Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (41 page)

"You've been saying that, but when
will it be taken care of?" Henry was almost shouting.

"Henry, another time," Liam
replied in warning.

"It is taken care of!" I
snapped back at my Uncle Henry, walking passed the shocked faces of Oscar and
James. Then, I caught Dixon's face, part shock and part anger.

Before I sat down, Dixon made his
concerns known.

"I don't know what you mean by
that, but, if you do anything stupid to Lilli, I will beat the shit out of
you." He glared and then stalked off to a changing room.

I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"It will all work out fine." I
felt Liam pat my back as he sat next to me. I sighed again and sat back.

"Well, let's get on with
this," I announced and Geoffrey appeared with multiple garments hanging on
a rolling rack.

"Okay, Viola called and gave me the
information and guidelines for each of you."

"Wait, Viola chose our tuxes?"
Dixon
reappeared behind Geoffrey.

"Oh no. She simply provided me the
descriptions of each dress so that I could coordinate you with your wives and
girlfriends." Geoffrey smiled, eying up Dixon.

Dixon shifted uncomfortably under his
stare.

"Umm…what?" he rubbed the back
of his head.

"It's just that I may need to go
and get a size larger for you. I wasn't fully aware of your build."
Geoffrey looked Dixon over again and disappeared from the room.

James burst out laughing. Dixon scowled
at him.

"What?"

"You totally thought he was
checking you out!" James' hysterics caused the rest of us to start
laughing.

"Shut up," Dixon chuckled out.
"I was just a little uncomfortable. I didn't know what the hell he was
doing." He shrugged. "Who could help but check this out?" Dixon
started giving some poses and we laughed harder.

Geoffrey came back with a few more
garment bags and hung them up. He also had two more men with him, apparently
assistants.

"Let's start with Liam,"
Geoffrey turned to him. "Viola was very specific for you and she has
excellent taste."

"Of course she does, she chose me
didn't she?" Liam winked at Dixon who, in turn, gave Liam a high five.

"A man after my own heart,"
Dixon chuckled.

Aunt Viola had selected a very
traditional Armani suite for Liam; black suite, white shirt with black buttons,
black satin collar and bow tie. He was classic and handsome.

Bravo Viola.

"She really knows your body, Liam.
Her measurements were exact." Geoffrey stated as he measured and checked
the fit.

"Oh, she knows his body alright,"
Dixon blurted out in a chuckle.

Liam, James and Oscar chuckled. I
scowled.

"Don't start," I pointed at
him. He put his hands up in surrender.

James was asked to follow one of the
assistants into a changing room to begin getting ready. Once done, he emerged.

"Look at pimp daddy James!"
Dixon laughed loudly.

"Don't hate the player, hate the
game," James strutted past Dixon laughing.

James was in a completely white tux; white
jacket, white shirt, white pants, complete with white buttons and tie. He
looked like a large bottle of white out. It worked for him.

Oscar was next to be pulled back. While
he was changing, one of the assistants passed out drinks. I got bourbon, of
course. As I sipped my drink, I was fully aware of the looks Uncle Henry was
giving me.

Oscar was almost the opposite of James.
He was in solid black except for the white shirt only visible at the collar and
cuffs. The jacket did not have a collar or buttons. His suited him as well.

Uncle Henry came from the back and was
in a full traditional suit; black and white. However, it was as sharp as Liam's
tux. Still, he looked very handsome.

I told Dixon to go next so I could
finish my much needed drink.

Dixon's tux was matte black with a silver
collar and buttons. He wore a white dress shirt and silver tie. The suit was
perfect for Dixon's build.

"Ah, see, now that is much better
than what I had originally pulled for you." Geoffrey walked around Dixon
taking measurements and making adjustments, just as he had with everyone else.

"Mr. Iverson?" I looked up to
see an assistant gesturing for me to follow him. I finished off my drink and
followed him to my changing area.

I changed into the tux. It was all black
with very thin white pinstripes. I had a white shirt and tie with a red
handkerchief in the breast pocket, which I found a little odd.

Entering the room, I could hear the
group laughing. When I saw Geoffrey's hand at Dixon's crotch, I understood why.
Dixon's face was different this time. Instead of uncomfortable it was smug.

"He's had to measure Dixon
twice" James chuckled.

"Hey, it's hard to get accurate
measurements when you have a package such as mine." Dixon boasted.
Geoffrey blushed.

"Please, Dixon, we all know that
big steroid users have small dicks," James chuckled.

"See, that's steroid users."
Dixon looked at James seriously. "I am all natural baby!" Dixon
flexed. The sound of ripping material quieted the room.

"Oh my!" Geoffrey ran up
quickly and started to look over the ripped seam in back of his jacket.

James and I were almost on the floor in
hysterics. It took us twenty minutes to calm down.

I paced impatiently at the bottom of the
stairs waiting for Lilli to be ready. She'd been repeatedly groaning and arguing
with the make-up artist and hair stylist Phoebe arranged for her. I kind of felt
sorry for the two women. But, hearing Lilli’s reactions, I couldn’t help but
laugh.

"You want to pull the hair out by
the root?" was one shout I heard from her and then, "Isn’t that the
color hookers typically wear?" Ah, yes, that last one had me in tears. My
Lilli was feisty and I loved her for it.

Speaking of love, I'd been playing it
over it my head over and over. I needed to tell her, wanted to tell her. I was
going to tell her, tonight. I was nervous, anxious, worried and plain terrified
of her reaction, but I needed to honest with her.

In the middle of my internal pep-talk I
heard movement on the stairs. I looked up and saw Lilli coming down the stairs.
I took a quick intake of breath at the sight of her. I couldn't speak. The
tight dress was perfectly crafted to her body, the red high heels that I
pictured being the only thing on her in the middle of our bed. Then, there was
her hair. The top had been pulled back, away from her face, and gathered at the
crown of head. The rest flowed down her back in large curls. She was
breathtaking.

She finally met me at the bottom of the
stairs.

"You look beautiful," I almost
whispered as I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her red tinted lips
to mine.

Her lips parted from mine too quickly
and I groaned.

"Watch the make-up, Iverson,"
she laughed, "there is no way I’m going back into that beautification
hell." She gave a stern nod and then headed toward the door.

We wrapped up in our coats and headed to
the waiting car. My willpower was fully tested when she sat down, the slit in
her dress parted, revealing her thigh.

I wonder if there are any empty rooms at
the Grand Prospect.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lilli

Reaching the top step, I noticed Aiden.
He looked completely deep in his own thoughts, but that wasn't what made me
pause. He made me pause. The tux that Aidan was wearing was unbelievable. It
made his broad shoulders look like they were chiseled by Angels and his hair,
Jesus. His hair was in its normal state of messy disarray, though it looked as
if he had tried to tame it for the evening.

I took in a few deep breaths to calm
myself, as well as preventing myself from flying down the steps and wrapping my
legs around him. I began my descent down the stairs. Halfway down, he looked up
and his body glided to the bottom of the staircase, his eyes never leaving me.
I began to feel self-conscious.

"You look beautiful," his
voice was almost a whisper, the undertone of his words almost felt like he was
saying something else. Then his lips were on mine. I had to warn him about my
make-up before we finally were in the car.

The drive was quiet and, when I looked
to Aidan, I realized his eyes were fixated on my leg, my very exposed thigh to
be exact.

"Ah-hem," I cleared my throat
and raised my eyebrow at him with a playful smirk on my face.

"What?" He played innocent and
then smiled crookedly.

"You know what," I bumped his
shoulder with my shoulder.

"Um...how high is that slit
anyway?" I shrugged. "Well, remind me stay on your left side for the
night."

I laughed.

"Hey," he looked at me without
humor, "I am dead serious. No one needs to be looking at all of
that." He waved his hand around my thigh.

"Oh God, it's because I'm sitting
down in the car, Aidan. It's not that high when I‘m standing." I rolled my
eyes.

"Okay, then don't sit for the rest
of the night either," he smiled playfully and took my hand.

I smiled easily at the hand holding.

Now, let me explain to you that falling
for Aidan was not my intention and I was doing my best to fight it, but I was
losing. Still, I knew that I had to keep my emotions in check. This was just an
arrangement, regardless of how much we 'enjoyed' each other’s company.

Pulling up to the Grand Prospect, we were
greeted by three trumpet players dressed in black and white tuxes, even the
woman. Viola was right. It was a very nice touch. Arriving at the first landing
of the stairs, we could hear the small string quartet was playing softly. Once
we were on the second floor you could hear the orchestra music flowing from out
of the grand ballroom. The doors of every room were open, the lights brightly
lit.

"Lilli, Aidan," Viola moved to
us quickly, placing hugs and kisses on both of us. "I'm glad that you have
arrived." She turned to me. "I need your help with Pierre." She
took my hand and we began to walk away, but Aidan still had my other hand.

A jerk of my arm had Viola and I both
looking at him.

"Just give me fifteen minutes of
her time and I promise to bring her back," Viola pleaded with Aidan.

"Who is this Pierre?" Aidan
raised his eyebrow, still holding my hand.

"Oh my, calm down, Aidan. He would
much rather date you," Viola giggled and then finally pulled me from his
grip. I shook my head and walked away.

"They will be back soon." Liam
patted Aidan on the back.

"So, what is the problem?"

"Pierre is asking about some
details about with the menu," Viola was looking around, clearly trying to
find Pierre.

"I assure you that we were supposed
to have the scallops," I overheard Anne and followed her voice until I
came to a frantic Pierre.

"Oh lord, what is that woman up to
now?" Viola pulled us toward them.

"Mrs. Iverson, I assure you that
this was discussed and it was—"

"What's the matter?" Viola
butted directly into their conversation.

Pierre was about to speak, but he caught
sight of me and relief washed over him.

"Oh, thank Gucci, Mrs.
Iverson." Pierre sighed out.

I briefly caught Anne giving me a look
of annoyance and disgust.

"Yes, Pierre?"

"The menu...." He handed the
menu over to me, "we went over this thoroughly. However, Mrs.
Iverson," he motioned to Anne, "is insisting that..." I cut him
off.

"The menu is accurate, Pierre."
I smiled, reassuring him.

He exhaled a large breath.

"Thank you," he said quickly
and brushed past Anne as he continued on his way.

Viola smiled at me, grabbed my arm, and
led us from the kitchen out into the ballroom. The walls were draped with the
white fabric and the table settings were done phenomenally.

"Oh, Viola, it turned out even
better than I had anticipated," I squeezed her arm.

"You helped, my dear. It is
spectacular." I could hear the pride in her voice.

"Lilli!" Maggie shouted as she
hurried over with Jason.

"Hey you," I hugged her.
"You look fantastic."

"And you look stunning as
always," she smiled back to me. "Are you heading to the table?"

"Oh no," Viola shook her head.
"We have mingling to do." Viola informed and I sighed. "Hang on
tight, sweetie, we have some rounds to make."

I groaned, but put on my best pageant
smile. Viola giggled and led the way.

Not even halfway through the crowd, and
being introduced as "Mrs. Aidan Iverson", Aidan had caught up with
us.