Page 205 of Bridesmaid for Hire
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I ask before I pick her up and spin her around. “Maggie, yes, I want this. I want you. I want us. I’ve been so goddamn miserable thinking that I lost one of the best things to happen to me.” I cup the back of her head. “I didn’t think this was a possibility.”
“It very much is,” she says before lifting up on her toes and pressing her lips to mine.
I fucking sink into the kiss.
Melt into her arms.
Relish in the fact that my girl, Maggie, wants me back.
Her lips part, and mine part with hers as my fingers sift through her hair. I sink into this moment, savoring what I’ve lost and found again. This love. This woman. This bond that we seem to have, that we hid and denied for so long.
I pull away just enough to rub my thumb over her cheek. “This is real, right? I’m not dreaming?”
“This is real,” she says quietly.
“You’re mine?”
“I’m yours.”
“Is Gary watching?”
She chuckles and looks past my shoulder. “He’s peeking through the curtain, crying.”
“Perfect,” I say as I bring her lips to mine and then put on a show, because if I’m going to date my best friend’s sister, then I’m going to fucking do it right.
EPILOGUE
BRODY
“YOU KNOW, I FEEL KINDOF SADabout it,” I say to Maggie as we walk hand in hand down the quaint street.
“You hated that job,” she says. “I don’t even know why you began walking dogs in the first place.”
“Losing your girl does crazy things to you.” I bring our connected hands up to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “But I grew attached to Mr. Sparkle Nose. He was a good dog. And I think he liked me.”
“He bit you every day.”
“Because he was a feisty motherfucker. Can’t knock the guy for having a personality.”
She laughs. “Well, are you excited about starting your new job?”
“I am,” I say. “I still think Hudson and Hardy are nuts, but if they want to try my boutique idea to royally piss off their father, then I’m all for it. But I will say this, when we get back on Monday, I have to work with Jude on a few things, and that guy scares me.”
“Oh please, he’s such a teddy bear.”
“His eyebrow has its own heartbeat. When he gets angry, the eyebrow does damage.”
“Well then, don’t make the eyebrow angry,” Maggie says as we reach The Almond Store.
We decided to take a little trip for the weekend to Almond Bay, where Hattie, Maggie’s best friend lives with her boyfriend, Hayes Farrow. Yeah,thatHayes Farrow. Apparently, Hattie wanted to meet me, so we booked a room at the inn called Five Six Seven Eight—a former Broadway star owns it—and planned a fun weekend getaway that includes a lot of sex. Hence our decision to stay at the inn.
We had about two weeks to wait for this getaway, but I’ve been counting down the days—not only because I walked my last dog today before we drove up here, but also because I plan on telling Maggie that I love her. We haven’t said the words yet because, well, I think we’re both a little skittish after what happened, but I asked for Gary’s permission—he told me I was allowed to love her, but not as much as I love him. I told him never, even though in the back of my mind, I know that if Maggie and Gary were hanging off a cliff, Maggie would be the first to be saved.Sorry, Gare Bear, you’ve been great, but Maggie is far more important.
I thought we could take a stroll on the beach, look at some sea glass, and then I could tell her that I love her. Do I expect her to say it back? No. But would it be amazing? Absolutely.
“This is a nice place,” I say as we step into the whitewashed storefront. Clean with wide plank floors, white shelving, and blue and perfectly styled packages of almonds, this is the kind of store someone like Jaleesa or Patricia would get lost in.
Hattie is the owner of The Almond Store, a cherished family business that focuses on selling their world-famous almond extract, cherry almond cookies, and almond vodka, which they make from scratch. I like all things almond, so don’t mind if I do.
