“Hello, Carly. Who’s your friend?” The older man watching us with interest had to be family. He had the same intense hazel eyes as Colin.
“Maddy was actually Colin’s friend first, but you know me. I just love stealing things.” She challenged the man with her gaze.
“Maddy? You’re Colin’s Maddy?” The man’s eyes moved to me, completely ignoring Carly’s comment.
Why did people talk that way? It made it sound like you only existed as your significant other’s other half.
“Yes, I’m here as Colin’s date.”
He studied me for a moment before holding out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maddy. I’m Colin’s father, George.” His father. I wondered if that was how Colin would look in thirty years. He was in great shape.
“Hi.” I wasn’t surprised to learn of their father-son relationship, but I was surprised he was so cold with his own daughter.
“Are you enjoying yourself so far? I know Colin is so glad you could join him.”
I was positive he had no clue how Colin felt about it. I was surprised he’d even heard of me. My guess was they weren’t particularly close.
“There you are, George.” Miranda put a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Well, hello again, Maddy. You left before we had a chance to talk more last night.”
If I wasn’t imagining things, there was an edge to her voice. Did she have a problem with me leaving? I shrugged off my annoyance when I realized she was ignoring her daughter. What was wrong with these people?
“I was about to tell your husband how I’m having a lovely time thanks to your daughter.” If Colin’s parents were going to play that game, I’d play it even harder.
“Oh. How nice.” The anger in her words was undeniable.
That was it. There was seriously something going on there. I knew this wasn’t the place to find out. “Nice meeting you.” I smiled before taking Carly’s arm and walking away.
“Aren’t my parents the greatest?” she said sarcastically as soon as we were out of earshot.
“And I thought mine were bad.”
“I’m sure they don’t compare to mine.” She downed the rest of her champagne.
I wanted to know what the hell was going on, but I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. “Let’s get some appetizers. They’re always better than the rest of the food.”
“I agree. I mean, what does filet mignon have on coconut shrimp and mini crab cakes?”
“Exactly. And the cake is never even good.”
Carly popped up on her toes. “I know! At my wedding I’m having all appetizers and non-wedding cake desserts.”
“That’s a great idea. Do you mind if I steal it when I get married?”
“No, I think it should be the new thing. We should start the trend.” She laughed.
“Exactly. It could be the next big thing.” I happily accepted a stuffed mushroom from a server.
“I think I found our calling. We should open our own event planning business. We obviously have good taste.”
I laughed. “And I also have the bartending expertise.”
“What should we call it?”
“Mad C Events.”
“Haha, I like it.”
“Why does it look like you two are plotting something?” Colin slipped an arm around my waist.
I leaned into him. “Because we are.”
“Does it involve me?”
“Why would it involve you? You are not the center of the universe, Colin.” Carly leaned over and tousled his hair.
“I am what you two have in common.”
“Because that’s not conceited. We have a lot more than you in common.” I slipped out of his arm.
“Oh yeah? I’m listening.”
“We’re both cool.” The way Carly said it made me break into a fit of giggles. That somehow got Carly laughing too.
Colin stood there watching us like we had two heads. “Okay… How much have you girls had to drink so far?”
“Just a glass of champagne each.” I held up my empty flute.
“I know who I should be hanging out with then. You two know how to have a good time.”
“Did you doubt that?” Carly asked.
“He shouldn’t have.”
Colin shook his head. “Okay. No way. This is not happening.”
“What isn’t?” Carly and I said in unison. This got us laughing again.
“That. This. You guys can’t be friends.”
“Umm, why not?” I put a hand on my hip.
“Because then you’ll gang up on me or something. I don’t like it.”
I glared at him. “You had better be kidding.”
“I am…kind of. It makes me nervous.”
“That’s not a bad thing. It will keep him on his toes, Mad.”
“Good point, C.”
“Mad? C? You have nicknames for each other?”
“It comes from the name of our new company,” I explained with the straightest face I could muster.
Colin groaned. “I don’t want to know what kind of business this is, do I?”
“Just an event planning one. Nothing to worry about.”
“Event planning?”
“Yes, and if you want to contribute the initial capital, you can get in on it.” Carly held out her hand like she was waiting for him to give her money.
“All of this sounds great and all, but can I borrow your business partner, Carly? I want to introduce her to some more people.”
“Sure, sure. I see how it is.” Carly did a combination of rolling her eyes and shaking her head that had me laughing again.
I waved goodbye to Carly as Colin led me away. “Your sister’s really cool.”
“I know. I’m glad you two hit it off. She could use a friend right now.”
“I kind of had a feeling something was going on.”
“Yeah, it’s been a rough month or so.” He didn’t elaborate, and it only left me wanting to know more.
“I’ll have to get her number from you.”
“Sure, I bet she’ll ask for yours.” He led me over to a group of guys. I recognized Mark and Jamie from the night before.
“And we meet again.” Jamie smiled.
“You guys have met?” Colin looked between us.
“Yes, I kicked him out of your sister’s room last night.”
“Oh.” Colin stiffened. Damn it. Why had I said that?
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Mark quickly jumped in. “We were just hanging out.”
“You were there too?”
“Yeah. I walked Carly back, remember?”
“And that meant you had to stay?”
I could tell Colin was getting angry, and he probably had the right to, but I also noticed his parents watching us. I didn’t want them listening in. “Didn’t you say you wanted me to meet someone?” I asked him, hoping he hadn’t meant his friends.
“Oh yeah.” He took my hand. “See you, guys.”
“You’re going to have to explain what all of that was about,” he said quietly as we walked across the lawn.
“Maybe I will when you explain why you didn’t introduce me to Carly when she was in town.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Neither is this.” I wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of ratting out Carly.
“Fine. Let’s drop it for now.” He took my hand as we stopped in front of an older woman sitting at a table in the shade.
“Grandma, this is Maddy.” Colin pulled out two chairs across from her.
I took one of the seats. “Pleasure to meet you.” Was meeting his parents not enough? Now I had to meet his grandmother?
“Oh, she’s lovely.”
She spoke to Colin like I wasn’t there.
“She is, isn’t she?” Colin beamed, putting an arm around me.
“When are you due?” The woman turned her attention to me.
“Excuse me?”
“When�
�s your due date?”
Colin exhaled sharply. “Grandma, Maddy isn’t pregnant.”
“Sure she is, your mom told me all about it.”
“I don’t see why she would, because it isn’t true.”
“Wait, that’s right. Aarron is the one who knocked up the girl.”
Colin and I glanced at each other. His expression was equal part worried that I was going to flip out over his grandmother’s mistake, and shocked that he just found out his other cousin’s girlfriend was pregnant. He made a quick excuse for us, and we walked off.
“Sorry about that.”
“You’ve been apologizing a lot this weekend.”
“I know I have been. I’ve had a lot of reasons to do it.”
“Why not try to change that?”
“I will. It looks like the cocktail hour is almost over. It’s about time for me to give you that dance I promised you.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Colin could dance better than I expected. Once again, I’d underestimated him. I assumed he would be tentative on the dance floor, but it turned out he was confident and even daring. He had me laughing and grinning so much my face hurt. We only stopped dancing to eat and to happily head back to our room. This time Colin didn’t bother with the pull-out couch.
Chapter Fourteen
I rolled over, disappointed to find empty sheets next to me. It was Monday morning, and against my better judgment I’d spent Sunday night at Colin’s place. He’d looked so darn sexy when he asked me, and I was kind of afraid the magic of the weekend would wear off now that we were back home. Despite the downs of the weekend, I’d had a good time. Saturday night had been even better than Friday, and Sunday night, although less frenzied, had been equally as satisfying.
I felt around on the nightstand for my glasses, surprised that the clock only read seven thirty. Had Colin left for work already?
I sat up, holding the sheet to cover myself, even though there was no one there to see me. I felt around on the floor, glad to find my clothes exactly where I’d left them.
Dressed, I checked out his amazing bathroom again. At least three times the size of my current bedroom, it was huge. At some point I’d have to check out the giant shower—and the soaking tub. Hopefully, I’d have to the chance to do both with Colin, that is if I ever found him.
I walked downstairs, calling out Colin’s name as I went. I didn’t get a response, but I did find a note scrawled on the back of one of his business cards and a twenty-dollar bill.
Had a great time. I didn’t want to wake you up.
There was only one logical explanation for the twenty dollars—it had to be cab fare, but there was no way I was going to let him get away with it.
I pulled my phone out and texted him. Twenty dollars? Do you really think that covers what we did last night?
I left the money on the counter and walked outside. He hadn’t left a key, so I figured he just wanted me to close the door behind me. I wondered what his company would think if they knew he was doing that.
I knew the walk home would be long, but it sounded much more appealing than taking a cab. The weather was still warm in late September, but the early hour made it a pleasant walk. I was twenty minutes in when my phone rang.
“Why hello.”
“It’s cab money, Maddy. Please tell me you’re joking and didn’t actually think it was something else.” The panic in his voice was comical.
“Considering I didn’t get any compensation for the weekend, I figured you knew I wasn’t a prostitute.”
“Maddy!”
“What? You’re the one who left me a note with money thanking me for a great night.”
“I didn’t thank you. I just noted how good a time I had.”
“Very big difference.”
He sighed. “Next time please keep your jokes to my voicemail.”
“Why?” I suddenly felt some panic of my own. “Did someone else read it?”
“Yeah, someone I work with.”
“Lovely.”
“Lovely isn’t exactly the word I used. I had to explain that my girlfriend has an interesting sense of humor.”
“Girlfriend, is it?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with me using that term?”
“Not exactly, but we never discussed it.”
“Discussed it? What is this, eighth grade? Listen, I have to go. I’ll stop by to visit you at work tonight.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you another night.”
“I thought you’re working every night this week to make up for taking the weekend off?”
“I am.”
“So your plan was to wait a week to see me again? I’ll be lucky if I make it through today.” His voice softened. “I miss you already.”
I felt the same way, but it seemed way too sappy to admit it. “All right, I guess I’ll see you later then.”
A car sped by with the windows down. An unidentifiable pop song blared from the windows.
“Wait. Where are you?” he asked suspiciously.
“I’m about halfway home.”
“Halfway home. You’re walking? Didn’t this whole conversation start out because I left you cab money? I didn’t want you walking home, Maddy.”
“I don’t mind the walk. Use the twenty for something more useful.”
“Yeah, something really useful—I’ll use it to over-tip that bartender I’m sleeping with.”
“See now you’re back to the insinuation we started with. You can’t use ‘tipping’ and ‘sleeping with’ in the same sentence.”
“Will you text me when you get home?”
“Very funny. It’s broad daylight.”
“On a busy road. Please just text me. I feel bad enough about not driving you home myself.”
“I guess this means you won’t be inviting me to stay over on weekdays again.”
“Oh, I will be. I’ll just have to come up with a better solution.”
“Don’t you need to get back to work?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Have a great day, Maddy.”
“You too.”
I slipped my phone back in my bag. I was walking up the outdoor stairs when I realized I’d left my suitcase at Colin’s place. I texted him as soon as I pushed open the door. I’m alive. Please bring my suitcase by tonight if you can. XOXO Maddy.
He didn’t write back at first, so I made myself a cup of green tea and poured myself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Macon had picked it up as a joke—and it sounded perfect.
I was washing off my dish when Colin texted back. Glad you’re alive. There’s no reason to bring over your suitcase. You can bring it when I drop you off tomorrow morning. ;)
Did you just wink at me?
Yes.
Go back to work.
You are much bossier by text.
Maybe if you actually do work now, I’ll see you later.
I’ll find a way to see you anyway, but you’re right.
I laughed. Colin passed the first test of dating me. He had a sense of humor.
***
“Do you want to go diving tomorrow?” Macon surprised me by coming by work on a Monday night. The only guaranteed visit was on Thursdays, but he never came so early in the week.
“Sure. I don’t have anything else going on.”
“Will you be home at seven thirty, or…”
“Yes. I’ll be home.” I was glad I’d worn my glasses home from Colin’s. Thanks to extra contacts, I didn’t need my stuff back right away.
“Cool. Not that I care where you sleep, but I haven’t seen you in days.”
“Is that why you’re here? Checking on me?”
Macon smiled. “Just saying hello to my long lost friend.”
“It was only a weekend.”
“A weekend and a Sunday night. Traditionally, a weekend away involves getting home at some point on Sunday.”
“Were you worried about me?” I cut up some limes, getting ready to hand off
a large order of Coronas to a new waitress.
“Not worried, just surprised. You still haven’t filled me in. All I know is you got his kid sister wasted.”
“Her name’s Carly, and she was one of the highlights of the weekend.”
“I’m guessing the other highlight has something to do with you not coming home last night?”
I turned, feeling awkward discussing my sex life with Macon. For all the joking we did about it, it felt strange to talk about me getting some. “Yes. That’s the other highlight.”
“How was it? Obviously it wasn’t awful if you spent an extra night.”
“Why do you care?” I handed over the Coronas and reluctantly turned back to Macon.
“I don’t really.”
“Okay, good. So how did the date with Mary go?”
“It didn’t.”
“Oh. Why?”
“She said her sitter called in sick, but I think she was making up an excuse.”
“Really? Why?”
“Just a feeling.”
“Any other dates lined up?”
“Who am I going to date? This place is dead.”
I leaned back against the counter. “You usually manage.”
“This is going to be my last winter here.”
“Because you can’t get enough action?”
He laughed. “No, because it’s getting boring.”
“Well, you can’t put off grad school forever.”
“I guess it’s time to start applying.”
“I guess so.” I wondered if his reluctance to apply had something to do with losing the job with his uncle. Was he so deflated he didn’t want to do business at all anymore?
“So tell me about Carly.” He finished off his drink. He was drinking beer for a change.
“She’s twenty-one and pretty cool. There’s something weird going on with her and her family though.”
“What do you mean?” Macon asked with real interest. He was a little gossip at heart.
“Her parents were cold to her, and Colin never told me when she was here visiting.”
“When was she here?”
“Oh wait. I haven’t told you yet. She was the girl I saw him with when I was out with Ralph.”
“No you don’t. Don’t just slip in that kind of detail. I thought that was your undeniable knowledge that he’d moved on from you.”
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