‘OK, Friday. I’ll send you an address.’ She looked at her tablet.
Maddy realised she was supposed to leave now. She stood.
She had gotten through this first meeting. And it wasn’t so bad. Maybe even, dare she say, good?
‘One more thing,’ Eva said as Maddy gathered her bag. ‘You don’t have to apologise for not knowing what you want yet. Most people don’t. They just pretend better.’
Maddy blinked. ‘Thank you.’ She hesitated, then added, ‘I’m really glad you’re the person doing this.’
Eva looked up, one eyebrow raised. ‘Yes?’
‘You’re very soothing.’ Maddy winced at her own word choice.Soothing? Eva wasn’t a baby’s dummy.
A beat passed.
Then Eva gave a quiet laugh. ‘No one’s ever used that word to describe me before.’ She didn’t look offended. Just amused. Maybe even complimented?
‘Friday at ten,’ Eva said.
Maddy knew when she’d had her marching orders. She nodded. ‘Yep.’ She left, clutching the folder like a life raft. She realised she felt… lighter. Still anxious and uncertain. But oddly steadier than when she’d arrived.
She walked a few steps before glancing back through the café window.
Inside, Eva was already answering emails, expression composed and unreadable, the table around her turning into a temporary command centre.
Maddy turned away, telling herself the small flutter in her chest was just relief at surviving the meeting without catastrophic embarrassment.
She adjusted the strap of her bag and headed home, folder pressed against her ribs, already rehearsing ways to tell her mother about the wedding planner without sounding more excited about Eva than she was about the wedding itself.
Six
Maddy was already there when Eva pulled into the gravel car park, pacing in tight loops beside a hedge.
Eva watched for a second longer than necessary before getting out of the car. Maddy Kind: chronically apologetic, restless hands constantly moving to check her bobbed ash-blonde hair, large sparkly green-blue eyes scanning constantly for attack from anywhere and everywhere. The sort of client who said yes to things she didn’t want and then suffered through them needlessly.
Eva was so used to brides being chipper at this stage, before the pressure slapped them down a bit. Pleased as punch that a day was coming when they were going to be the centre of their world. But Maddy was clearly not that person. She seemed downright fragile. It sparked a flicker of something in Eva’s chest that felt suspiciously like protectiveness. She ignored it.
She grabbed her tablet, pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and climbed out of her mini.
Maddy spun at her approach.
‘You’re early,’ Eva greeted her.
‘Oh, yes,’ Maddy responded apologetically.
‘I like early,’ Eva assured her.
Maddy blushed slightly and dipped her head as though Eva had said something salacious rather than a mild compliment.
‘Let’s start. Three venues today. A cake consultation if time allows.’
Maddy brightened. ‘There might be cake today?’
Eva made a mental note to make sure they made that two o’clock appointment.
They walked toward the restored barn, its white-painted doors thrown open. Gravel crunched underfoot, and strings of warm fairy lights looped along the eaves despite the midday sun. Eva felt Maddy fall into step beside her, close enough that she could sense the nervous energy radiating off her. She reminded Eva of a chihuahua. Cute, but in need of a biscuit with a sedative slipped inside.
Inside, exposed beams crossed high overhead, and rows of wooden chairs stood in perfect lines facing an arch, while a long table dressed in linens and silverware occupied one corner as an example reception layout. These guys were new, but their presentation game was strong.
