Chuckling, he grinned. “That’s my girl.”
And then he was done talking. They had this one night to make some powerful memories.
For both of them.
Death by Spanx.
That’s what my obituary is going to read…
It was Saturday night, and she’d been stuffed into the shapewear and her gown since ten this morning. To say that the day was ridiculously long would be an understatement. Still, the hunter green floral halter dress looked good on her. She still felt a little self-conscious because she was definitely curvier than the rest of the bridal party, but that wasn’t anything new. She was curvier than most of the women she knew.
It just sucked when there was no way to stay out of the spotlight. All day she had been posing for pictures and then walking up the aisle at the church, then more pictures, more posing, and when it was time for the reception, it just felt like she would never get a quiet moment to herself.
“There you are!”
Maisie turned and saw her mother coming toward her.
Crap.
Pasting a smile on her face, she waited for the air-kisses before saying anything. “Hey, Mom. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you, sweetie. So do you.” She stepped back and studied her daughter before adding, “I’m glad your cousin found you a dress that looks flattering on you. You know how awful bridesmaid gowns can be.”
“Um…”
“Still, this is a suitable color on you.”
“Thanks.” All things considered, she’d take the compliment.
“I thought you were going to come and stay with your father and me this weekend. I didn’t think you would go to your condo. We haven’t seen you in weeks, and with everything going on, it would have been nice for us to have some time to talk.”
There were a million snarky comebacks on the tip of her tongue, but she kept them to herself.
“There was a lot to do, and I wanted my focus to be on Victoria. I didn’t want anything negative to take away from this weekend.”
“Mmm…I suppose that makes sense. Why don’t you come home with us tomorrow night? We’re all going to be here again tomorrow for the big luncheon and whatnot, but you can come home and we can have dinner together.”
“Just the three of us, or will Dad be inviting anyone?”
Okay, one snarky comment slipped out.
And from the pinched look on her mother’s face, she didn’t like it.
“Maisie, we’ve talked about this.”
Right now, she wished someone—anyone!—would come and interrupt their conversation. She was already wildly uncomfortable and wanted nothing more than to go to her hotel room and cut herself out of her underwear so she could breathe without pain.
“Mom,” she said after a long moment. “We’re not talking about this, okay? If you’ll excuse me, I see cousin Ashton waving at me, and I haven’t talked to her in forever. I’ll see you later, okay?” And without waiting for a reply, she gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away.
Her cousin Ashton was nowhere in sight, but that was okay. Everyone was out on the dance floor, and she was going to take the opportunity to slip outside onto the massive stone patio and find a quiet place to just relax and maybe hear herself think for a little while.
She grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server, and when she stepped outside, she let out a long breath as all the tension started to leave her body.
The wedding itself had been beautiful, and it made her a little sad that she may never get to experience anything like it for herself. It was like a fairy-tale wedding, and deep down, that’s what Maisie wanted.
A fairy tale.
The air was cool, and for a minute, she considered going back inside but opted to stand near one of the many heat lamps. The sky was ink black and filled with stars, and it would almost be perfect if she couldn’t hear the music coming from inside. There were twinkly lights scattered throughout the perfectly manicured property, and if it weren’t so chilly, she’d consider going for a walk just to get away.
