Eva wanted to tell her aunt that weddings were bullshit, but that they were well-paid and plentiful bullshit, and that was the only reason she did what she did.
But she didn’t want to worry Sarah. She was the closest thing Eva had to a parent. She’d earned the right to be lied to like any other mum. ‘You never know, I guess,’ Eva told her.
Sarah smiled, assuaged. ‘You never do. Love could be just around the corner.’
‘I guess it could,’ Eva said.
What a crock. The closest she was ever getting to the altar was telling other people where to stand while quietly judging their outfits.
Five
Maddy was hovering outside the café where she was supposed to meet the wedding planner. She couldn’t quite seem to go in.
Despite her initial hope that this was a fix for her wedding anxiety, the inevitable had happened. Time had passed, and her nerves had gotten hold of her optimism and turned it on its head, and now Maddy was worried this was actually going to make everything worse. That this stranger would demand answers the same as everyone else, but with the added pressure of being on the clock.
But as the seconds ticked towards the appointment time, Maddy knew there was nothing for it. She couldn’t tell her mother she’d changed her mind. She didn’t think she was allowed to anyway. Her mother had decided that she was doing this for the good, and when that happened, she couldn’t be moved. Trying to back out now would only turn into another attempting-to-quit-piano-lessons situation. Months of speeches about perseverance, pointed sighs, and the slow erosion of Maddy’s will to live until she said, ‘Fine. I’ll keep at it.’ She still couldn’t hear ‘Für Elise’ without shuddering.
Maddy went in. The café was all warm wood and trailing plants, and a lot of laptops next to lattes.
She ordered a coffee she didn’t really want just to have something to hold, then chose a table near the back where she could see the entrance. She clasped her hands together and tried not to fidget.
A woman entered exactly on time. To the second.
She was tall and lean, sharply dressed in a tailored dark blazer over dark jeans, her chestnut hair pulled back into a bun that was at once casual yet perfect. A tablet in one hand, phone in the other, she moved like a tiger in business casual, each step deliberate, as if the air itself had to part for her. Maddy had the desire for her approval before she’d even spoken to her.
She approached.
‘Maddy Kind,’ the woman said, and it wasn’t a question.
‘Yes. That’s me. Hi. Hello.’
She nodded once and slid into the chair opposite her. ‘I’m Eva Givens. Thank you for meeting here. I work from home, but it’s better to meet on neutral territory, I find.’
Maddy nodded and laughed lightly. She felt like it came out weird.
Eva set her tablet on the table and glanced at Maddy’s untouched coffee. ‘You been here long?’
‘Long enough.’ Maddy paused. ‘I don’t know what I meant by that.’
Eva’s mouth lifted in one corner. ‘Well, first off, congratulations on your engagement.’
‘Thank you. Yes. I’m very… engaged.’
A flicker of amusement passed through Eva’s dark, almost black eyes, but she was quick to toss it out.
‘Before we begin, I need to understand your vision. Tell me about the wedding you want.’
Maddy opened her mouth and then closed it again. She was hoping something would come to her now that her back was against the wall. But her brain did not throw up any sudden flashes of inspiration. When it came to this topic? Her thoughts simply sputtered and died.
‘Well,’ she began slowly. ‘I don’t know. Exactly.’ She didn’t know vaguely either, but she wasn’t admitting to that yet.
Eva studied her. ‘Let’s try another angle. What matters most to you about the day?’
Maddy’s mind went blank. White noise filled her ears. ‘I want everyone to have a nice time,’ she said finally.
Eva’s eyebrow lifted slightly. ‘That’s usually the couple’s second priority.’
‘What’s the first?’
