Dragged to the Wedding(47)
“But...” Margot said. “I don’t think it’s fair to keep the parental units out of this. They will have to know.”
She was right. “Okay. Let me handle it. Holly and Howard, you go on as though nothing is happening. Other than trying to find an officiant, leave the rest to us. You have more than enough to deal with.” He took Daniel’s hand, grateful for the support, because trying to do this alone would be a nightmare. “The rehearsal is in less than two hours, so you should go get ready and try not to think about all this.”
“Like we can somehow not think about our wedding completely self-destructing,” Holly deadpanned.
“It isn’t that bad. We’ll try to find someone to officiate, and the rest will go on as planned. Try not to worry about it too much.” James hugged his sister tightly. “I mean it. I’ll say the words if I have to, and we’ll make sure everything is legal. You’ll have a wonderful wedding. I promise.” The last thing he wanted was for Holly to be disappointed. “It will be better than with Reverend Creepy.”
Holly quivered in his arms, and he thought she was crying, but it turned out just the opposite. “I think anything is better than that. I just hope the ‘reverend’ pays for what he’s done.” She returned to Howard, and they walked to his car, then pulled out of the drive.
“Why don’t you go back to your room, and be sure to say nothing, okay?” Daniel asked Margot, and she hurried off after promising to keep quiet.
James stood in the yard in front of Daniel. “What the heck are we going to do now?” He could scare the reverend half to death, but he had no idea what to do to try to fix this.
Daniel put his hands on his hips, and James knew that was never good. He wondered what he’d done wrong. “Let me guess... I’ve fixed the program.” He held up his hand. “Resurrected that awful dress and turned it into a thing of beauty.” He ticked those off his fingers. “Let’s not forget I’m here because you needed a date, and now what?” He shook his head. “Save the entire wedding so your sister doesn’t walk down the aisle to nowhere?”
James stepped closer. “I guess so...yeah.” He cocked his eyebrows.
“You know, there are limits to my SDQ powers.” James was coming to treasure that whip-smart look in Daniel’s eyes.
“SDQ, that’s a new one.”
“Super Drag Queen. Maybe I’ll embroider it on my shirt so you can remember it. Now, sewing I can do, and I’m incredibly organized, as I’m sure you know. But pulling an officiant out of my ass, well, that takes a miracle.” Daniel opened his bag. “Nope, not one in there.”
James smiled. “I knew you’d come up with something.”
Daniel smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “You really are an ass sometimes.”
“Yup. It takes one to know one.” James flashed a wide grin. “Come on. Let’s go inside and figure out how to resurrect a wedding. Or at least keep this one from going down the tubes.”
“James, it isn’t that bad.”
That stopped him in his tracks. “Now you’re the master of understatement. I have to tell my father that the minister at his church is a fraud, and since he’s on the board, he’s going to have to be the one to break it to the congregation.” James’s hands went to his hips. “What do you think is going to happen? Dad will tell them, and everyone in the church will be so grateful they’ll give him a ribbon and throw a party in his honor?”
Daniel snickered. “I suppose not. Though frustrated smart-ass is a good look for you.”
“I’m trying to be serious.” James just glared.
“Then you’re failing. I know what’s going to happen. I’ve seen it before, on one of my first jobs. One-third of the people will think the reverend was so great that the church should just overlook this little transgression. His pastoral skills or directorial skills are just perfect.” Daniel rolled his gorgeously blue-shadowed eyes, filled with mischief and sass. “One-third will want him booted out of there and would pay for the pleasure of kicking his sorry ass all the way down the main street of the city...or town, as the case may be, making sure he never pastors or directs in this town again.”
“I see... You’ve got a few issues.”
“Issues... Issues... Mack Silverton,” Daniel spat, like he tasted something awful, “was the damned director of my first big break...or he was supposed to be. He told everyone that he had tons of experience and knew everyone who was everyone. We were going to be on TV, and our careers were going to take off. All the hyperbole in spades.” At first James thought the agitation was put on, but Daniel’s eyes darkened, and James realized it was very real. “Turned out his mother paid someone to get him the job, and the entire thing was a disaster of epic proportions. Which brings us to the last third: they’ll jump the sinking ship like rats racing to fill the last lifeboat on the Titanic.”
He took Daniel into his arms, holding him tightly.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’d have joined you in kicking that guy’s ass down Halstead if it would have helped.” He inhaled slowly, excitement rising in seconds just from the proximity and from Daniel’s scent. Standing at the edge of the neighbor’s front lawn was so not the place to be popping wood, but Daniel just did that to him.