Elly in Love (The Elly Series) (31 page)

Turned out that even carpet was tricky in four-inch stilettos. Elly almost lost her footing twice on her way out the door. Step by careful step, she eased herself along the hallway, down the stairs and into Posies, where Anthony was busy arranging date palm pods and casablanca lilies into a narrow cylinder. “Add some billy balls,” said Elly with a smile. “They’ll punch up the color a little.”

Anthony stepped back. “I … was about to do that, anyway.” He sighed. “Not really. Why are you so good?”

She gave him a half hug. “Because I’m not good at anything else.”
Like walking.
With a sly wink, she shut the door. She was always full of gratitude for any small moments shared with Anthony. He was someone she never had to worry about. She stopped short when she stepped outside.
Whoa.
A long black stretch limo idled in front of the store.
That’s exciting
, thought Elly, as she took slow, cautious steps toward the curb
.
She heard someone clear his throat behind her, knowing who it was even before she shook the hair out of her eyes.

Keith was watering his plants in the twilight, a dirty apron tied around his waist, his thick arms bulging as they misted back and forth, looking like some sort of yard god. He was unabashedly staring at Elly
. Let him stare
, she thought,
I know I look good
.
Let him think I’m going on a date.
It wasn’t often that Elly Jordan thought herself anything more than average, but tonight was one of those nights where she actually felt beautiful. Megan had proved herself to be a fashion wizard—she had dressed Elly head to toe in no time, and the result had been spectacular. The leather pencil skirt that hit her just above the knee hugged her curves in all the right places, and the black stilettos elongated her short legs. A coral ruffled shirt billowed softly in the breeze, belted across the ribs with a soft pink swatch of fabric that pushed her breasts up where they had no business being. A strand of long pearls dangled from her neck, and Elly had actually taken the time to spiral her normally unruly curls.
And
she was wearing lipstick, something that was maybe a yearly occurrence.
Yup, she was hot right now, and Keith could drink her up.
Elly clicked quickly toward the limo.

“So, where are you going?” he called.

“Out,” she answered. The sad truth was, it was actually just business.

“Do you have a …,” his voice caught awkwardly in his throat, but he managed to choke it back, “a date?”

Elly shrugged and tried to be graceful as she climbed into the limo. It didn’t work. Her ankle turned over the ridiculous heel, and she practically fell into the open leather seat
. She had most certainly given Keith a show.
With a groan, she shut the door behind her, thankful for the tinted windows.

She looked up at Keith, staring at the limo, his lips pressed together in a painful grimace. There was a deep frustration in his eyes, and for a second, Elly’s hand brushed the door handle. She hesitated a second too long, and the limo pulled away from the curb, Elly watching silently as Keith faded behind her, drowning the flowers she had worked so hard to cultivate the year before.
They were done
, she mused, and the distance between them would only grow as time went on. Elly silently wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand.
No more.
Tonight was of the utmost importance and more importantly, she was going to have a fantastic dinner with an infamous celebrity.
Who knows, maybe she would even meet someone.
The thought of another man kissing her made her stomach twist painfully. Elly leaned forward and rapped on the glass dividing herself and the driver. After a comical pause, it slid down. “Yes, um….”
What do I call him?
“Sir driver, where are we going?”

He gave a snort of laughter. “My name is Levi, and Ms. Plumb has you starting out the night at Pierre’s Seafood.”

Elly was confused. “Starting out? Where else are we going?”

He gave her a smile in the rearview mirror, his green eyes twinkling with mischief. “It’s a surprise, ma’am. But, if I were you, I would stock up on energy drinks and con …,” he trailed off.

Elly leaned forward. “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“No, you said something. I am your passenger. What did you say?”

“It was inappropriate.”

“No,
tell me right now
.”

His eyebrows rose. “Wow. You’re kinda scary.”

“I know.”

“I said, make sure you stock up on energy drinks … and condoms.”

“
Ewww!”
Elly flew back from the partition. “That is horrible! Why would you say something like that?”

“Because I have been Lola Plumb’s driver more than a couple of times, and I know that when she goes out with them, they go ALL out.”

Elly folded her arms. “She’s engaged, you know; you shouldn’t spread rumors like that.”

“I didn’t mean for her. I meant for you. I’ve met her friends many times, if you know what I mean. And if you are anything like them, you will need a lot of vodka and a lot of condoms. I’ve seen it.”

Elly sat back in the seat and pressed the partition button. “Gross. You’re gross.” The window clicked shut. She suddenly felt very small and insignificant in the back of the limo. The rest of the ride was silent and awkward as Elly watched the old brick buildings of St. Louis give way to the hip areas of the new downtown
.
With a hard screech, the limo stopped in front of Pierre’s. The window came down a few inches. “We’re here.”

“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. “Do I um, give you a tip?”

Levi looked at her like she was crazy. “My biggest tip was two grand. Can you match that?”

“Nope, but I have a five.” She handed him a crumpled dollar bill from inside her tiny clutch. “Here’s another tip, don’t talk about your clients.” He harrumphed as she very carefully climbed out of the car.

Pierre’s Seafood was one of the swankiest new restaurants across from Citygarden, part of the downtown revitalization efforts. Huge glass globes spun outside the door, reflecting blue light onto the front of the restaurant. Swarms of photographers were gathered outside, looking bored.
Were these all for Lola? That was impossible. How many pictures could they possibly get of her coming and going? Also, how did they know she was here?
Fame was insanity, she thought as she walked quickly past them, her head to the ground. Elly entered through the bar and lounge area, where beautiful people swirled through large collections of sea-glass art, their thin glass flutes clasped tightly at their sides. In the corner, a jazz pianist played riotous riffs on a baby grand, as waiters in dark-blue windsor suits gave out tiny, artistic appetizers. A crowd of people gathered around a rope divider leading to the second floor. A large black man held out his arm as Elly tried to enter. “Sorry, VIPs only.”

“I’m here to see Lola Plumb?”

“I’m sure you are.”

“No,
I really am.” She tried to sneak past him.
If she could just see Lola and wave
….

She felt a strong hand on her shoulder. “Ma’am, you need to
back up
. Everyone in here wants to see Lola Plumb. Can’t you see that? Step back.”

Elly ground her teeth together. “I’m in her party. In fact, she is coming here to meet
me.
” “Don’t play me, ma’am. There are about twenty people up there.”

Elly made a face. “
What?
That can’t be right. I’m supposed to just have a one-on-one meeting with her about her wedding next week. I’m important! I’m her
florist
.”

The man made a face. “That’s such a pathetic reason for getting past this rope, I almost believe you.”

Elly tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. “Believe me. I have no interest in taking a photo or getting her autograph. I’m here to talk to her about wedding flowers.”

His lip curled. “Tell me what you know about wedding flowers.”

“Well, for starters, this year’s trends, which are always evolving, are leaning toward the romantic and vintage. I’m seeing a lot of mints, yellows, and subtle gray tones that carry through the weddings’ overall themes. This year’s most popular flower choices are the Queen Anne’s lace, the East Coast variety, and rounded-out black dahlias, to give the arrangements that extra lushness. And that’s just for bridesmaids’ flowers. For the bride, we are talking about a rich bouquet that embraces the European style….”

The man rolled his eyes. “Go on through, but if I see you doing anything other than talking, I will take you out.”

Elly gave an obedient nod. “Noted.” He unclipped the velvet rope, and Elly slid in between the gap, clutching her purse nervously. She climbed the short flight of stairs and followed the signs to the VIP room. Another bouncer gestured to an open door, and Elly gave him a thankful smile as she slipped in.

Lola stood to greet her. “Elly! You came! I’m so glad. Everyone, this is my
awesome
florist, Elly.” Twenty pairs of bored eyes looked up at her, each person with a glass of hard liquor in their hand. Elly had never felt so out of place her entire life. There were two male redheads, twins, at the end of the table, obviously high on something other than life. There was a stunning African-American model sporting huge hair and a see-through shirt, a handsome Scotsman flirting with a wispy blond waif who appeared to be straight out of Dennis’s fantasy novel, two college-age jocks that screamed East Coast money, and a man that appeared to be either a very high-concept artist or a hobo. Lola’s famous entourage was here, and Elly instantly hated all of them. Lola herself looked radiant, as always, but deep shadows marked her sad eyes. She was wearing a minidress made entirely of blue peacock feathers and thigh-high black boots, her hair a tousled masterpiece. She was holding a half-full glass that looked a bit more like vodka than water.

Elly gave her an awkward hug. “Nice skirt,” mumbled someone sarcastically at the table.
Sorry, I didn’t know looking like a train wreck was the thing
, she thought bitterly.

Lola led her by the hand to the long oak table and sat down. Food covered the table—fresh shucked oysters, chipotle salmon, herb-crusted tilapia, potatoes, and salads—in a bountiful spread, but it seemed no one was eating. A fly circled lazily over a dish of hummus. Lola sat back in her chair. “So! I am
sooo
excited to talk about wedding stuff! I’m getting
married!
” Her entourage clapped and whooped.

Elly looked around. “Where’s Joe?”

Lola waved her hand. “He had a last-minute business trip to Greece. He’ll be back in time for the wedding, don’t worry. I didn’t have any plans, so I called my old peeps from LA to fly out so that we could have a proper party …
oh yeaahhh
!” She raised her glass, spilling vodka on her feathered dress, which was no doubt worth thousands of dollars.

Cringing, Elly reached into her gigantic mom purse and pulled out a Kleenex and a thin manila file. “Well, since you are having such a good time, I won’t be long, I just need to talk to you about….”

“Lame!”
yelled one of the redheaded twins, pushing Elly aside and sitting on Lola’s lap.

“Robert, get off me.”

He batted his glitter-covered eyes at Elly. “No way. No files allowed! This is a party,
not
a meeting. Put that damn thing away.”

Elly squirmed in her seat. The last thing she wanted to do was be the only adult at this party. Actually, truly the last thing she wanted to do was be at this party. Waiting at home for her was a glass of wine, a new rom-com and some flannel pajama pants.
And Dennis.
Her fantasy faded. Dennis, always there, in “his” room, playing
MageCraft
until the sun came up
. Maybe hanging out for a while wouldn’t be so bad.
Either way, she had to get Lola to talk about the wedding flowers. “Thanks, um, Robert, is it?”

He tossed imaginary hair behind his shoulder. “Robbey, with an E Y.”

“I need to talk with Lola for just a few minutes about wedding stuff.”

Lola gave Elly a kind smile as she shoved Robbey off her lap. “I promise we’ll do that, but we are actually about to leave.”

Elly looked around. “But you haven’t even eaten your food yet!”

Lola looked confused, her pretty brown eyes widening. “Oh my gosh, we ate a
ton
.”

Oh, right. Skinny people
. “Well, if we just can run over this really quick….”

“We’re leaving, ladies! Get your stuff together!” crowed the gorgeous black girl. Suddenly, everyone was gathering their bags and checking their appearance in a handheld mirror that one of the twins produced. Lola placed her tiny hand on Elly’s shoulder. “We’ll run over it in the limo, promise.” Elly gave a dutiful nod. After several minutes of everyone preening themselves like a pride of lions, they made their way down the VIP staircase.

The murmurs started as soon as Lola hit the floor, rising to a loud hum of excitement as she walked toward the door, her entourage strutting behind her. Elly heard the click of cell phone cameras and the voice of Lola’s bouncer booming over the crowd. “Stay back! No touching Ms. Plumb, please.”

Elly followed behind her, trying to stay level on her heels, looking as suave as ever carrying a manila envelope, intimidated by the noise inside the restaurant.
This is madness,
she thought,
people turning this elegant restaurant into a den of frenzied picture-taking, all because Lola is here
.
This wasn’t prom, what were they doing? It couldn’t get any worse than the restaurant patrons acting like teenagers, right?
Then Elly stepped outside.

At first, she thought it was daylight, this searing white light. It wasn’t. But it wasn’t night anymore, either. Hundreds of flashbulbs were firing in her direction, one giant spark after another, a symphony of popping flares and loud clicks.

A chorus, a hundred voices strong screamed Lola’s name. “Ms. Plumb! Look over here!”

“Ms. Plumb, is it true you are leaving your fiancé?”

“Lola, are you doing crack again?”

“Lola, what do you have to say to Chloe Britt?” The shouts overtook each other, louder and louder until every sound was drown out by the sea of screaming photographers.