Leo shrugs. ‘No idea. I’m sure they’ll get here eventually.’
I blow out a breath. ‘If it gets too hectic for you, shout out and I’ll do my best to help.’
‘Will do.’
Gran makes herself another cocktail. ‘Ready, darlings.’ The chatter outside has reached an excited crescendo. We peek through the curtains. There’s quite the crowd, dressed to the nines. My excitement ratchets up a notch.
‘OK, let’s do it. We’ll check their memberships and, Gran, you give them the grand tour. Once we’ve let the bulk of the guests in, we mingle and make sure they’re comfortable before Lucy arrives. Gran have you got your speech prepared?’
Roxy is emcee but we thought it would be a nice touch if Gran explained her vision for the place and what they can expect to find here when they visit in future.
She taps her temple. ‘All in here.’
I smile. There’s a buzz in the air. I give the jazz band a nod and they begin as we swing open the doors.
‘Welcome to Epeolatry,’ I say in a loud clear voice as the crowd cheers and slowly make their way inside.
Chapter 25
The place is humming with bodies and the smooth sound of jazz. Cocktails are being mixed, shaken and stirred. The mixologist makes it look like an art form. His buddies haven’t arrived to help yet, so Gran wanders around doling out glasses of champagne. I catch the back of Zorba, dashing to the kitchen. ‘Leo, do you need an extra pair of hands?’ I ask across the bar.
He throws a metal canister in the air and catches it behind his back to a gasping crowd. He’s wowing them and they seem in no hurry for their own cocktails as they enjoy the performance.
‘We’re good. Zorba’s getting more ice and fruit for me and Floretta is pouring the wine and champagne. I’ll yell out if I get overwhelmed.’
‘Great.’ I remind myself to keep an eye on the bar area so he won’t have to leave his position to find me.
I check my watch. Still no sign of Georgios and Lucy. They’re over an hour late. I veer between worry that with Georgios’ high-speed driving they’ve been flung off a cliff or worse that they’ve pulled into a dark alleyway and the vamp is stealing my man. Myfakeman.
I go to the door to help Roxy check in the last remaining guests. ‘Wherearethey?’ she says, her brow wrinkling. ‘People are asking after Lucy and I’m running out of plausible excuses.’
‘Let me call him again.’ I dash into to the quiet of Bibliotherapy and dial Georgios for the fifth time. There’s plenty of reasons they might be late. Flood. Fire. Food poisoning.
The phone rings and rings. Why doesn’t he answer? I leave a message, in a very calm and reasonable voice. ‘WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?’ and hang up. Maybe this is how Lucy Strike behaves: arriving fashionably late to make a grand an entrance and be adored by the masses. Always leave them wanting more. What if this anticipation adds to our guests’ excitement? I can only hope. The last thing I want is people getting bored and giving up, presuming she’s a no-show. What if she is a no-show? Panic swarms and I do my best to tamp it down. She wouldn’t do that to her fans.
There’s a crunch of tyres on gravel and I peek out the window and see his car. Finally! I open the window and holler, ‘Would it be OK for you if we launch tonight, or would tomorrow be better?’ I give him a saccharine smile that barely disguises the sarcasm in my voice.
He grins. He actually grins as he exits the car. ‘Sorry, Evie. We had a slight issue. The buttons on Lucy’s dress were extremely fiddly. I had to call my grandmother to help because she has such delicate little fingers and mine are not quite made for such intricate matters.’
‘I see,’ I say stiffly. The buttons on herdress. The dress that sits on her naked body? That dress?
‘Uh-huh.’ I fold my arms tight across my chest in the hopes he knows I’mabsolutelylivid. Of all the ploys, can he not see this is 101 ofSeducing your ex-editor? I mean, the man can’t bethatoblivious surely? ‘The library members are getting a tad impatient, so if we could encourage Lucy and her buttons inside, that’d be great.’
‘Oh. Of course.’ He turns to find Lucy still waiting in her seat.
‘She’s expecting you to open the door for her, Georgios.’ Even though that’s clearly our thing, there’s no time to debate about morals and what’s to be expected of a partner in a relationship. All that will have to wait.
He dashes around to open her door. Gah, he looks hot in a tux. I try my utmost to ignore that and focus on the rest of the evening going without a hitch.
Lucy strides in, all big hair and bigger boobs. No wonder her buttons were difficult to do up; I’m sure the dress is two sizes too small. It highlights her curvaceous figure. I’m all for women’s empowerment and if she feels good in that dress I will cheer her from afar while internally boiling about her devious ploy with Georgios.
The old,I need help with my buttons trick.How transparent.
‘I’ll take a glass of champagne,’ Lucy says haughtily, not making eye contact. Great, I’m relegated to the land of waitstaff again, even though we spent the better part of a day together yesterday. Am I really that forgettable or is this some kind of power play?
Lucy strides ahead as if she’s a runway model and I scuttle after her.
Georgios grabs my hand to halt me. ‘Wait, Evie.’
