Page 21 of Bridesmaid for Hire
Of course they don’t, you moron. He would know everyone he’s inviting to his daughter’s wedding.
Not me though.
Nope, I’m here. My nausea’s rolling all over again.
“Um, hi,” I say with a curt wave. “Mr. Hopper, what a grand evening, don’t you think?” I gesture to the ceiling. “Beautiful night. Gorgeous. A touch humid but can’t control Mother Nature. Just pleased there’s no rain, not that it would matter because we have a roof over our heads, but you know, for the ambience. Although, rain offers a peaceful ambience, so maybe it should rain.” He raises an eyebrow at me. “I mean, only if you want it to rain. Do you…want it to rain? Don’t answer that, of course you don’t want it to rain. No one wants to walk around in the rain unless you’re a tree dying of dehydration.” I nervously laugh. I point at him. “Trees don’t walk though, so, uh, got you on that one…”Abandon ship, man. Abandon ship.“So anyways, to sum it all up. Beautiful night, glad it’s not raining, trees don’t walk and I’m happy to be—”
“I’m so sorry about that, babe,” a female voice says just as a hand smooths up my chest while an arm wraps around my waist. “You know how brides are, they always seem to need their wedding planners, even if it’s the smallest of tasks like what sort of ribbon should be wrapped around their bouquet.”
Errr…what?
I look down at the woman next to me and it takes me a goddamn second to process—because Jesus, the breasts on this woman—but then I see her face, those eyes…those lips.
Maggie Mitchell.
What the hell is she doing?
“Are you a wedding planner?” Mr. Hopper asks, interrupting my very confused thoughts.
So many thoughts.
Like…where the hell did Maggie come from?
Why is she calling me ‘babe’?
And why the hell is her body wrapped around me as if we’re a couple?
“I am,” Maggie says as she drops her hand from my chest and holds it out to Mr. Hopper. “I’m Maggie Mitchell, Brody’s girlfriend.” Care to say that again? “We are so excited to be here this week. I can’t tell you how stunning this dream location is.”
Uh…what?
Girlfriend?
I know I passed out for a second on the boat after throwing up, but did I wake up in an alternate universe?
Hopper slowly takes me in and says, “Brody McFadden, right?”
Oh look, he does know me. Not sure if I should be thrilled or positively frightened after the wholetrees don’t walkspeech.
I swallow hard and nod. “Yup.”Do something, make this better. Oh! Cigars. Give him the cigars!Nervously, I reach for them in my pocket, fumbling like a class A imbecile and pull them out as I say, “I, uh, I brought you these to say congratulations on the wedding, well your daughter’s wedding, not yours…you’re already married to Regina. I mean, Mrs. Hopper, you’re married to Mrs. Regina Hopper.” I hold the cigars out to him, which he carefully takes. “Congratulations,” I add meekly.
And then to my shock, he smiles at me. Like, actually smiles. Shiny white veneers and all. “Thank you, this was very kind of you.” Well by God, the cigars worked.
But that doesn’t stop the sweat trickling down my temple.
Do not wipe it, not in front of him.
“Of course. Just glad to be a part—”
“Miss Mitchell,” Hopper says, focusing his attention back on her. Sure, yup, I’ll just stand here, accept the cigar win. “Would you mind if I spoke with you about a few things after I greet our guests?”
“Not at all,” Maggie says with ease. “We’ll grab a drink and when you’re ready, we can chat.”
“Wonderful, thank you.” Hopper connects with me. “Didn’t know you had such a charming girlfriend, McFadden. Glad you brought her.”
Charming?
How the hell did she become charming in less than a minute?
