Page 40 of Hot Mess
“It was like four years ago. There were some rock stars involved. And some circus freaks?” Finally, I’d snagged Madeleine’s attention; she glanced up at me. “And maybe a tattoo?”
“Daniella got a tattoo?”
“I think he got the tattoo, actually.”
“Who did?”
“Ashley Player. The rock star sitting in my office right now.”
Madeleine leaned back in her chair and glanced through the window, across the reception area and into my office. I took a look, too. He wasn’t sitting. He was standing, studying the framed print on my wall, a Georgia O’Keeffe painting of a white trumpet flower.
“He asked Dani to marry him or something?” I went on. “I don’t know. There were a lot of salacious details and I tried not to hear them all. She definitely told me she gave him a fake number and ghosted him. You know how she is.”
Madeleine’s gaze returned to me. “And?”
“And what am I supposed to say to him? I ran into him the other night on the street and he thinks I’m her.”
Madeleine glanced through the window again, checking Ashley out. “So be her,” she said. “He’s pretty.”
“That’s not helping. Tell me what to do.”
Madeleine frowned. It took a lot to make Madeleine or any of my aunts frown. You know, wrinkles. The Vola family was comprised of beautiful, strong, sophisticated women. Unfortunately, despite the obvious genetics, I wasn’t always sure that I was one of them.
The personalities in my family—including my sister’s—weresostrong, I’d become accustomed to doing whatever was expected of me from a very young age. Even as a toddler, Dani cried louder and got the lion’s share of attention—much like my mom—while I, because of my people-pleasing nature, was pretty much expected to do whatever it took to keep my high maintenance sister happy—like my dad did for my mom.
Madeleine knew all of this. For years now, she’d been the lone voice in my family urging me to grow a spine and tell the rest of them to shove it.
“I am not telling you what to do, Danica,” she said. “What do youwantto do?”
“I want to go back in time and slap Dani upside the head.”
My aunt sighed. Then she got to her feet, smoothed her dress, and strode over to my office. I followed at her heels.
“Hi,” she said, offering Ashley her hand as we walked in. “I’m Madeleine Vola.”
“Ashley,” he said, shaking her hand.
“This is my office,” my aunt explained. “This is my beautiful niece, Danica.” Ashley looked at me. “Danica has a twin sister. My other beautiful niece, Daniella. As I understand it, Daniella was the one you met, in Alaska, was it? Unfortunately she’s not here. She doesn’t work here.”
Understanding was dawning on Ashley’s face as he looked from me to her. Gradually. “Oh.”
“They’re identical twins, hon,” Madeleine informed him.
Shit.This wasawful. I was cringing all over.
Was he humiliated? Disappointed?
Angry?
“I hear you’re a musician?” Madeleine said, shifting gears, and he looked at her. She made a show of looking him over, head to toe, in that way she only did when she planned to swallow a man whole for her midnight snack. “Have you ever worked with an interior designer?” She even jutted her hip out, making her body into that sexy S-shape I could never quite achieve with any authority.
Great.
Ashley’s blue eyes flicked to mine again, and I blurted out, “I offer a complimentary consultation.”
Madeleine glanced at me. I didn’t look her in the eye, so I wasn’t sure what she thought of my offer. All I knew was I couldn’t let her scoop Ashley Player as a client.
Not. Happening.
