Page 20 of The Trouble with Love and Ink
“Hailey says you agreed to be her business partner,” Mom said brightly.
“Did everyone know about your business but me?” I asked, not even trying to mask my hurt. I mean, geez, I was her sister. Her compadre. The one who brought her Mr. Goodbars when she was on her period. And watched horror movies every Halloween with her—even though I hated scary movies. In high school, we’d fawned over the same boys and avoided the same mean girls.
We’d made a preteen pact that we would be each other’s maids of honor—drawn up a contract on notebook paper. We were close, to say the least. But not close enough for her to tell me she was making a business out of my passion, apparently.
My mom sighed and put down the shorts she’d just folded. “Sweetie, I think Hailey just wanted you to really consider joining.”
“And I knew you wouldn’t unless it was established,” Hailey cut in, not nearly as gentle as Mom.
I made myself very busy then, lining the pens up and laying them in the zipper pouch. “You act like being careful is a deficit.”
“It can be,” Hailey muttered, snapping open a trash bag.
“It’s not,” Mom said. “Especially not after what happened to me—to us.”
And that did it. Hailey and I shared a look. Truce. Because any time Mom brought up the summer that had uprooted our life, we did whatever we could to keep her from feeling guilty.
My eyes fell on the hunter-green envelope I’d found in Hailey’s room weeks ago. The one that had been a window into Hailey’s secret life. Before, the envelope had been a startling revelation. Now, it was an easy way to change the subject.
“Hey,” I said, frisbeeing the invitation onto Hailey’s bare mattress. “You might want to mail this off soon.”
Hailey picked up the invitation, then her eyes widened as she realized what it was. “Oh shit! This is for Victoria’s shower. I mailed the others weeks ago.”
“Hopefully, Ms. Reagan Dawson can find a gift in time.”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “The shower is still a month away, and we live in the era of Amazon Prime. I think she’ll be fine.” Hailey went back to boxing her bookshelf. “Besides, you can hardly blame me for missing one; with 145, it’s bound to happen.”
I nearly dropped the stack of paper I’d been straightening. “You mean 145 guests. Total,” I supplied. But even that number seemed too high.
“No. Her guest list is 230 people.”
I gaped.
“What?” Hailey asked, seemingly annoyed at my stupor.
“You never told me I was taking over a freaking mega-wedding!”
“What did you expect?” Hailey went on, inspecting a book as she spoke. “She’s Victoria Atteridge.”
“Atteridge?” The room spun. I planted my hands on the desk, trying to ground myself. “As in—” No. There was no way.
“Yeah. Atteridge Hotels. Her guest list is actually pretty tame for her status.” Hailey’s voice sounded far away as the magnitude hit me. “You have access to my Gmail and all my client info. How is this the first time you’re realizing this?”
“Because,” I hissed, “you have all your clients listed by first names. I didn’t go diving in with background checks. I just assumed your clients were like . . . regular people.” I put my hand on my chest, sure a blotchy rash consumed the pale skin. “How in the heck did you get a deal with Victoria Atteridge?”
The Atteridge was a luxury hotel franchise with locations in the Woodlands, Houston, and Galveston. But I knew they had branches all over the world. I’d seen the towering hotels as a kid and always wanted to stay in one. We never had, and as an adult, I understood why, with their cheapest room at three hundred a night, their most expensive upwards of two thousand.
“Wow,” Hailey huffed. “You really have no faith in me.”
I scoffed. “You started calligraphy like three days ago, so excuse me for being in shock.”
“Look, I don’t know why you are making such a big deal out of this. I already addressed all the wedding and shower invites. The hardest part is done. You just have a few tasks left.”
“I’m making a big deal,” I said between my teeth, “because this client is practically royalty, and I don’t want to mess up any part of her big day.”
“Listen, before you go on a doom spiral, just go to that meeting with her. Feel out the situation.”
“Hailey—”
