doing deep-breathing exercises.
    All right, Julia. You can do this. Stick with the schedule, and you’ll be fine. You’re good at schedules.
    Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car. First order of business was to find the country club manager. As it turned out, she didn’t have to find him because he was waiting right inside the door. Dressed in unrelieved black, he looked exactly like the poor sap who’d been chased by the evil Headless Horseman.
    Julia smiled. “Hello. You must be the manager. I’m Jul—”
    â€œYou’re late.”
    She reared back. “Excuse me?”
    Ichabod looked down over his long, hawkish nose. “I realize you undoubtedly feel it’s acceptable to make people wait where you come from, but here in Covington Falls we have the courtesy to keep our appointments in a timely manner.”
    Oh, now this was too much! She was getting etiquette lessons from a guy who looked as though he belonged in a funeral parlor?
    â€œListen, Ichy, I’ve been literally thrown into this in the last week, so you can take your scowls and lectures and shove ‘em up your—”
    â€œHello there!”
    They both turned as a tall, slender young woman