The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date, #3)(25)

“Oh, it’s no problem. I have some great stuff for you this time; it’s all on the rack.”

Maya made a beeline to the rack. She flipped through the clothes, moving quickly past some and lingering at others. The ones she paused at, Maddie grabbed and moved to the end of the rack. One of the reasons Maddie loved working with Maya is that she was so decisive. But she was also willing to take a risk now and then. It made her fun to dress.

“I’m already excited to try all of this on.” Maya looked at a boldly patterned shift dress. “I’m not positive how this will work on TV, but I think I love it, so let’s try it anyway.”

Maddie arranged the forty or so garments Maya had chosen at the end of the rack, first by type, and then by color.

Maya stepped out of her clothes and into the first dress, a black pin-striped cap sleeve shift dress that Maddie had thought would be a slam dunk. It was.

“I love this. I want it in every color it comes in.” She turned around for Maddie to unzip her. “So this is fun: they’re thinking about doing a show at the station where women who have been homeless, or in rehab, stuff like that, learn how to dress for success. Isn’t that a great idea?” Maya pulled on a color-blocked dress and smiled at herself in the mirror.

Maddie handed her a blazer to put over it.

“That is a great idea. I hope they get it right.”

Maddie knew well how badly most of the world treated poor and struggling women, especially if they were women of color. There were a lot of ways to get a show like that wrong.

Maya pulled on the jumpsuit Maddie handed her.

“I don’t know about this one, Maddie. What do you think? This pink is great on me, but can I pull off a jumpsuit? On air?”

Maddie had her arguments all ready.

“You absolutely can. First, look at this one: the fit on you is fantastic, it’s blousy in just the right kind of way, and as you said, the color is perfect on you. And it’s no problem to wear it on air—the color will pop, the neckline will work with any kind of necklace, you can throw a blazer over it and look super professional, and you’re behind a desk anyway. And if you stand up, hell, you just look cool.”

Maya grinned at herself in the mirror and shrugged.

“Okay, fine, you’ve convinced me. I notice you didn’t say anything about what a pain it’s going to be to go to the bathroom while wearing this, but I guess we’re both just taking that as a given and moving on.”

Maya pulled off the jumpsuit and reached for Maddie’s next option.

“Back to the show—I think it could be great,” she said to Maddie. “They’ll just have to have the right host for it; someone who is good at styling but is also great on camera. That’ll be a challenge.”

She slipped on a bright red skirt with a kick pleat and stepped into the leopard print heels Maddie handed her.

“Okay, you’re officially brilliant. I was doubtful about both of these, but they’re great on me, and these shoes are way more comfortable than I thought they’d be.”

Maddie gave her a black ruffled top from the reject pile.

“I know you already said no to this, but I don’t care. It works with that whole outfit. Just try it on.”

Maya looked at herself in the mirror and slowly shook her head.

“See, this is why I love you. You badger me into wearing clothes that look incredible on me.” She looked down the rack of clothes. “And you found all this stuff, and it was all here ready for me. I could have spent a day shopping and not found this many good clothes.”

Maddie grinned as she hung up the clothes. Compliments from her clients were always welcome.

“Shopping has always been one of my best skills. People”—people like Theo—“always tried to act like that was a stupid thing to be good at, but once I realized I could do it for a living, I didn’t care what they had to say anymore.”

Maya tried on the next outfit.

“We all have to lean in to our skills and passions—one of the best things I’ve realized in my thirties,” Maddie said.

Maya turned to her with a smile.

“All of that is exactly why I told the producers I knew the perfect person to host the show.”

Maddie stared at her for way too long before she realized where Maya was going with this.

“Me? You want me to do it?” Maddie shook her head. “Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t think—”

Maya’s grin was very wide.

“You’d be amazing at it! You’re so good at this anyway; it’ll just give you a bigger platform to be good. And you’ll help so many people!”

“All of that’s true, but, Maya . . .”

Maya didn’t let her finish.

“You’re going to say you’re not sure about being on camera, but I bet you’re great on camera. Just look at you!”

Maddie couldn’t help but be flattered.

“You’ve beaten down all my arguments, so fine, I’ll think about it, but . . .”

Maya grinned.

“Fantastic. I already told them about you and that I’d see you today. You should get a call from them very soon. Do you have a headshot? If so, send it to me. Also, I love this dress, but don’t you think it needs to be like half an inch shorter?”