Page 24 of Bridesmaid for Hire
“Looks like the right girl can change his mind,” Maggie says as she places her hand on my very sweaty back.
“I’m glad. You guys make a beautiful couple. How did you meet?”
“My brother is his best friend,” Maggie says. See, told you, natural conversationalist. She can literally talk to anyone about anything and be charming. “Gary and Brody met back in college. Since they’re both seven years older than me, we didn’t really hang out, but we reconnected this past year. Looks like this guy has been harboring feelings for me ever since my twenty-first birthday.”
How the hell did she pull that out of her ass?
And how the hell did she know…I mean…yeah, she’s right, but nothing happened that night.
But I do remember that night like it was yesterday. Gary invited me out to celebrate and watch his sister make an ass of herself. I like boozeand I like comedy, so it was a win-win for me. I remember walking into the bar and arriving just in time to hear her announcement: she was going to get her nipples pierced. Never confirmed if that happened or not, but we did dance once together. She told me I smelled like Cheetos, and I told her that her face looked like a mugshot gone wrong. She pushed me away and I did a shot while she took off with her friend Hattie.
Did her face look like a mugshot gone wrong?
No.
It was the first time I had seen her in a very long time, and I specifically remember thinking that she was actually really fucking…well, we don’t need to go there.
“That’s so cute. So, who made the first move?” Haisley asks just as a tall, broad man in a button-up short-sleeve approaches and places his hand on her back. She glances behind her and smiles brightly at who I can only assume is Jude Galloway, her fiancé.
“It was Brody,” Maggie says. “I’m a lady, after all.”
I nearly snort.
A lady?
Okay.
Coming from the one who, according to her legendary tales from college, paid bar cover fees by flashing the bouncer.
“I love it.” Haisley places her hand on Jude’s stomach. “This is Jude, by the way. Jude, this is Brody. He works for Dad, and this his charming girlfriend, Maggie.”
Charming…again. Jesus.
Can’t a guy get an adjective attached to his name?
Right now, I’m thinking sweaty. Damp. Saturated. Some might say…moist between the legs. Are you gagging? I did that on purpose.
“Nice to meet you,” Jude says in a deep voice that makes me think he could fell a tree with a simple bellow.
I’m a masculine man. I can grow a thick beard, I have a great dick, andI lift enough weight to battle it out with some of the bodybuilders in the gym. But standing next to Jude almost makes me feel like a teenage boy freshly going through puberty.
Where the hell did she even meet this mammoth?
Like how tall is he? Six-seven, at least.
“Ah, I see that you’ve met,” Mr. Hopper says as he steps up to our group as well.
I snap to attention from the sound of boss man’s voice.Look alive, McFadden.
But as I nervously shift closer to the oh-so-charming one, I can’t help but feel how quickly this all escalated. I assumed I was showing up to this event by myself. I’d grab a drink or two for some encouragement and congratulate the couple, not even sure Haisley would recognize me. But now I’m surrounded by Hoppers with a girlfriend at my side and no drink in sight.
Haisley curls into her dad’s side and says, “Actually, Brody and I interned together. Brody was the one who helped me with my vacation rental business plan.”That’s right, I had a part in your daughter’s success. This guy right here.“But I just met his girlfriend Maggie, and she’s lovely.”
Hopper’s lips curl to the side as his eyes remain on me, almost as if he’s sizing me up. “Yes, I briefly met her as well.” He turns his attention back to his daughter. “She says she’s a wedding planner, which I think could be very beneficial to our current predicament.”
“Daddy, I don’t think—”
Hopper turns toward Maggie, completely ignoring his daughter. “We’re down a bridesmaid.”
