by Leigh James
He pulled my chair out for me. “I feel responsible. I’m the one who let you keep ordering martinis.”
“I wouldn’t have tolerated you trying to stop me.”
He grinned as he put his hand against the small of my back. “I know. That’s why I didn’t bother trying.”
Claire sailed over to our table just as we were leaving. “I’ll save your seats. Josie and I have a million things to catch up on, including the fact that I totally drunk-cheated on my girlfriend last night.” Claire looked unfazed—in fact, she appeared quite cheerful—as she plopped down into the seat next to Josie and stole the jalapeno pepper from my drink.
“We’ll be back.” I grimaced, either from the vodka last night or from the fact that I had to make up for it this morning.
“You okay?” Bob asked as we maneuvered through the tables of happily chatting guests. Jesus, is no one else hungover?
“Yes, but I feel terrible. I mean, I feel terrible, and I also feel terrible.”
He looked stymied. “Okay?”
“I feel sick because I drank too much, and I also feel sick because I drank too much. Ugh, I’m talking in circles. What I mean is, I feel sick, and I also feel guilty.”
He nodded. “That’s usually how I feel after I drink too much. A little ashamed. It’ll pass.”
Sienna glared at me as we approached. “Ugh, I hope you’re right about that,” I mumbled.
Tim held out his hand for Bob. “There he is! You ready to hit the links?”
“Yeah, of course. I forgot all about it. It’s a beautiful day,” Bob sounded at ease, completely relaxed.
I scooted closer to Sienna, ignoring the side-eye ever-loyal Mia was giving me. “Hey.”
“You look better than I expected.” Sienna arched an eyebrow. “I’m assuming Josie helped out with that?”
“Yeah, she did. Oh, and she had this wicked concealer that you’d love. It’s combined with highlighter. It’s not even on the market yet.”
She sniffed. “If you can get me some, I might forgive you for acting like a drunken ass last night.”
“Ugh, Sienna, I’m so sorry.” I pulled up a chair and slid in between my sister and Mia, ignoring the maid of honor’s glares about being squeezed out of the primary position. “I had three martinis in a row, then champagne, and zero food. I was toast in about twenty minutes. I don’t get out much, you know?”
She frowned. “The caterers were two hours late. Mother threatened to burn them to the ground on Instagram, so they agreed to do the whole thing for free.”
“That’s crazy!” My mother had a knack for getting things for free, even though she had more money than she knew what to do with.
“I know.” Sienna shrugged. “You know how Mom is. She doesn’t want them to think they can fuck with her.”
“Their oven was broken.”
Sienna took a sip of her mimosa. “Apparently, that’s not our mother’s problem. It’s theirs.”
I blew out a deep breath. “She yelled at me, you know. She was really upset about how I acted last night.”
My sister shrugged. “I think she just has a different set of expectations for you. I’ve been carried out of plenty of events.”
“Are you mad at me?”
Sienna waved her hand dismissively. “I was glad you left. You looked way too good in that dress.” She laughed.
“You’re in an awfully good, forgiving mood.”
She grinned a megawatt smile, one that reached all the way to her eyes. “I’m getting married today! I am in a good mood!”
To both of our surprise, I reached over and hugged her, hard.
“What’s that for?” Her voice came out muffled against my hair.
“I’m happy for you. I think you and Tim are going to have a long, happy life together.”
Never at a loss for words, my sister was unusually silent.
I peered at her as I pulled back. Her eyes were filled with tears.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She wiped at her eyes. “Stop being nice—you’ll make me run my mascara and I won’t forgive you for that.”
“How’d it go?” Bob asked on the way back to our table.
“Really well.” I accepted his hand when he offered it, noting that our hand-holding had become comfortable and natural for me over the past twenty-four hours.
“You sound surprised.”
“I am. Sienna usually likes to hold a grudge, but she was fine.” I looked down at our entwined fingers. “I think she’s just…happy.”
He smiled at me. “Happy’s good.”
“Yeah.” I smiled back, acutely aware of the way my heart leapt inside my chest. “Happy is good.”
Bob went and played golf with Tim and the guys. Josie, Claire, and I were subjected to bridesmaid duty. We were sequestered in the bridal suite, where we’d be subjected to spa procedures for hours.
“So much for our epic, fun day,” I groused. I missed Bob already.
Josie grimaced as an esthetician secured false eyelashes on her. “But I’m not even a bridesmaid!”
The esthetician glared. “These are for the pictures, sweetie. Sienna doesn’t trust that you’ll be up to code.”
“What code?” Josie huffed. “I sell makeup for a living. I promise I won’t let my dark circles or zits show and ruin her pictures.”
“I don’t have editorial liberty, hon. I’m just doing what I’m told. So don’t move, or the glue’s gonna go everywhere.” She frowned, and Josie frowned back.
“I hate fake eyelashes.”
The esthetician didn’t blink. “Tough. Bride’s orders. You want to mess with the bride?”
“No.” Josie sounded defeated and maybe a little scared.
Claire and I were next to each other, our feet in tubs of bubbling warm water, as two nail technicians buffed our fingernails. “So what happened with you last night?” I asked her.
“Well…I was up to no good.”
“Oh boy. Tell me everything.”
Claire sighed. “I had all those martinis with you. And then the Prosecco—bubbles make me slutty, you know?”
I giggled. “No, I didn’t. What happened?”
“Mia Grayson was putting the moves on me, so you know.” She shrugged. “I had to hit that.”
“Mia as in my sister’s BFF, who never met a bikini top she didn’t like?”
“So she likes to wear bikinis—so what?” Claire asked. “What’s with the shaming?”
My shoulders slumped. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just that she was hitting on Bob yesterday. I dunno. I think I was a little jealous. I didn’t know she was into women.”
“I don’t think she knew, either. We had quite a few surprises last night.” She giggled. “Bob said no to her?”
I nodded.
She shook her head. “He’s got more will-power than me.”
“Well, he’s here with me. It’s not like he’s solo like you are this weekend.”
Claire considered me. “I thought you two weren’t really a thing?” She made sure to keep her voice low enough so the other bridesmaids couldn’t hear us.
I groaned, wishing I’d never confided in Claire. I’d called her after Bob had agreed to be my fake date. She’d been supportive, but I knew that look in her eye. My cousin had a tendency to be brutally honest, a fact I only sometimes appreciated. “We’re getting along pretty well. In fact, it’s going much better than I ever expected.”
She raised her eyebrows. “So it’s a real date now?”
“Um.” I could feel my cheeks heating. Why was it so hard for me to admit my feelings? “Yes. I mean, I hope so.”
“Maddy, Bob seems like a nice guy. And he’s totally hot.” She paused for a beat. “But didn’t you say he had some issues?”
I bristled. “He has an ex-girlfriend. But who doesn’t?”
She gave me a knowing look. “Didn’t you say he was psyched to get out of town because his ex was getting marrie
d this weekend?”
I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean he’s still hung up on her.” I hope.
“Also…it’s not just the questionable ex.” Claire looked uncomfortable. “This is going to sound classist, but it’s not—it’s coming from a place of love. Love for you.”
I blinked at her, waiting.
“Doesn’t he drive a UPS truck for a living?”
“That does sound classist. Who cares what he does for work?”
“Um…you? You are seriously into your company,” Claire said. “It’s your whole world. And where does a guy like Bob fit into a one-hundred-hour workweek? It’s not like he’s going to be coming from his firm to meet you at City Bar for drinks after work. He’ll be home, feet up, watching the game.”
I wrinkled my nose. “So? That doesn’t exactly make him a bad person.”
“Of course it doesn’t. That’s not the point. The point is, what do you two really have in common?”
“He’s nice, and I like nice men,” I said. “Isn’t that enough?”
Claire’s tone wasn’t mean when she said, “I don’t know, Maddy. I really don’t. But after being off the market for so long, I want you to choose somebody who’s actually right for you. I don’t want to see you get hurt, because then you’re never coming out of that hermit shell. That’s all. When you’re finally ready to give your heart away, just choose wisely, okay?”
“Of course.” But my heart sank.
It sounded so easy. Of course…it was anything but.
Chapter Fifteen
BOB
It was a beautiful day for golf. I played terribly, but I kept smiling.
“You’re awfully upbeat for someone who just shot a nine on that last hole.” Tim clapped me on the back. “I appreciate you keeping your good humor.”
“Ah, you’re welcome. I am in a good mood. Not even a sucky round of golf can change it.”
Tim pulled down his sunglasses and inspected me. “My buddy Tyler said he thought you were sort of a douche.”
I grimaced at the mention of Tyler. I’d managed to avoid him since last night. “Gee, thanks, Tim.”
He laughed easily. “That was my ill-advised segue into saying that I think you’re cool. Are you seriously into Madison?”
“I like her a lot.” The words tumbled out easily, and I recognized them as the truth.
Tim clapped me on the shoulder. “I hope it works out. I’d be psyched to have a brother-in-law like you. Totally not what I was expecting.”
Tim seemed nice enough, but I wasn’t sure if he was in the process of insulting me or perhaps Maddy. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Maddy’s super uptight is all. She’s always ‘on.’ You know what I mean? Tapping away on her phone, fidgeting, looking like it’s painful for her to leave the office. Don’t get me wrong; I admire her work ethic. The only thing Sienna works on that hard is her abs.” He laughed. “But we worry that Maddy is headed for spinsterdom. She, like, never relaxes. So I figured she’d end up with somebody from that world, a workaholic with a phone in his face masking as a personality. But you’re a cool guy. You can hang. I hope you hang onto her.” His buddies called him over for a beer, and he winked at me. “Thanks for coming today.”
“Yeah. Thanks for inviting me.” But in spite of what Tyler had said and the sun on my face, my mood dipped.
He’d never expected Madison to be with someone like me.
I wondered if Maddy felt the same way. Insecurity had never really been an issue for me, but what had happened with my ex had messed with my head. So as I wondered, I worried.
What if Maddy didn’t feel the same way I did?
My sister texted me three times on my way back to the club.
Marta: What on earth did you ever see in that crazy bitch?
Marta: I think she invited me just to get back at you!
Marta: This is a farce. I’m not even kidding.
Thankfully, I had the cart to myself. I called her right away. “What’s going on?”
“Agh!” Marta’s breaths came out in little puffs, and I could tell she was on her treadmill, power walking her frustration to a manageable level. “Katie’s called me five times already this morning. She wants to make sure that I’m coming today, that you know I’m coming, and that I’m going to take pictures! She actually called to ask me if I’d post a story on Instagram and gave me a special hashtag!”
“That sounds like Katie. She wants to be the center of attention, even on the internet. You shouldn’t be too surprised.”
“Do you know what I think?” She let out another exasperated little puff. “Never mind! I don’t even want to know what I think!”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I scrubbed a hand across my face. “Marta, Jesus. Just say it.”
“I think she wants you to come to the wedding and stage a showdown! There, I said it.”
I pulled the cart over. “You can’t be serious.”
“I wish I wasn’t.” She didn’t say anything for a second, but I could hear her pushing buttons on her treadmill. “But the way she’s acting—trust me. I remember what she’s like. She’s super focused on me right now, which makes no sense because it’s her wedding day, and we’re not even friends anymore. I think she’s trying to get to you.”
“She’s the one who left me for Dave. He gave her a ring and one of those designer bags she’d been wanting for years.” I sighed. “I don’t really see Katie as prone to introspection or looking back. She doesn’t want me. She didn’t want me when she had me.”
“Yeah, but um… I might’ve done something bad.” Marta’s voice came out small.
“What’s that?”
“I might’ve told her that you didn’t care about her and her stupid wedding because you had a new uber-successful, uber-gorgeous, uber-rich girlfriend and you were happy. I told her that not only were you really happy, you were in love. And I think it made her lose her shit.”
“Marta—”
“I’m sorry. It was dumb of me to say anything, but she’s so fucking smug. I just want to put her head through a window!”
I sighed. “So now you think she’s trying to stir something up? She texted me and asked for my blessing. I gave it to her.”
“Yeah, that’s not what she wants to hear. She wants to hear you sob. She wants you leaking big, fat baby tears all over the place, with a side of wailing, preferably in public.”
I grimaced. Oh, those girls with issues. They went from one drama right to another. “Not gonna happen.”
“I know! But just be forewarned, she might try to call you again. I think the whole wedding thing’s making her even crazier than normal.”
“Great.” I rested my forehead against the steering wheel. “Just great.”
Art Delaney pulled his cart up next to mine. “What’s the matter, son?”
“I gotta go. Stay strong.” I hung up and forced myself to smile at Art. “Nothing, Mr. Delaney. Just talking to my sister for a minute.”
“Your sister, huh? You tell her you got clobbered at tennis yesterday by an old man? Or that you sucked hard at golf today?” His shoulders shook with silent laughter.
“Ha ha. No, I didn’t mention it. You ready for the ceremony?”
He nodded, his expression sobering. “It’s a big deal, giving your daughter away. I hope Tim’s up to taking care of my little girl. She has a long list of demands. Always has, that Sienna.”
“Tim seems like he’s ready.”
Art nodded. “You know, son, I think he understands who Sienna really is. If you can accept that, it makes everything else easier. ’Cause a marriage is a lot of things, but easy isn’t one of them. You’ll find out someday.”
“I hope to, sir.”
He shifted his cart back into drive. “You gotta watch it with my Maddy. I don’t know if she’ll ever be married to anything but her work.” He chuckled as he drove off. “And she plays it pretty close to the vest.”
; “Great. Thanks for letting me know, sir.”
I frowned as he drove away. Because really, what had he let me know? That his daughter didn’t often show her true feelings? His comments, combined with my conversation with Marta, plus what Tim had said conspired to sully my happy vibes.
One puffy cloud passed in front of the sun, suddenly making the temperature drop. I shivered.
Earlier that morning, it had seemed simple. I liked Maddy. I thought she liked me.
So why did it suddenly seem more complicated than that?
Maddy was still with the bridesmaids when I got back to the house, so I decided to go for a quick run down the beach before the ceremony. Parts of it were rocky, but after a little while, it cleared, and I was able to get a good pace going. Exercise always calmed me down and cleared my head. Half a mile into my run, the nagging doubt I’d started to feel at the golf course dissipated.
Of course Tim had expected Madison to date someone different from me. She’d been so focused on starting her company that it had left her little time to have a social life. I wasn’t the type of guy she would normally meet because I didn’t run in her circles. But so what? He hadn’t said anything negative, just that I wasn’t what he’d expected. And he’d been cool about it. I should focus on that instead of worrying.
Exercise-induced serotonin for the win!
With respect to what her father had said, there was one way to figure out what Madison wanted: I should ask her. That was what adults did, and that was what I was going to do that evening at the wedding. I was going to ask her if she wanted to go on a real date with me when we got back to the city. I might also ask her to dance.
Relieved to have a mature, non-dramatic plan, I turned around to head back. My phone rang, interrupting my playlist. I answered it without looking at the number.
“Bob?” It was Katie, and she was crying.
I immediately stopped running. “What’s the matter?”
“I think… I think… I think I made a mistake!” she wailed.
All the red flags in all the lands were raised at once. Here we go. I refused to do this.