Page 11 of Without a Hitch
“I don’t drink. Please…” She cuts off with a slight frown. “Oh, what’s your name?”
I answer with a heavy sigh that promises a long night ahead. “Tilly. My name is Tilly.”
“Tilly. I like that. Please be my wedding fixer. I really, really need you.”
“I don’t know…”
“Fifteen thousand.”
“No, it’s not…”Am I breathing loudly? It sounds like I’m breathing loudly.
“Twenty thousand.”
Is this girl insane? Who just has twenty grand lying around?But as I sit in the swanky Dorrety Hotel bar, memories of the Westbrooks fill my head.People who stay in these kinds of hotels have that kind of money, Till.I swallow painfully.
“You want to pay me twenty thousand dollars for two days of bridesmaid-sitting?”
“Yes. I do. My stepdad is a lawyer. He can draw up a contract for you tonight. I’ll even make sure he doesn’t use too many lawyer-y words, so it’ll be just a straight-up agreement we can both sign.”
Oh my God. Am I really contemplating this? My computer screen flashes with my blog header, and Jenna doesn’t miss it. Her eyes gleam with excitement.
“Is that your blog?Love in the Lobby?”
I try to hide the flinch. My blog is successful because I remain anonymous. “Do you know it?” I ask cautiously.
“I do. I freaking love it. I wish you’d done a post on this hotel before we booked it. OMG! Is that why you’re here? Never mind.” She answers her own questions, talking so fast my head spins and I can’t keep up. Or reply. “I’ll tell you what. Twenty thousand dollars, and I’ll promote your website on all my social media accounts for an entire month after my honeymoon. I have over two million followers.”
Holy shit.
“Wow. Okay, let me think a minute.” She offers me a radiant smile. “My blog is completely anonymous. It needs to stay that way for me to get the inside scoop.” I’m whispering now, but no one around us is paying any attention.
“Done. We’ll give you a fake name.” She gives me a once-over. “We’ll call you, hmm… We’ll call you Abby Chambers for the wedding. How’s that?”
A pseudonym. A wedding. And a crazy bridesmaid with a potentially crazier bride? Sign me up. Twenty grand would be a huge jumpstart for my—my what? A career that shall remain nameless for now, I guess. But this could also help launch my blog to the next level too.
A wedding! My literal happy place! And twenty thousand dollars.
When I think about it in blog terms, it’s a no-brainer.
Reaching out, I shake Jenna’s hand. “What about a dress, shoes, all of that?”
“I’ll get my wedding planner on it now. Give me your sizes, and it’ll be here by morning.”
Shaking my head, I smile. You truly can make anything happen if you have enough money. “Okay, Jenna. You have yourself a deal. Anything else I should know about my charge for the weekend?”
She launches herself the last few feet that separate us and wraps me in a giant hug. “You, Abby Chambers, are a lifesaver. All you need to know is to keep Olivia from sabotaging my big day. She’s sneaky, and I wouldn’t put anything past her. Oh, and keep Jacob from crashing.”
“Jacob is the boyfriend?” I ask gently, gauging Melinda’s reaction.
She nods, but it’s Jenna who answers. “Yeah. He was engaged to Lindy when Olivia got her claws in him.”
“Jesus. Not that it’s any of my business, but why is she even in your wedding?”
“Ugh,” she scoffs, hurt and anger flickering across her features. “My father made me. He’s kind of an asshole, and she has had him wrapped around her big, sticky fingers ever since he married her mother.”
The two women share another look that has me missing my sisters terribly.
Melinda turns to me with affection written all over her pretty face. “At least mom remarried someone with a heart. Our father might be a troll, but our stepdad is a hero straight out of a fairytale.”
