Orange Blossom Brides. Tara Randel

alone. But how could she be upset with her mother when the woman did so much good for others? And how could Lilli not help when her mother asked? Since her parents’ divorce, it seemed like the only connection they shared.

      “So you’ll take care of this for me?” her mother asked.

      Procrastinating, Lilli opened the thick file in her hand and narrowly avoided spilling the collection of papers. Her gaze stopped on the top line of the official invitation: Tie the Knot—A Montage of Vintage Bridal Fashions Through the Decades, to be held at the prestigious Cypress Pointe Country Club. Bad enough her mother had asked her to fill in as coordinator for this event in her absence, but the country club? How could Lilli ever set foot in that place again?

      She scanned the list given to her by the historical society secretary. She loved lists, herself, so she felt a degree of relief that she didn’t have to start from scratch. Everything from timetables, committees and local businesses supporting the show to couples serving as models were listed. Each woman would wear a bridal dress, either from her family legacy or donated by a member of the historical society. A clever idea. One of her mother’s best.

      But a wedding-themed benefit? Lilli cringed. She’d put visions of silk and lace, cake and fondant, and happily ever after out of her mind this past year. Getting dumped at the rehearsal dinner made a girl leery of wedding dreams.

      And still, the worst part of her duties lay moments ahead of her: getting an answer from the final volunteer groom on her mother’s list. A groom not obligated to marry his paired bride. Wouldn’t that be a dream come true for any guy? No commitment and a bunch of fun? The participants were local businesspeople or town elite, except for the last man in question. He had recently set up shop in town. Celeste had yet to pin down a definite yes from the man. Apparently he’d been dodging her calls. So, today, the recruitment duties fell to Lilli.

      She closed the file and stuffed it into her purse. She’d go through it later. Right now, she had historical society business to take care of before she could get back to ensuring her promising future at KLC Media Enterprises.

      “Yes, I’ll take care of it, but I’m going to call his office,” she said, decision made.

      “That won’t do any good.”

      “Why not?”

      “Every time I call, his secretary tells me he’s out.”

      “Maybe that’s because he is out. After all, he is a...” Lilli shuffled through the purse again until she found another file. Her stomach dropped when she read his name. “Max Sanders. Private investigator?”

      “Yes, dear. I mentioned to you that I’d hired someone to take care of the security system at the historical society office. It’s in the information I left behind.”

      Lilli stared down at the familiar name. It couldn’t be, could it? He’d left town years ago. How many Max Sanderses could there be?

      “You’ll have to go to his office and ask in person.”

      Oh, boy. Her mother had to know how sticky this would be. Why would she even consider him as a volunteer groom in light of their history? The Max Sanders she’d met twelve years ago would not be happy to see her, let alone agree to anything she asked. She’d be lucky he didn’t kick her out of his office right from the get-go.

      “You do remember who Max is, don’t you, Mom?”

      “Of course. So I had him thoroughly vetted.”

      Ironic, her mother hiring a P.I. to do a background check on a P.I.

      “Lilli, please. This is important.”

      “Why?”

      “Because he has a new business here in town. We have to support our own.”

      “Willie Anderson is single and owns a toy-train store, but you haven’t targeted him.”

      “That’s because Willie is thirty-five and still lives with his mother. None of the volunteer brides will walk down the aisle with him.”

      Okay, that was true.

      “And I’ve met with Max. He’s handsome. The women will love him.”

      Bottom line: if Max’s presence would help sell tickets, her mother wouldn’t take no for an answer. Coming from a marketing standpoint, Lilli could appreciate that.

      Asking Max to participate was just a formality. Everyone in town knew that once Celeste had her mind set on charity matters, you couldn’t ignore her. She hounded folks until she wore them down. After so many years “suggesting” they help, it became town tradition to commit first and ask questions later. Since Celeste now served as president of the historical society, she wouldn’t back down on this particular event.

      Still...benefit or not, facing Max Sanders would not be the highlight of Lilli’s day. She grasped at any excuse not to visit him. “His secretary can just as easily put me off there.”

      “Then I guess you’ll have to demand that he see you. Be firm, Lilli. Let them know you mean business.”

      Lilli blinked. “You expect me to strong-arm him into it somehow?”

      “I’m sorry. Sometimes I get so carried away with my charities I forget I have boundaries.”

      Boy-oh-boy, these historical society women took charity events to a whole new level.

      “The historical society ladies and I want to work with Max,” her mother continued.

      “I’ll see what I can do.” Lilli had to take care of this so Celeste would stop worrying and Lilli could coordinate the fund-raiser while still giving the necessary attention to her job. Multitasking had just become her middle name. It wouldn’t be that bad, right?

      “Also, I spoke to Max about providing security the night of the benefit, but we didn’t finalize the particulars. If he hesitates about attending, suggest he look at volunteering as undercover work. As a groom, he’ll be able to keep an eye on the event with no one the wiser. Between the designer wedding gowns and the Wingate jewelry, I have a lot riding on this night, Lilli. You know if this weren’t an emergency, I’d be there. Honestly, I’m depending on you.”

      Lilli stifled a groan. Could her life get any more complicated? “Max might not want to work with me.”

      “What happened is in the past. You both moved beyond the incident. I spent enough time with Max to see that he’s gotten his life together and is now a respectable member of society. Besides, he’s a businessman. He’ll do what he must.”

      Her mother was banking on that. And what Celeste wanted, Celeste always got.

      Unlike Lilli.

      Lilli’s childhood had been far from simple. Her father, a corporate lawyer, and her mother, a stay-at-home mom who mostly flitted about as a society charity queen, rarely saw eye to eye on anything. Their marriage, difficult at best, worked when they weren’t in the same room. Lilli spent her vacations with one parent or the other.

      She longed for a real family, to have Thanksgiving dinners together instead of going to a different resort every year, alternating parents. She dreamed of her family sitting before the twinkling tree on Christmas morning, opening the presents they’d given each other, of knowing without a shadow of a doubt that her parents loved her because she was their daughter, not a bargaining chip to use against each other.

      Prior to her mother’s most recent phone call, Lilli had spent twelve months excelling at a job she loved, and living the calm, quiet life she craved after growing up in a home mired in emotional chaos. She’d spent years as the object of her parents’ arguments. What should their only child should do? Where should she belong? Their ideas had differed vastly from what Lilli wanted.

      Not that they’d asked. And not that they’d put her first in their lives. She’d been an obedient daughter, had tried to give them what they wanted, but failed at every task. So she’d set her mind on being the best student,