Her eyes nearly pop out of her head. “That’s not very long!”
I laugh, “No, it’s not.”
BONG! BONG!
She says, “That’s Cathy.”
I nod. “We need to bow out of the festivities as quickly as we politely can. We don’t need to fend off questions we aren’t prepared to answer.”
She looks at her phone, then reads the text out loud. “HELP! Where are you?”
I stiffen. “What’s wrong?”
Rapunzel laughs, “Nothing. Your sister has anxiety issues, in case you didn’t realize that.” She types on her device as she walks toward the elevator. “Come on. We have to go rescue her.”
I fall in behind her, enjoying the teasing twitch of her hips, flashing on either side of her swaying hair.
I remove my cover as soon as I enter the elevator, tuck it under my arm, then push the button on the panel for the first floor where the reception is. Then I stand quietly next to her as she texts. When she finishes, I tell her, “Cathy calls you her rock, you know.”
She bats her eyelashes at me. “I’m the glue. She’s the garment.”
I smile. Note to self. Add unpretentious to Rapunzel’s attributes.
Zella
As the elevator sinks, d’Artagnan stands quietly by my side. I try not to focus on the crazy turn of events but rather on the solid results of my and Cathy’s business plan.
When the doors open, he takes my hand. “On your six.”
I cut my eyes at him as I lead us out. “What does that mean?”
He chuckles, “You lead. I’ll follow. I got your six means you won’t be blindsided by the enemy.”
I smile, “That’s good to know.” I stop and look around but don’t see her.
“She’s over there.” d’Artagnan points to a group of people huddled together.
I lead us in that direction and ask, “How tall are you?”
“Six foot six.”
“That extra six inches comes in handy in a crowd.”
As we cross the room, several people offer their congratulations. d’Artagnan offers up a thank you for us. “That is also an example of having your six.” He tells me.
When we arrive, the reporters part to let me into the inner circle, but d’Artagnan doesn’t follow. Instead, he releases my hand. Instantly, I feel vulnerable without him and look back. He nods like he felt the loss too and mouths, “I’ll be right here.”
I turn to continue moving forward. How did that dependency happen? But once I see Cathy, I settle into my role of being her rock. We smile and pose for the cameras, parrying the barrage of questions together, laughing and enjoying the moment. Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of my handsome as hell fake fiancé over the top of their heads but never make eye contact. The man looks to be on guard duty.
When a reporter asks about the proposal, I fend it off with, “My fiancé is right over there. I’m sure he would be happy to answer your questions, but this moment belongs to Cathy’s Corner Boutique.”
Cathy cuts her eyes at me and says, “I wonder if anyone is brave enough to ask him anything.”
When the questions begin to fade, I tell everyone, “Thank you all for coming. Cathy’s Corner Boutique is proud to announce we are expanding our inventory to include bridal gowns and all the clothing accessories that go with weddings. We will be running a special on all bridal gowns in honor of this auction and my engagement. Thank you again.”
The reporters move along as we make our way to d’Artagnan.
Cathy snickers at him, “Bubba, you look so badass! White is your color.”
