The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date, #3)(33)

Her mom got the next job she interviewed for.

“Slow down, they haven’t even seen me in person yet!” Maddie said. “I’m going in next week to talk to him, but he made it clear that this is the first round of a long process. He did tell me more about the job—they want it to be an afternoon show, one of the ones that come on between when the soaps end and the news begins. I think they’re still figuring out some stuff about it, but Maya sang my praises, so he seemed excited to talk to me.”

Maddie had been excited to talk to him, too, though she had played it cool. She was trying hard not to get her hopes up, but that was hard with the way her mom talked about this job like it was already hers.

“I can’t wait! My baby is going to be on TV. I’m going to tell the whole world to watch your show. Just think of how much the women will learn from you! People need someone like you to help get them where they want to go; clothes are so important, even though everyone tries to pretend they’re not.”

Maddie shook her head and dried off the inside of the coffeepot so it would be ready for the next morning.

“Slow down, Mom. Not that I don’t agree with you, but I haven’t even met with them yet. I’ll keep you posted, though.”

“Mmmhmm.” Maddie knew her mom hadn’t paid attention to a single word she’d said. The fantasy of her daughter on television—even just local television—would sustain her for weeks. “What about boys? Anybody I need to know about?”

Maddie talked to her mom about almost everything, but she hadn’t told her about Theo. She’d told her mom about a number of guys in the past, and even introduced her to a few when they got serious enough. But it seemed pointless to tell her about Theo. This wasn’t that kind of relationship. They didn’t even like each other!

Granted, she’d thought about telling her, almost every time she’d talked to her mom in the last month, especially since she couldn’t tell Alexa, the person she did tell everything to. Sometimes she felt like she’d burst if she couldn’t share this joke—that she was sleeping with Theo Stephens, of all people!—with someone. Or tell someone how nice it was to be sleeping with a guy who didn’t seem to want or need all of the other bullshit men always wanted from her—parties, meeting their friends, all the big showy stuff she always dreaded. All she and Theo did was eat takeout on his couch, watch TV, and have great sex. It was heaven.

It was too good. There was no way they could keep going on like this. Hell, she was certain their thing wouldn’t even last until the wedding, but she’d ride it out as long as she could. She just had to pray she could trust Theo not to tell Alexa.

So, therefore, she absolutely couldn’t tell her mom.

“No, Mom. There’s no one you need to know about.”

Would her mom give up? She was betting no.

“What about that Theo, Alexa’s friend? You’ve mentioned him a few times recently. Is there anything . . .”

Shit. This is what happened when you talked to your mom too much. You accidentally kept mentioning the guy you were keeping a secret from everyone.

“Oh God no, Theo and I have nothing in common. We’re just both in Alexa’s wedding party, and you know Alexa. There’s all sorts of planning that needs to be done already.”

Maddie mentally apologized to Alexa for maligning her that way. So far, they’d barely discussed the wedding, other than a few conversations about location.

Her mom sighed.

“You haven’t met anyone else interesting, huh?”

“Where would I find the time to meet a boy?” Maddie asked her. “Plus, I’ve given up on men—they all think I’m going to be some party girl when they start dating me, because of how I look and dress, but then they get to know me and discover I have a personality and ambitions and am actually kind of a homebody, and they freak out. I thought about changing the way I look and dress to make it clear who I am, but fuck that. I like the way I look and I like my clothes. I don’t want to change that for a man.”

Her mom laughed.

“I’m with you there.”

Maddie grinned.

“Speaking of, mom, how’s your love life going?”

Her mom huffed.

“Madeleine. We are talking about you right now, not me!”

Maddie laughed. Her mom hated when she tried to get information about her dating life out of her, even though she pried into Maddie’s constantly.

Watch, she’d change the subject back to Maddie now.

“Anyway. Maybe you’ll meet someone good at Alexa’s wedding. Drew must have some smart doctor friends.”

Maddie smiled to herself. Alexa certainly had some smart—and talented—friends herself.

“The wedding’s not for a long time,” she said.





Chapter Nine




“I’M SO GLAD I TALKED YOU INTO THESE CHAIRS.” MADDIE LAY BACK IN one of Alexa’s backyard lounge chairs and sighed in contentment. Alexa was in the chair next to her, separated by a table just big enough for their bowls of chips and salsa and cans of fizzy water. Their original plan had been to go shopping that day, but the Bay Area was experiencing one of its rare spells of over-eighty-degree weather, so Alexa had called an audible and they’d changed their plans to a day of sun and relaxation. Maddie had come over with chips and salsa in her bag, and her bikini on underneath a caftan, to find Alexa filling up the kiddie pool in her backyard. They’d been in the lounge chairs ever since.