Wedding Date for Hire

by Jennifer Shirk

  “Yeah, I guess we both really lucked out with Match Made Easy.”

  “Riiiight.” He stretched the word out slowly. “No doubt that Match Made Easy is a great company.” He let a long minute pass as he banked down his frustration.

  He took hold of her hand again, stroking the inside of her delicate fingers. “Would you date me if you didn’t need to hire me?”

  She cocked her head, seeming to think it over. Not quite the reaction he hoped for. Beads of sweat began to congregate on his forehead despite the cool ocean breeze. Then she gazed at him, her beautiful mouth curving into a lazy smile. “That depends. Would you date me if I wasn’t paying you to date me?”

  He laughed. “I can see we both matured so much since high school. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you do know how to drive a man crazy.” He grinned and was about to bring his lips down to hers, but before their mouths could connect, she pressed a firm palm against his chest.

  “Confession,” she said. “I only partially hated you in high school.”

  “Partially hated?”

  “Yes, well, one part of me completely hated you, and the other part might have harbored a secret crush on you. There. The elephant is out of the closet.”

  “I think you mean the cat is out of the bag.” He regarded her with a perplexed smile. “Did you really have a crush on me?”

  “Oh, don’t act like you had no idea every girl in our high school fantasized about you on a daily basis.”

  “Well, maybe I had a small clue.” Trent reached out, unable to resist playing with a lock of her curls. “But I’m not interested in hearing about every girl in high school. I’m interested in hearing about this girl. So did you fantasize about me?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have opened my mouth, but since you were being honest, I thought you should know the truth.”

  “Does this mean you really like football, too?”

  “I’m afraid not,” she said with a grave face.

  He chuckled. “Damn. I knew it was too good to be true. But that’s okay. I said I would make you a fan. You’re not the first I’ve converted.”

  “I suppose that’s true.” Something flickered in the back of her eyes, and there was a sudden strain in her voice. “You must meet many women in your line of work.”

  “At the gym?” he asked.

  “No, working for Kennedy.”

  “Ah,” he said, looking away. “And this has you concerned?”

  “Well, maybe. Do you always ‘romance’ your jobs?”

  “No.” He heaved a frustrated sigh. “Maddie, I can honestly say I’ve never romanced anyone I’ve been hired to date. But if you’re inferring that I should come clean to Kennedy, I had in fact planned to do just that.”

  “You did? Oh, that at least makes me feel somewhat better.”

  He smiled. “Somewhat?”

  “Sorry. I guess I can’t get past it. You seem so comfortable with women, and I’m not so good with relationships—er, with men.”

  “That’s okay. You don’t need to be good with other men. Just me. And so far, you’re doing just fine.”

  “Yeah, you say that now. Talk to me in two months. If we’re still talking by then.”

  “I heard all the stories from your family, but I still don’t believe in this WD-40 Effect you think you may have.”

  He could tell that even with his joking and verbal assurance, she still seemed concerned. He wanted so badly to tell her the truth. That he wasn’t an escort and he had no intention of going anywhere. But he couldn’t. Hoping to show her, he reached for her, slipping his arm beneath her neck. Her mouth melded with his in a deep sliding kiss. She tasted sweet and just a bit spicy—exactly like her personality. This was what he’d been waiting for all night. Perhaps even all his life.

  Trent broke away first, his breathing ragged. “Did you feel that just then?”

  “Are you flirting with me?”

  He chuckled. “No, I’m talking about that kiss. It was like Rapunzel when the prince broke the curse by kissing her.”

  “I’m pretty sure that was Snow White.”

  “Whatever. The point is they shared a special kiss, there was no more spell, and the prince finally got to make out with his princess.”

  She linked her hands around his neck. “That’s a good way to end a fairy tale,” she said with a sigh.

  He nipped her bottom lip then grinned. “True. But in real life, it’s an even better beginning.” And he hoped once the truth was out, they’d still have their own.

  Chapter Eleven

  Maddie chewed on her cuticle as she watched the woman at the nail salon brush each coat of polish on her sister’s toenails with the meticulousness of a Claude Monet wannabe.

  Maddie couldn’t take it anymore. She was a wreck. A complete wreck. Her sister was the one getting married tomorrow, and yet she was the one who couldn’t form a single coherent thought. She had Trent Montgomery on the brain, and she needed to talk to somebody about it. Unfortunately, due to the bizarre nature of it affecting Louise’s good spirits about the wedding, she didn’t want to confide in her sister.

  “You’re awfully quiet,” her sister commented, admiring the coral-color polish she’d chosen.

  “Am I?” She switched fingers and continued chewing.

  “Yes, is anything wrong?”

  “Wrong? Nothing is wrong.” Unless you counted the slight variable factor that after a little less than two weeks she could be falling for her hired wedding date.

  Her best friend Sabrina and her husband, Jack, finally walked into the salon shop. Sabrina looked overheated and frazzled, while Jack on the other hand appeared as usual: about as polished and poised as a member of the royal family.

  “Thank goodness we found you guys,” her friend said with a heavy sigh. “Michael told me it was Diva Nails but he didn’t bother mentioning there are three in town with the same name.”

  The receptionist shrugged. “We like to keep it all in the family, honey.”

  “Finally!” Maddie said, bolting from her chair.

  “You can say that again,” Jack muttered.

  Maddie kissed Jack on the cheek, then gave her friend a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered in her ear.

  Sabrina arched a brow. “I’ve missed you, too.” She lowered her voice. “Or have you had enough of Veronica’s company?”

  “I had enough two weeks ago,” she murmured, then whirled around.

  “Sabrina is dying of thirst,” she announced to her sister and cousins. She had to speak to Sabrina alone as soon as possible and needed to get her out of there. Maddie glanced over and implored her friend with her eyes to play along.

  “Uh, yeah,” Sabrina stated slowly. “I’m parched.”

  Jack glanced at his wife with alarm. “You can’t get dehydrated. It’s not good for—”

  “Anyone!” Sabrina blurted. “Dehydration is not good for anyone. Especially on such a hot day.”

  Maddie frowned, thinking they both needed to dial down the acting. “Maybe we should go grab a drink down the street.”

  Veronica pointed to the back of the salon. “There are bottles of water back there.”

  “Plus, you just got here,” Louise added.

  Maddie elbowed her friend. “Uh, that’s okay,” Sabrina said, glancing at Maddie for confirmation. “I’m very particular about what I drink.”

  “I’ll get you a bottle of Gatorade,” Jack suggested. “There’s a convenience store around the corner.”

  “No!” Maddie and Sabrina said at the same time, and Jack’s brows climbed an inch up his forehead.

  Maddie swallowed. “Um, I mean, Jack, you are so sweet but I don’t want to hold you up. The guys are waiting for you back at the house.”

  “Okay.” Jack spiked his fingers through his hair then looked at his wife again. “Brie, are you sure? Maybe I can get you one of those nasty kale drinks you like so much.”

  Sabrina snort-l
aughed. “Honey, I’m fine. Plus, this is a no-man-zone if you haven’t noticed. Maddie and I will go get something to drink and come right back here. I promise.”

  “All right. But text me if you need anything.”

  “I will.” She leaned up and kissed him soundly on the mouth. When she pulled back, Jack brushed his knuckles across her cheekbone with a simmering gaze.

  Maddie held in a sigh at the obvious love between them.

  Jack swung open the door and looked back at Sabrina again. “You have your cell phone, right?” Smothered chuckles came from the other bridesmaids.

  “OMG, you need to leave now before you scare Louise into thinking all men turn psycho once they get married.”

  “Actually, I kind of already suspected that,” Louise said with a sheepish grin, creating more chuckles from the women.

  Jack laughed, too. “Okay, okay. I’m out of here.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes toward the ceiling when he finally left. Sheesh. Did everything in her life have to be unbelievably complicated?

  Maddie began pulling her friend out the door and realized too late that she’d smudged her toenail. Louise wasn’t going to be happy. “We’ll be back in a jiffy,” she told the girls.

  “Maddie, what on earth is wrong with you?” her friend asked as she was ushered down the street.

  “I need someone to talk to, and I need a drink. We can accomplish both at that tavern down there.”

  “Okay, but just so you know, I can’t drink with you.”

  Maddie stopped and gaped at her friend. “You’re not.”

  “I am.” Sabrina’s grin radiated a thousand watts. “I’m due in January. Must have gotten pregnant on my honeymoon,” she said with flushed cheeks.

  She wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed. “I’m so happy for you. Wow, I can’t believe Jack is going to be a father. How’s he taking it?”

  Sabrina shook her head. “Not well.”

  “He doesn’t want kids?”

  “Oh, no, it’s not that. He’s thrilled about becoming a father. It’s me being pregnant that he hasn’t been dealing with well. He almost didn’t let me drive here myself. Actually, I can’t believe he even allowed me within a five mile radius of a nail salon. Didn’t want Junior here,” she said, affectionately patting her belly, “inhaling all the nail polish fumes.”

  Maddie laughed. “He’s cute.”

  “He’s annoying,” she said with an affectionate grin.

  “Well, you can watch me drink then.” They walked into the old English-style tavern and slid into a booth in the bar area.

  Once Sabrina ordered a club soda and Maddie ordered her white wine, Sabrina folded her hands on the table and asked, “So, what’s going on? Did you and Trent break up?”

  Maddie turned her attention to her painted nails and cleared her throat. “Not exactly.”

  “What do you mean, not exactly? You’re either going out or you’re not.”

  She bit her lip, figuring out a way to ease into the truth. “Well, it’s more like, we weren’t going out. But now we plan to. After the wedding.”

  Sabrina sat back and stared. “I might need that drink.”

  Maddie sighed. “Look, no one else but Louise knows this, so you have to pinkie swear not to tell anyone. Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “Not even Jack.”

  Sabrina hesitated a moment then raised her hand, sticking out her pinkie finger. “Fine. Pinkie swear.”

  Their pinkies interlocked for a brief second, then Sabrina raised her eyebrows and waited.

  Maddie sucked in a lungful of air then let it all out in one rushed breath. “I hired Trent to be my wedding date.”

  Sabrina blinked. “You hired a wedding date?”

  She nodded weakly.

  “Wow. I’ve never known anyone to do anything like that.” Her voice dipped into a hushed tone. “What services are actually included in the price of one of those?”

  “Sabrina! It’s not like it’s a prostitution ring.” Not that those same little details didn’t cross her mind when she first read the contract.

  “Right. Sorry. But why did you do that? I could have asked Jack to set you up with another one of his friends if you were that desperate for a date.”

  “Because the last date you guys set me up on was a disaster, and I thought it would be better if I could call the shots and have him look completely smitten with me. And you know, if I let my family believe that I had been in a relationship for months, I could squash the, uh, curse rumors for a while, too.”

  Sabrina’s eyes widened. “Oh, right. The curse. We should have asked Madame Butterfly about that the last time we went for a tarot card reading.”

  Maddie snorted. “That hack?”

  “Madame Butterfly is not a hack. Misunderstood, yes. And perhaps confused about her gender, but not a hack.”

  “Whatever,” Maddie muttered.

  Madame Butterfly was a cross-dressing psychic she and Sabrina had gone to last year for love advice. And for laughs. Or at least, laughs to Maddie. Sabrina happened to be superstitious and took the advice that Madame gave her very seriously. Unfortunately, the psychic lucked out in her predictions, which only flamed Sabrina’s belief in the woman-man’s abilities.

  “She told me that David and I would get back together, remember? And we did. Briefly. Also, she told me that she saw my future husband in a white coat. Jack had a white coat,” Sabrina stated with a satisfied smirk.

  Maddie just rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, ye-of-such-little-psychic-belief, do you remember Madame Butterfly’s prediction for you?”

  “Actually, I do. She said she saw lots of hair in my future.”

  “Trent’s not a hairy guy?”

  “He’s practically part seal.”

  Sabrina frowned. “Well, that’s weird. Then maybe Trent isn’t going to be part of your future.”

  Pain squeezed her heart as soon as she heard the words. She knew Sabrina didn’t mean to be so blunt; to her, the reasoning seemed logical. But even though Maddie knew all that psychic stuff was nonsense, it still caused her to worry.

  “I’m sorry,” Sabrina said, placing a hand on Maddie’s arm. “That didn’t come out right.”

  Maddie shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You know I couldn’t care less about what Madame Butterfly has to say.”

  “Of course. Look, don’t listen to me. I must be suffering from preggo brains already,” she said with a rueful smile. “So, you’re pretty serious about Trent then, huh?

  Maddie thought about that. “Yeah, I think I’m really falling for him. I’ve been feeling awful.”

  “What are your symptoms?”

  “Can’t concentrate, irritability, loss of appetite.”

  “Oh, boy. You’ve got it bad—or possibly lead poisoning.”

  Maddie would rather have the lead poisoning. At least there was a cure for that. But this… It was nauseating.

  Sabrina’s lips curved into a small smile. “Based on your silence, I’m going to say it’s definitely not lead poisoning.”

  The waitress brought their drinks and a bowl of oyster crackers to the table. As Sabrina dug into the crackers like they were the only lifejacket on a sinking ship, Maddie’s phone rang. She frowned when she saw it was from Kennedy Pepperdine.

  A trickle of nerves crept up Maddie’s spine. “Um, I think I should take this,” she said to Sabrina before answering the phone.

  “Hi, Maddie?” asked Kennedy. “This is Kennedy Pepperdine from Match Made Easy.”

  “Hi, Kennedy, what can I do for you?”

  “Well, I hate to tell you this since I know your sister’s wedding day is tomorrow and all, but your check bounced.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. It did?”

  “Yes, but you did leave a credit card number in your file as a backup. I was wondering if you would like me to put the amount and the balance on that?”

  Her cheeks felt about five hundred degrees. “Oh, uh,
yes. That would be great.”

  “Wonderful. How is everything going with Trent anyway?”

  Her eyes widened. “W-what do you mean?”

  “Are you guys having a good time?”

  “Yes, he’s been…great.”

  “I’m so glad to hear that. I knew he would come through for you. He’s very popular with the ladies.”

  “Is he? Well, Trent is very handsome,” she admitted. “I suppose that makes him a sought-after request.”

  “That and Trent always makes sure his clients feel special. That’s part of the service with Match Made Easy.”

  Part of his service.

  Maddie fought the rising bile in her throat. “Um, did Trent happen to mention anything to you…about us?”

  “No. Why? Did anything happen?”

  “Um, no. I guess not.” Stop being so sensitive, Maddie. Maybe Trent hadn’t had a chance to mention her to Kennedy yet. Maybe he had every intention but his cell phone suddenly died or Kennedy had to take another call or…

  There could been another reason. Trent may not want to go out on a real date with her after all. It could have been pretend.

  Kennedy let out a light laugh on the other end of the line. “Whew, you had me worried there for a second. I’m glad to hear you’ve been pleased with our professionals. I’ll go ahead and run the balance through your credit card and send you a receipt via your email. Sound good?”

  Nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything was professional. Kennedy was doing her job—a job Maddie had hired her to do. Yet, it suddenly felt very out of the ordinary.

  “Sounds good,” she croaked. “Thank you, Kennedy.”

  “My pleasure. And if you ever need us again, don’t hesitate to call.”

  “Right.” Her vision blurred with unshed tears. Hopefully, she wouldn’t ever need to use them again, but things didn’t look promising. She ended the call and glanced up at Sabrina.

  Sabrina took one look at her and stopped chewing. “What’s the matter?’

  She shook her head, afraid to speak or else she might burst into tears.

  “Maddie, what has you so upset? Who was that on the phone?”