Free Illusion of Luck by Robert Burton Robinson

about?” said
Beverly.
    “ Greg’s worried he’ll
disappoint me in bed. But he won’t.”
    “ Of course not. Y’all are
the perfect for each other.”
    **********
    The ceremony was going by so fast. Soon she
would be his wife.
    “ I, Greg, take you,
Cynthia…” From the moment she walked in his door he wanted nothing
more than to hold her, to care for her, to make love to her, to
never let her go. In the blink of an eye she had gone from stranger
to the most important person in his life. At first, he wasn’t even
sure it was love. He only knew that suddenly she was all he could
think about.
    He had loved other women, and had even been
married before. But this was different. Looking at her, touching
her, just being near this amazing woman did magical things to his
body chemistry. Why couldn’t they have met sooner—before either of
them got married the first time?
    He looked deep into her glistening blue
eyes, and thought, oh, Cynthia, do you realize you’re making my
whole body buzz? He hoped he had said his vows correctly…and that
he hadn’t said the word ‘buzz.’
    “ I, Cynthia, take you,
Greg…” Oh, Greg, I love you so much, she thought. You still don’t
even know how much I love you. You are so kind and caring. And I’ve
never felt so loved. You think I’m too beautiful for you. But all I
know is that I’ve never enjoyed being with any other man the way I
love being with you. I’ve never respected and cared as much for any
other man. And I’ve never felt my body heat up like this for any other
man. Baby, you just turn me on like crazy!
    She wondered if he was reading her mind.
    **********
    The uninvited guest went quietly up the
stairs, two at a time. The .38 was hidden under the right pant leg
in the ankle holster, ready when needed.
    The balcony was empty. The
perfect spot for a sniper. The groom could be taken out with one
shot to the temple. The suppressor would muffle the shot enough to
confuse the congregation for a few seconds while Larry escaped.
Then, after a few months, Cynthia would be open to a new lover —
the man she should have been
marrying.
    But Larry was not in the balcony.
    Rebecca took a seat to watch
the rest of the ceremony. Where was that slimy would-be novelist?
She had driven like a maniac to get there in time. She desperately
wanted to save Cynthia Blockerman from Larry the Loser. But what if
Cynthia was the wrong redhead? She couldn’t be sure. The right redhead or her
groom might already be on the floor of some church, bleeding all
over the carpet.
    No. Her gut told her this
was the redhead. Perhaps Larry was waiting until the reception. Or the
honeymoon. And did he plan to kill Cynthia or abduct her? It was
difficult to tell from his latest chapter. But she would do
everything in her power to stop the filthy creep.
    And terminate him—with extreme
prejudice.
    **********
    When Rebecca entered the Fellowship Hall of
First Baptist Church, she tried to fit in. She hoped she wasn’t the
only woman wearing pants. She would try to avoid talking to
anyone.
    There was a nice spread of finger
sandwiches, nuts and mints, and the two wedding cakes. A young
teenage girl was ladling out the fruit punch for the attendees who
were already forming a line at the end of the first table.
    A young boy, probably the brother, Rebecca
thought, picked up one of the fancy glass cups. The sister tried to
stop him, but he pulled away and guzzled the yellow liquid in two
seconds. Then he put the cup back on the table and stuck his tongue
out at her. She threatened him with the ladle, and then looked
around to see if anyone had just witnessed her unladylike
behavior.
    The boy started coughing and grabbed his
throat. Then he fell on the floor. The sister started to panic.
    Not poison, Rebecca thought. Larry would
have no way of predicting who would be the first to drink it.
    Then the little boy started laughing. The
sister grabbed a tuna sandwich and threw it at him. The sandwich
opened in