Page 138 of Bridesmaid Undercover
I worry my bottom lip as anxiety rolls through me.
This is what was supposed to happen.
He was supposed to get back together with Maple—I guess I just didn’t expect to be completely dropped from his life, though. I thought that we were at least friends.
I stand from my desk and pick up my water glass. I walk toward the kitchen, my slippers shuffling across the concrete as I go to fill up my glass with more water.
Maggie just got a shipment of vases for an upcoming wedding that we’re storing for the florist since they’re out of room. The boxes line the hallway for now until we can move them into storage. If I wasn’t wearing a pencil skirt, I would move them right now, get out some of this nervous energy, but with my luck, one squat to pick up a box will tear the skirt wide open.
When I reach the kitchen, I fill up my water before leaning against the wall and staring out toward the storefront’s main lobby.
This is what you signed up for, Everly. To help Hardy get back together with Maple.
You knew this was coming. There was no way Maple wouldn’t fall for the man all over again.
And yet, it feels like my heart is slowly…painfully, being ripped out of my chest with every breath I take.
Dramatic? Maybe, but I just…God, I liked him and there was a slim part of me that thought…maybe, just maybe there was more for us.
Looks like I was wrong.
I take a sip of my water and sigh.
God, what I wouldn’t give for his ghosting to be due to a farm-related accident.
I’ve never wished for someone to lose their fingers before, but here I am.
And all I can say is, I’m not proud of it.
Chapter Nineteen
HARDY
She would like this shirt.
Actually, she’d probably love it.
A crab posing in a beret with a paintbrush and the nameLeonardo da Pinciunder him.
She’d think it was funny, clever, and stupid all at the same time.
She’d love this store. I could see her strolling down the boardwalk-style sidewalk of Almond Bay, a small coastal town in Northern California, admiring the Victorian buildings, pastel colors, and adorable flower boxes. That’s what she would call them,adorable.
I could see her spotting the souvenir shop and with a humorous glint in her eye asking me if I wanted to go in. I, of course, am always up for an adventure with her and would jump on the opportunity.
We’d walk into The Almond Outpost and the first thing she would say is how she likes the wide plank floors. I’d agree with her. Then she’d ooh and ahh over the shirt selection up front, thegeneric Almond Bay shirts, but then she’d gasp when we head toward the back, because she’d see the outpouring of bad puns stitched and inked onto various items of clothing.
She’d rifle through them, holding them up to her chest, like…like this one…
A horse dressed up as Obi Wan with the slogan,May the Horse Be With you, under it. Almond Bay Equine Rescue.
Or this one, two croissants holding hands with a heart above their heads and the text,You’re the one I croissant.
I actually think she might like that one best since she’s a romantic.
Actually, I know she would like it best. She’d chuckle, but she’d also get those heart eyes she seems to get when something makes her really happy. They glisten and twinkle…
Fuck.
