The Bridegrooms Read Free Page A

day.”
    “Nor should you,” she said, unfazed by his response. “I suppose that is just the price you pay to become a successful lawyer.”
    Garrison smiled, making him look like a little boy about to go visit his father at work. “Lawyer by day and third-chair violinist by night.” He cast his gaze above. “And junior partner by the fall, if, of course, that’s what the Lord has planned for me. His direction has to come first in any plans I make.”
    Vada stood in front of him, leaning forward ever so slightly, as if to remind him of her presence as he made his future plans. “Don’t you ever want more? Does it ever cross your mind to just toss that partnership to the wind—strike out with nothing but the clothes on your back and your violin and listen to the music on every world stage?”
    “You’re right, Vada.” He lowered his gaze. “Sometimes I think I’d go mad if I didn’t have this.” He held up his violin case.
    “Oh.” She made a vague attempt to hide her disappointment. “Well, yes, music is a great release—”
    “And I know I couldn’t make it through a day if not for you.” He turned his head to glance up and down the empty hallway before bending to give her his familiar kiss. Top of the right cheek, his lips soft and dry against her flushed skin.
    Just like that, she was third chair.
    “I have to get to the printer’s,” she said as he drew away.
    “And I have to get to the office.”
    They walked together down the hall and out the theater’s back door, wished each other a good evening, and turned in opposite directions.
    She’d lost at least five minutes.
    With renewed fervor, Vada rushed down the street, clutching the envelope to her like a schoolgirl with her precious homework. The sidewalks were crowded this Saturday afternoon, and she wove in and out of those people whose agendas were certainly less urgent than hers. The printer’s shop was still half a block away, and if she was to make it on time, she’d need to break into a most unladylike run.
    The piercing eyes of Herr Bertram Johann still burned at the back of her head, spurring her on and, finding an opening in the mass of people, she took her first lunging step.
    “Excuse me! Pardon me!” she called out over her shoulder, not once considering slowing her pace to avoid the occasional brush with a stranger. While she was thus turned around, she noticed she wasn’t the only person running up the street.
    “Oh, bother.” Should she slow her steps or attempt a final burst of speed? But in just that brief pause, he’d caught up to her.
    “Miss Allenhouse?” There wasn’t a hint of labor to his breath while she clutched the envelope to disguise her heaving.
    “Mr. Voyant. How…unusual to see you again.”
    They stood in the middle of the sidewalk, impeding the pedestrian traffic, so when he touched the fabric of her sleeve in a most gallant manner, she allowed herself to be led beneath the protective striped awning of Moravek’s bakery.
    “You’re not an easy woman to keep up with.”
    “And you, apparently, are not an easy man to escape.”
    He touched the brim of his cap, drawing her eyes to the fringe of jet black hair beneath it.
    “What can I do for you today, Mr. Voyant?”
    “Well, for starters, you can call me Dave. And then, since we’ll be on friendlier terms…” He reached inside his jacket pocket and produced a small notebook and a stub of pencil. “You can fill me in on the big debut.”
    Vada clutched the program even tighter.
    His gaze lingered on the envelope. “And what would that be?”
    For just a moment Vada wondered if he was more interested in what was within it or behind it. “I’ve told you before,
Mister
Voyant, Herr Johann won’t allow any press to attend the rehearsals. And as I am merely a secretary, I can hardly be a good source of information.”
    “Oh, I have the feeling you’re more than a secretary—”
    “Nevertheless, if you want a preview of the