Phoenix in My Fortune (A Monster Haven Story Book 6) by R.L. Naquin Page A

will you tell your mother? You’re not going to fake your own death?” The thought made me frantic. I’d still see her, of course. She wouldn’t be dead to me, but the idea that the rest of the world would think she was dead...I couldn’t bear that.
    “Don’t be ridiculous, Zo. I’m going to tell everyone the truth—I met a guy and we’re traveling the world.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe something will change in the meantime and I’ll be able to get my life back. But I’m not sitting around feeling sorry for myself while I wait.”
    I still didn’t like it, but I could accept it. It was far better than having to stage a memorial service for my missing best friend. “Fine. I get it. What else is on your list?”
    “We have to decide how to shut down the business permanently, since neither of us are doing much with it lately.” She stopped. “Oh. But first, we have one last wedding to do.”
    “No, we don’t.” I gave her a look I hoped conveyed how crazy I thought she was. “We cleared the calendar. The elf/attic monster wedding was the last one.”
    She resumed her pacing and waved a dismissive hand in my general direction. “I answered the call last week and decided to take the booking. It’s long distance, so the bride is letting us do the planning. We won’t see her until she flies in for the wedding.”
    “What?” I stared at her with my jaw hanging loose.
    “Don’t look at me like that.” She gave me a self-satisfied smile. “It’ll be easy. And fun! For the first time, we can choose what we think is best and not have the bride second guessing us the whole time.”
    I swallowed hard, trying not to be angry. “Let me see if I understand this. You booked us a wedding with an absent bride who wants us to...what? Just make it look nice? And you agreed to this, even though you can’t actually meet with any of the vendors yourself? And then you nearly forgot to tell me?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Zo. It’ll be easy. I’m still running point on it. I’ll spread out the appointments so it’s not too much of a burden on you.” She paused. “It’s not like you’ve got anything else going on.”
    She had me there. “Fine. So, who’s this bride, and what’s her deal?”
    Sara’s eyes sparkled as she whipped out her smartphone. “Her name is Fiona, and she’s a journalist. Her mother is pressuring her to have a traditional wedding, but Fiona isn’t really into that sort of thing. That’s why she’s leaving it up to us.”
    “Why doesn’t her mother do it, then?”
    Sara shrugged. “Mom lives out of town, too. Destination wedding.”
    “The groom?” I was beginning to wonder if anyone had any interest in this wedding besides Sara.
    “He lives on a ranch in Texas.”
    “So...what? He’s too busy with the cattle drive to be involved?”
    “Something like that.” Sara’s smile was sweet and charming.
    It occurred to me she was handling me the way she handled clients. I sighed and tried to be less trouble. “Okay. So, lay it on me. How much time do we have, and what do I need to take care of?”
    Sara swiped her finger across the screen, her expression intense. “Don’t panic, but we’ve got less than three months.” I started to protest, and she held her hand up to stop me. “Seriously, Zoey. This is an easy one. I promise.” She swiped a few more times, then tapped the screen twice. “There. Your schedule is printing out.”
    She ran inside and reappeared a minute later, waving a piece of paper.
    I peered at it, my heart sinking. “Oh, come on. You said there wasn’t much to do.”
    “Suck it up. It’s our last gig.” She made an uncharacteristic pouty face. “Can’t we enjoy planning one last wedding together before we break up the band for good?”
    “Harsh.” I stared at the paper. My first appointment was for the next day, so at least I was getting right to it. “Moira’s?”
    “See? Not like it’s a hardship.”
    I smiled. “Okay,