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“No, I’m not.”
“Is everything all right?”
“We … broke up,” my mother said with a small shrug, as if it didn’t bother her but I knew it did.
“What? Why? He seemed besotted.”
“Ah well, unfortunately, my reputation precedes me.”
My jaw dropped. “He left you because he heard the rumors about Edward?”
My mother nodded once. “It’s fine. It’s happened before. No real loss as far as I’m concerned.” She said the words, but they held no feeling. And for the first time, I really saw the consequence of my mother’s bad reputation. It wasn’t just tittering women, shunning her on the streets. It was also that she couldn’t move on from what had happened because no man would touch her when they found out.
“We’re going to the Talmadge Center for the wrap party if you want to join us,” I found myself offering before I could help it.
Maddox shot me a look of surprise and maybe … pride?
“Oh, no. You two have fun. Don’t worry about me.” She stepped forward and took my hand. “I’m glad to see you happy.”
I didn’t know what came over me. I’d been mad at my mom for so long. But things were so good with Maddox that I didn’t have it in me to be mad at anyone right now. I put my arms around her and held her tight. She startled. We hadn’t hugged since I had been a kid. But slowly, her arms came around me.
“See you later, Mom,” I said as I pulled back.
A smile lit her beautiful features. “Good night, Josie.”
Maddox took my arm, and we headed out of my mom’s house. I felt light as a feather. I never thought that six weeks would fix what was broken between me and my mom. And maybe it wasn’t fixed, but it was at least mending. That was more than I’d believed possible.
Maddox opened my door to his Jeep. His eyes soft. His smile adoring. He said everything in that one look that we didn’t even need to speak about what had just happened. I loved that he knew me well enough to know how much this meant to me.
He parked downtown, and we walked into the Talmadge Center, a ballroom that hosted events. The party was on the rooftop bar, overlooking the Savannah River. Lots of weddings happened in this venue. Amelia had confessed that Ash had offered the space to the studio for the wrap party. I was surprised by his generosity, especially considering our general animosity. Perhaps I thought the worst of Ash Talmadge, but he was just as varied as my mother. I wasn’t sure I liked having to think of everyone as nuanced people.
“Josie!” Amelia said when we entered.
The bar was already packed with cast and crew for the movie. I could hardly believe how many unfamiliar faces there were though. Lots of local people must have been invited as well.
“Hey you,” I said.
“Ash reserved a table for us. You can sit with us. I want you to meet my cousin.”
I glanced at Maddox, and he shrugged. “A table with Ash Talmadge.”
Amelia laughed. “I swear he’s not as bad as y’all make him out to be. Whatever Ash you knew before isn’t who he is. I wish you’d all get along.”
“I want what’s best for you, Mia. I’ve just known him a long, long time.”
“I’ve known him my entire life,” she said, taking my arm. “Forget the past for tonight.”
“All right. I’ll do my best.”
“Okay, good.” She dragged me across the room. “Josie, this is my cousin, Marina Hartage. Marina, this is Josephine Reynolds.”
Marina Hartage was homecoming-queen beautiful. She looked like the kind of girl who was as comfortable digging in the dirt as winning a beauty pageant. She had almost-cartoon-wide blue eyes and a heart-shaped face with pouty, large lips. Her shoulder-length brown hair was parted down the middle and straight as a pin with ’90s Rachel bangs. And it worked for her.
“Nice to meet you.”
She shook my hand. “I’ve heard so much about you. I used to watch Academy when I was growing up. Crazy to actually meet you.”
“Were you obsessed with Martin too?”
“I was until the divorce.” Marina shrugged. “Broke my heart to see that.”
“Same,” I admitted. “What are you in town for?”
“Next week, we’re all sailing the Intracoastal Waterway up to Charleston. I decided to fly down and do the big trek with Amelia, Derek, and Ash.”
“Marina runs Hartage Boating with her brother, Daron,” Amelia explained. “It’s a successful boating and tour company in Charleston.”
“Yeah, Dare is running the business while I’m gone. He’s pretty pissed about it,” she said with a laugh. “But he got to do it last time.”
“I’d heard y’all were doing that. Not my speed, but I bet y’all will have the best time.”
Ash arched an eyebrow at me. “What? You don’t want to live on a sailboat with us for three days?”
