The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date, #3)(91)

Alexa opened the doughnut box and grabbed one.

“You’re an angel, thank you—we definitely needed both doughnuts and cookies, didn’t we, Olivia?”

Olivia poured herself more coffee.

“Sure, yes, definitely, we needed doughnuts as well as the cookies.”

They stood in the kitchen drinking coffee and eating doughnuts, while Alexa talked a mile a minute.

Alexa’s phone buzzed, and she glanced at it.

“Ooh, you know what we need now? Champagne! How could I have forgotten this? Maddie, can you go in the big closet in the guest room and get some champagne? I bought some specifically for today and forgot it in there. It’s in the box on the second shelf in the back. I’m going to grab some more treats.”

Maddie walked into the guest room and opened the closet door. God only knew what other kinds of “treats” Alexa had up her sleeve. People warned you about bridezilla, but never about caffeinated-zilla. She must have had at least four cups of coffee, two cookies, and a doughnut already. What was going to happen later today with all of that caffeine and sugar in her system? She guessed they were going to find out.

Maddie went deep into the back of the closet, around all the random crap Alexa and Drew had stored back there: an old bike helmet; a few tote bags she knew she’d told Alexa to throw away; and piles of wedding presents. She turned on the closet light and let out a sigh. The last time she’d been in there, it was with Theo, at the engagement party.

She tried to put those memories out of her head and reached up to the second shelf for a box that looked like it could be holding champagne. When she heard the closet door close, she spun around. Theo stood there with his back to the door.

“Theo!” He stared back at her as she stared at him. “What are you doing here? I mean, in here, I mean, not here at Alexa’s, I know you’re supposed to be here.”

Way to go, Maddie. Making a lot of sense.

“Um. I just got here, and Alexa sent me back to the closet to get some champagne. I didn’t mean to close the door; it just shut behind me. I didn’t know you were in here.”

Maddie held up the box.

“She sent me back here to get champagne, too. I think it’s in here. She didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

Theo nodded and turned around.

“Oh, okay, right.” He tried to open the door, but it seemed stuck. “Alexa? Olivia? I think the door is stuck.”

“The door isn’t stuck. It’s locked!” Alexa yelled from the other side of the door. “I’ve locked you both in until you figure your shit out!”

Maddie and Theo looked at each other, and then at the closed door.

“What do you mean?” Maddie tried. “I got the champagne.”

“The champagne is in the refrigerator, not in the closet. You know me too well to think that I wouldn’t stock my fridge with champagne bottles the night before my wedding. I can’t believe both of you fell for that!”

Maddie and Theo looked at each other again.

“I think she knows,” Maddie whispered.

“Of course I know!” Alexa yelled. “Everyone knew! I’ve had it with both of you! I can’t believe the two of you thought I was so stupid that I wouldn’t know that my two best friends have been banging for months. What kind of fool do you think I am? I’ve known since you were tearing each other’s clothes off with your eyes at my engagement party! Did you really think I bought your nonsense? Two of the people who know me better than anyone in the world, and who I know better than anyone in the world, and you thought I wouldn’t know what was going on? All your secret texting while I was right there? What were you thinking? You thought I didn’t see you holding hands in the hospital? Or see that Theo suddenly stocks Maddie’s favorite sparkling water in his fridge? Or that I wouldn’t notice Theo’s bag on the floor of your living room that time, when you kept glancing at the kitchen door? Come on. Theo, I made sure to project when I told Maddie we got the venue, just so I wouldn’t have to tell you the whole story all over again.”

Oops. Maddie looked at Theo and they both grinned, and then looked away.

“Um. Thanks?” Theo said.

“You’re welcome!” Alexa yelled back. Boy, she sure was in a yelling mood. “I even got you both to come over here for margaritas that time to confirm my suspicions. You were both so giddy around each other that I knew I was right, and I figured one of you would break down and tell me eventually, but no!”

Alexa had known since then. Maddie shook her head. After all she’d done to keep this from Alexa, it had all been pointless.

“And you know, it was all fine and good when you two were doing your secret little thing that any person with half a brain could figure out, because you both seemed happier than I’d ever seen you—especially you, Madeleine.”

Maddie looked down at the floor so she couldn’t see if Theo was looking at her to see if that part about her being so happy was true. It probably was.

“But then it was clear you’d had a fight, by the way you were both moping around everywhere. And then you each came to me with your ‘I need to talk about something’ faces on, and I was sure that this was FINALLY the time when you would each tell me the secret and I could talk sense into both of you and you would both stop this bullshit and call each other, but noooo, neither of you gave me the opportunity to do that, so I had to just keep pretending I didn’t know anything, and that almost broke me in the middle of planning a damn wedding. I hoped you’d figure your shit out by now, but after the way the two of you were staring longingly at each other last night, it’s clear you haven’t.”