Deceived 4 - The Wedding Read Online Free PDF

them; after all, he was a six foot two college quarterback. But looking at him now, I wasn’t so sure he could control the situation. Keeping two hyperactive kindergarteners in line might have be an easier task than keeping the peace between those two.
    “Carol, how do you like The Plaza?” Gerald asked my mom, who was sitting across from him.
    “I …I’ve never seen anything like it,” my mom replied. She was right. It wasn’t exactly The Traveler’s Inn in Fairfield, Iowa. Gerald had been so generous as to put my parents up in a suite here at the Plaza. My dad had objected, of course, feeling it was too generous, but Gerald insisted that it was all part of the wedding reception package deal he had arranged with the management. Dad accepted that. He didn’t get that a world class hotel like The Plaza doesn’t really do package deals.
    “The Plaza is quite lovely,” Elizabeth interrupted, “but I’m not so sure it’s right for my son’s wedding.”
    Her son’s wedding? Oh, I see, it’s not really “our” wedding. Obviously she’s not including me in her circle of ice-cold warmth.
    She turned and directed her next question at me . “What do you think, my dear? Do you really like this place?”
    Suddenly all eyes were on me, waiting for my answer. I felt the pink heat of a blush rise to my cheeks. Great, now I have to pick sides. Who am I going to back? Elizabeth or Gerald? Suddenly my throat was dry as a desert. I took a sip of water from my glass to stall for time.
    Patrick’s mom was a beautiful woman, in her early sixties but she looked more like she was in her late forties. Her black hair and dark eyes were a stark contrast to her china white skin. Her face hardly had a wrinkle, thanks to the wonders of modern cosmetic procedures, and a lot of cash to finance it at her disposal, no doubt. She came from a wealthy east coast family and when she and Gerald married, and laid claim to Gerald’s business, she was a rich girl who only became richer. She was strong willed and opinionated, and used to getting her way. Although on the surface she had always been nice to me, I felt I could never really get close to her. She had that kind of closed-off vibe, a barrier she seemed to put between her and other people, which was impossible to break. I didn’t want to go up against this woman but I couldn’t cross Gerald, either. Besides, it was too late to change venue anyway. The wedding was tomorrow, for Christ’s sake.
    I daintily set my glass back on the fine linen tablecloth and squeezed Patrick’s hand. “I think it’s wonderful,” I said. “The Plaza will be a beautiful place for our wedding reception.”
    Elizabeth narrowed her dark, cold eyes at me. Was she sizing me up? I felt like a bug under a microscope. How very manipulative of her. She had thrown out a challenge and was watching to see how I’d react.
    I just blinked and gave her a wide-eyed , innocent look. She broke her stare and turned her attention to smoothing the napkin on her lap. “I suppose you are right. If that’s the kind of wedding reception the two of you want, I guess it will do.”
    Sensing that she was trying to make me squirm, my dad came to the rescue and chimed in, trying to change the subject. “Tell me, Chloe, what kind of music will there be at the reception?”
    Elyse cleared her voice and spoke for the first time. “My boyfriend will be playing with his band.”
    “They ’re great. Patrick and I heard them the other day. They’re so good, right, sweetie?” I said and gazed at Patrick.
    “ Absolutely, they can play a little of everything. So, Clark, I expect to see you out on the dance floor, doing a little disco dancing.”
    My dad set his drink down on the table and shook his head. “Ah, er, well I’m afraid you won’t be seeing any dancing by me. I have two left feet and disco was after my time anyway, son.” My mom gave him a sympathetic look, like she could vouch for what Dad said. “Oh, but don’t