The Perfect Bride Read Online Free PDF

around in your kitchen.”
    “That’s because I know where everything goes,” Rosie retorted. Without a glance back at Jillian and Meredith, she rounded the end ofthe table and followed her husband, who ducked back through the doorway before her.
    The room immediately felt quieter when they were gone. “I’m sorry about that,” Meredith said softly. “They can be a little...eccentric.”
    “It’s fine,” Jillian assured her. “They’re part of the atmosphere of a place like this, an authentic staff of real people who are at home here, right?”
    “I’m hopingpeople think so,” Meredith admitted with a smile.
    “So you kept on all the original staff?”
    “We did. There were only four of them, though. Grace, Rosie, Ed and Ray, the groundskeeper. Zack, who brought up your bags, is Ray’s son. Jacob Sutton was apparently a recluse in his later years, and he pretty much kept a skeleton crew on staff. They’ve all been here for so long it didn’t seemright to turn them out. Like you said, this is their home, and they’ve proven more than capable at their jobs. Of course we’ll hire as much staff as necessary to work the wedding. I already have a long list of people from town on call.”
    “It sounds great. It’s amazing that you’re planning on doing so much with such a small regular staff, though.”
    “This is only for the time being. We mayhire more people on a permanent basis. We’re still evaluating how much more additional staff we’ll need based on...how the future looks.”
    She glanced away, and Jillian understood her meaning. After what had happened to Courtney, the new wedding business wasn’t on the strongest footing. The future would depend on what happened with the next wedding.
    Which isn’t going to happen, Jillianacknowledged with a trace of guilt.
    She reminded herself she had no reason to feel guilty. As one of the owners, this woman was part of the cover-up of whatever had happened to Courtney, and might even be involved herself. Jillian couldn’t forget that.
    “So tell me about your fiancé,” Meredith said brightly in a clear effort to change the subject. “I’d love to hear all about him.”
    It was a question Jillian was prepared for. “Ryan’s an architect who works on projects all over the world. It’s one reason he’s as excited as I am to be married here. He’s fascinated by Sutton Hall. He couldn’t be more jealous that I get to see it first.”
    “Do you have a picture of him? I’d love to see what he looks like.”
    “Of course,” Jillian said, reaching for her bag. She’d figuredshe’d be expected to have pictures of her fiancé and the two of them together. It would only make sense that a prospective bride would have plenty of them and be eager to show off her groom. Pulling out her wallet, she withdrew the plastic photo holder and handed it to Meredith, who began flipping through it.
    “Oh, he’s very handsome,” Meredith said. Though it hardly mattered, Jillian knewshe was being honest. By any reasonable standards, Ryan was a very good-looking man. He was also conveniently out of the country at the moment, so if anyone tried reaching him to confirm her story, they’d have a hard time doing so. It was a good thing, too, since she didn’t want him finding out she was here any more than she wanted anyone here learning he wasn’t her fiancé. Ryan would kill her ifhe knew she’d come here on her own and wouldn’t hesitate to blow her cover.
    Of course the downside of that was that no one knew she was here. Just in case anything happened, she’d written an email to several people she trusted and set it to be sent on a time delay if she didn’t reschedule it, which she planned to do every twenty-four hours. She also intended to add to the message with herthoughts and impressions of what she found here, letting them know about the investigation she was conducting and hopefully leaving relevant clues in case something did happen to her. With any