And the Wedding Date

Chapter 1

Stone disconnected his phone and groaned leaning back against the back of his sofa. On the coffee table in front of him was an engraved piece of paper, an invitation to his sister's wedding. Which wouldn't have been a problem if he hadn't panicked in a brief moment of insanity just now on the phone with his sister Georgia, the oldest of his sisters who was planning their youngest sister Jessica's wedding.

"Now with Jess bein' married, you're the only single one of us, Jake. Even little Joey's bringin' a date. So I'm gonna have to put you at the singles table. Mrs. Baker's daughter Mary Sue will probably be happy to see you."

Memories of Mary Sue Baker blasted through Stone's head and he panicked. "But I'm not single! I have a girlfriend and I was plannin' on bringing her. I just with . . .uh work and uh all I didn't get to call."

He could hear Georgia's excitement. "Really now? Well, we're sure gonna be glad to see her. I'll put you down for a plus one and move you to Joey's table."

And now Stone was stuck. Why the hell had he done that? He didn't have a girlfriend. Aside from the ill fated kiss with Mabel and the flirting with Lamia (and obviously that was going nowhere ever), he'd not had any romantic action since he broke up with his last girlfriend back in Oklahoma two years ago. And he'd been far too busy to even meet anyone in Portland, yet alone date. So that left him with two possibilities: Baird or Cassandra.

Things with Cassandra were complicated. He'd been honest enough with the girl, he liked her. Liked her very much in fact, probably too much if he really thought about it. And although he actually had changed his tune when it came to trusting her, a situation like this . . .well it was way too much like leading the girl on. So she was the last resort.

Baird. Baird would do it if he explained the situation to her. She understood complicated family relationships and dodging well intended setups. He remembered a story she'd told him and Ezekiel one night after a few beers had loosened her tongue (Cassandra had left early that night) about the time she'd bribed someone into posing as her date at a family reunion to dodge a setup. She'd be perfect. Plus she was adaptable, cleaned up nice and he had no complicated feelings toward her at all. They were friends pure and simple, sometimes a bit like siblings.

--

But as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men. When Stone got to the Library the next day, he found Ezekiel setting the globe and Cassandra working at the table.

"Either of you seen Baird?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Ezekiel with a wink, as his door set up. "Flynn's back. Well, I'm off."

"Good luck with your mission!" Cassandra called after him.

"He really got a mission or is he off stealing something?"

Cassandra shrugged. "I don't ask any more. "

"So is Flynn really back?"

Cassandra smiled, "he is. And he whisked her off on a week's vacation! Isn't that romantic? Those two are so sweet, I swear." If Stone wasn't panicking, he'd have noticed the wistful edge to the young woman's voice.

Stone swore and Cassandra looked startled. "Damn it," he tossed the envelope down on the desk and put his head in his hands. "I totally blew this. I should have called her last night."

"Are you in trouble?" Cassandra asked. "I mean Baird was a little reluctant to leave us all without a Guardian but Flynn told her if it was an emergency we could call. But I think we should be alright for a week. I mean, you and I generally are, can't speak for Ezekiel."