Page 66 of 4 Weddings and a Feud
“He’s the ring bearer. Oh no, did something happen to his suit?” She’d had her doubts about his tiny all-white suit, but Rochelle thought it was adorable. Mary envisioned a greasy stain like the one on the garage floor from the time the transmission pan on Michael’s Mustang had rusted through. Maybe it was still salvageable.
“No. But he got into my sewing kit while I was fixing Rochelle’s gown.”
That didn’t sound so bad. “How did the dress alteration go, by the way?”
“Great. Plenty of room for the bride and the bump. But the little thief stole my scissors while I wasn’t looking.”
Mary imagined his little jacket hacked with jagged holes like a slice of Swiss cheese. But Evie had said his suit was fine. Uh oh. “What did he do?”
“He snipped the rings off their pillow so he could try them on.”
“No!” Silently, she started praying a Hail Mary.
“Fortunately, his dad, the best man, discovered it and took the rings away.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“Hold on. There’s more. When the best man went to get his backpack with some toys for Devin out of his rental car, he reached into his pocket for the key, and the rings fell out.”
Mary sucked in a breath.
“They rolled into a drain. It’s got one of those grates on top, and we can’t reach them.”
“Holy Mary mother of God!” Both rings gone? Could she find a substitute? She still had her parents’ bands. She could run home to get them. But Rochelle and Rohaan would notice that they weren’t using their custom engraved rings. They didn’t need that kind of stress on their wedding day.
“I think we might be able to rescue them,” Evie said. “Do you have some tools to fish them out?”
“Tools?” She looked at her bag. She had needle and thread, safety pins, and a curling iron. Then she remembered the shop. They had a pry bar they could use on the grate. And if that didn’t work, they could use the borescope to look inside the grate and a flexible grabber to retrieve the rings. “Of course! I’ll get Michael to bring them to you.”
“Michael?” She could picture the curl of Evie’s lip.
“Rafe is still here with me on bee duty.”
“Okay. Fine. Just make sure he’s courteous. We don’t need him to stomp in here all surly and make a scene.”
As much as she hated to admit that either of her brothers had a flaw, Evie was right. She encouraged Michael to stay in the back of the shop for exactly that reason. “I’ll talk to him.”
The moment they disconnected, she called her brother. It rang seven times, each second torture. When he finally answered, he said, “Everything okay?”
“Not really. Are you okay?”
“I was under a car.”
If she’d asked Google to translate what he’d said into English, the screen would read,Why the hell are you bothering me? But I’ll be nice to you since you’re my little sister.
“Listen, I need a favor. The rings for Rochelle’s wedding went down the drain in the parking lot. I need you to take a pry bar, the boroscope, and one of those grabby things to the parking lot at La Villa to get them out. And be subtle, please. I don’t want anyone, especially the bride and groom, to find out.”
“Can’t you ask your boyfriend for help? He’s got an entire maintenance crew.”
Mary sucked in a breath. What would Alex say if he found out what had happened? Between the dress and the rings, he’d think her incompetent. She might not want to be his wedding planner for any future weddings, but a word from him would ruin her reputation in the city. It might even break the fragile trust they’d rebuilt. He wasn’t like her brothers, who’d forgiven her again and again, who understood what it was like to be fallible.
“I’d rather he didn’t find out. Can you help? Please?”
“Okay. I’ll be there in ten.”
“And don’t drive anything ostentatious, okay?”
He snorted. “Ostentatious? Me?”
