Two of a Kind (Fool's Gold #11)

“Oh, there’s going to be a wedding!” someone squealed.

The mayor smiled again. “Yes, there is. Apparently Charlie and Clay couldn’t decide whether to have a big wedding or a small one, so instead they picked something unconventional. Less hassle, more fun.” She paused. “Charlie said to tell you all she and Clay are going to Fiji for three weeks in the morning and they don’t want any calls.”

Everyone laughed.

The band played a Calypso version of the Wedding March and Charlie started down her makeshift aisle. Felicia couldn’t believe it. A wedding. Just like that.

Everyone turned to the front again, as Charlie and Clay took their places in front of Mayor Marsha. Their family gathered around them. Felicia saw Charlie’s mother and Clay’s mother linking arms, both smiling and crying.

She looked between the couple and saw the love in their eyes. They belonged together, she thought. They were happy and starting their lives together.

Yearning welled up inside her, but she reminded herself not to worry. She’d started down a path herself. She would learn what she needed to, and then she would find the man she belonged with. One day she would be getting married. Maybe not exactly like Charlie, but however it happened, it would be a memory she would treasure always.

CHAPTER TEN

FELICIA HAD THE entire Fourth of July festival reduced to a diagram and a flow chart. She’d organized by time, location and type of booth. She was ready. Or as close to ready as one could be before the actual event took place. It wasn’t as if she could cook the food or anything, but if she could, she would have that started, too.

Thirty-seven hours and counting, she thought. Thirty-seven hours until the vendors arrived and started setting up. The deliveries had been confirmed, as had the workers who would help. The decorations were in place. Every light pole on the main streets had either bunting or a flag. She knew the exact time the parade would start and who would be in it.

She’d planned ops before. She’d been responsible for moving millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, not to mention soldiers, planes and boats, but nothing had prepared her for what it was like to be facing her first festival in Fool’s Gold.

“I can do this,” she told herself as she stood in the center of her office. She was strong. She was smart. She was not going to start hyperventilating. If she did, she might pass out, and hitting the floor would likely cause some kind of injury.

Focus on your office, she told herself. She liked her office. It had lots of windows and commercial grade internet connections, and everything was organized the way she liked. She’d put Pia’s massive Rolodex into a database and then downloaded it to her tablet. She had access to more information than any president before 1990.

Neutiquam ero. I am not lost.

Right. Because she wasn’t lost. She knew exactly where she was and what she was doing. She would keep breathing and everything would be fine. She was sure of it.

* * *

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND.”

Felicia smiled politely and pointed to the map. “Your booth is here.”

The tall, dark-haired woman in jeans and a T-shirt with a tarot card of the Magician glared at her. “I can see what’s printed on the page. I’m saying I don’t understand because that’s not my spot. I have the same spot every year. It’s over there, by the corn dog stand. I get a lot of business from people eating corn dogs. No doubt they’ve guessed that hideous, processed meat is going to kill them so they want to find out when their life is ending. I can help them with that.”

She moved her lips in what Felicia thought might be a smile, but it was hard to tell. It looked a little like a snarl, too.

“I’ve moved your booth,” Felicia told her.

“Move it back. People come looking for me. I need to be where they’ll find me.”

“They’ll find you very easily.” Felicia did her best to appear patient, even if she was getting frustrated by the woman’s obvious lack of vision. “You’re now going to be on the way to the park. People will pass by you as they go listen to the band playing. They’ll be able to sit and enjoy your reading without having to juggle their corn dogs. You’ll get more business.”

The woman put her hands on her hips. “I want to be by the corn dog stand.”

“That’s not possible. Rather than having the food scattered throughout the festival, I’ve created a food area. There’s no room for your booth there.”

“This is stupid. Where’s Pia?”

Felicia thought about pointing out that if the woman was as psychic as she claimed, she would have known her booth was moving before she got to Fool’s Gold. But she knew saying that wouldn’t help. “I’m in charge now.”