There! As she approached the pew where Eric sat, he smiled at her and gave her a wink. He'd chosen to sit on the groom's side. Well played, Eric. Well played. If she'd thought he had any stubborn feelings for his former girlfriend, that settled things nicely.
Donna walked slowly toward the front, smiling at her boss, Worth Vincent. He looked nothing like Eric, with his shaved head and neat goatee and mustache of dark brown. Eric's mop had gotten long enough that sometimes he wore it pulled back into a neat ponytail, as he did today, and his beard had grown back even redder than his hair. And sometime next year, you'll be the groom standing at the front of the church, Donna thought with pounding heart. And I'll be the bride. I do hope Jessica can be there.
Taking her place by Layla, she nodded to the organist, who flawlessly ended a strain of Clair de Lune, paused briefly for effect, and began the familiar strains of Mendelssohn's Wedding March. Donna felt like her heart would burst as Chet and Jessica began to walk down the aisle. In a few months, it would be her turn. A sudden thought interrupted the moment.
Who will walk me down the aisle?
2
New Guy at Work
Monday morning, Donna slept late again, scrambling to get ready for work. She was in no mood to stand in line for the copier, especially behind Karen in Human Resources—a notorious chatterbox. She'd heard three reports of Peeping Toms in the last month and wasn't that more than usual? She just hoped they caught the guy soon because she lived alone and didn't know what she would do if she saw someone looking through her window at night.
Looking at the woman finishing her task at a glacial pace, talking non-stop, Donna thought cattily that no one in his right mind would be hanging outside her window. Honestly, can she move any slower?
Paul took his place in line behind Donna, muttering something about Monday mornings. "Quite the wedding, though, eh?"
Reliving details of the weekend's wedding was a welcome distraction. "You and Skip looked very handsome," she said. "It really was a great evening."
"We thank you," the magazine photographer said with a bow. "And you were every bit as beautiful as the bride yourself."
Donna giggled, rattling the papers in her hands. "Abu Dhabi," she said with awe. "Can you imagine honeymooning in Abu Dhabi?" Her eyes widened. "The photographs of the hotel Jessica and Worth are…" She glanced at her watch. "…flying to right now, in fact… it is gorgeous. Very modern. Very posh."
Paul laughed. "Very out of our league, I'm sure." Paul and Skip were both handsome fellows, in Donna's opinion, and they had all worked together long enough that Donna had been invited to their wedding some years earlier, shortly after the state laws regarding gay marriage had changed. "Don't get me wrong; I do some freelance work on the side and we're doing fine, but Jessica really did well for herself."
For some reason, his comment irritated Donna. Was he saying that she hadn't? That Eric couldn't provide for them? It made Jessica sound like a gold-digger. Never one to mask her feelings—at least at work, she thought briefly—Donna pivoted to face Paul. "Worth has a pile of money, but that's not at all why she married him."
Paul threw his hands up in mock horror. "I surrender. Jeez! That's not what I meant. It's obvious they're very much in love. And love is all that matters, Donnala."
Donna's cheeks reddened at his use of the pet name. "I'm sorry, Paul. A busy week, following some busy months. I'm just in a foul mood. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
The pair stepped forward a few feet as the next co-worker in line got started at the copier. It had been quite the year, in fact. The city had struggled with arson—each fire set by a different arsonist, someone who perished in the fires by suicide—or so it was thought. Chief Henderson's top investigators were working hard when Jessica had suggested a specific person who might be the real culprit—a man who had falsely accused Worth of a murderous fire when they were both children.
Now that the mystery was solved, the entire city breathed a sigh of relief. Jessica had received an award for her part, and Chief Henderson had retired and married Jessica's mom. Chet's family had moved closer, Jessica and Worth were married now, people were selling houses and buying, and she and Eric were trying to save money.
Donna blew out a big breath. Money. That must be why I'm on edge. Aloud, she continued the apology. "Eric isn't working. Just finished one job, nothing ahead that we know of. Weather's getting colder soon, so outdoor construction has a way of drying up." Donna shrugged and made herself smile, hoping it was convincing. "It'll be fine. Nothing a cup of coffee wouldn't help, anyway."
Paul nodded. "Something'll turn up, I'm sure. Oh, but speaking of photographs, we have a new photographer. Just started today. Skip's running around like a chicken with his head cut off since the boss is honeymooning, or he'd probably introduce him to everyone. Skip does love to get hold of that microphone."
It was now Donna's turn at the copier. As she worked, she stretched her back. Tonight, she planned to insist on the red room, hoping that Eric would agree to a role reversal. It wasn't that she minded being the Domme. She knew that a lot of couples at the club—from when she'd interviewed them for the article, with the strict promise not to photograph faces
