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Maddie tensed as she thought of those same hands on her body. She didn’t like the idea of Lydia imagining them. With her stunning good looks, most men fell over themselves to get attention from Lydia. More than one crush in high school had been lured away by her stunning best friend. But Lydia couldn’t have Emmett. They might have had only one date, but he was hers until Maddie said otherwise.
“Well,” Lydia continued, ignoring her friend’s silence and casually flipping the long strands of blond hair over her shoulder. “If you do sleep with him, let me know all the details. I don’t have a lot of excitement in my own love life right now, so I’ll take whatever I can get.”
Maddie wasn’t surprised that Lydia was having a dry spell. Not even her good looks could erase the reputation she’d earned. The whole town knew about how she’d gotten so insanely jealous over Blake. The
things she’d done to Ivy in an attempt to win Blake back had been despicable. Even Maddie had been surprised her best friend could stoop so low. After Lydia was publicly outed for throwing a firecracker into the Fall Festival parade and spooking Ivy’s horse, her social calendar had shriveled right up. She’d even had to buy a Valentine’s Day date at the fund-raising auction, winning Simon when no one else would bid on him. Maddie hadn’t asked how the date had turned out, because frankly she didn’t want to know.
“Who’s the weirdo I saw in the shop last week?” Lydia said, shifting the topic.
Maddie felt her hands clench at her sides. “What?”
“Some girl was working the counter when I came by and said you weren’t there.”
“That’s my new employee, Gertie.”
Lydia wrinkled her nose and Maddie braced herself. She couldn’t do anything about their past together and the people they’d hurt, but she wouldn’t allow Lydia or anyone else to stand in her own shop and insult Gertie.
“That girl looks like a cast member of The Walking Dead. So thin and pale. For a minute I thought she might be an albino. Where’d you dig her up?”
“Gertie came highly recommended from the high school. She’s a sweet girl and a very talented baker. I’m lucky to have her, and I’d appreciate it if you were respectful of her.”
Lydia flinched. “What? She’s not even here.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to hear it.”
“What’s going on with you, Maddie? You opened up this hoity-toity shop and now all of a sudden you’re too good for everyone.”
“Actually, Lydia, it’s the opposite. I’ve realized that I’m not better than anyone else. I’m trying to be more mindful and kind. I know that’s hard for you to grasp.”
“Kind? You’re not doing a very good job. You’re my best friend and you’re being really bitchy to me.”
At this point, Maddie desperately wanted to tell Lydia to go to hell. Unfortunately, she knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. Lydia’s vindictive streak was a mile long, and with everything going on, Maddie didn’t have time to deal with whatever drama she would dish out in retaliation.
“I’m sorry,” Maddie said, smoothing her hand over her dark hair. “I’m stressed out and just feeling a little touchy about Gertie. Don’t take it personally.”
Lydia eyed her for a moment and then smiled. “Okay, good. You were worrying me, there.” She went into the kitchen, coming out with one of Maddie’s limited white-chocolate-raspberry-cheesecake bars hanging out of her mouth. “We should do something this week. All we do is work,” she managed between chews. “What about tomorrow evening? I’m off.”
“I have community service with Emmett.”
Lydia frowned and took another bite of her pilfered treat. “What about Saturday morning? I’ve been dying to drive down to Birmingham and go to this new boutique.”
“I have community service on Saturday, too. And even if I didn’t, the bakery is open. You know Sunday is my only day off.”
“And you spend it with your family,” Lydia said with a sigh. “Have Ivy or Pepper started coming to Sunday dinners yet? I can’t imagine your grandmother sitting across the table from both of them. Such disappointing choices in brides for Blake and Grant. Not at all who she would’ve picked, I’d guess. Say, what does Granny think about you and old Emmett?”
Maddie hadn’t really talked about her date to anyone. Her grandmother knew about the fighting, of course, but she hadn’t spoken to her about him since then. “I don’t think she knows. Or cares, really.”
“I don’t know,” Lydia said. “I’d be careful about letting Emmett get too chummy with your family. You know how guys can be with you, Maddie, and this guy could use a few bucks. He’s been around Rosewood long enough to know about your family.”
“We’ve gone on one date,” she reminded her.
“I know. I’m just saying be careful. I don’t want another guy hurting you in his attempt to make business connections with your family.”
Maddie stiffened. Lydia was one of the few people who knew about Maddie’s sad dating history, including the truth about what happened with Joel. Her brother’s friend had gone a step further than the other boys looking to get an in with the Chamberlain family by dating her. Joel had won her heart, then slipped a date rape drug in her drink on graduation night in the hopes she’d get pregnant and have to marry him. She’d been saved from that unfortunate situation, but it was a tender subject and one she wished her friend hadn’t brought up. “I don’t think Emmett is remotely interested in my family.”
Lydia shrugged it off. “Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if all of a sudden he’s building bookcases for your grandmother or something. He might not be trying to marry into the family like Joel, but he’d probably be happy to get a couple of high-paying customers out of it.”
Maddie’s jaw dropped at Lydia’s cold assessment. She didn’t understand why she would think so poorly of Emmett, although she shouldn’t be surprised. Lydia thought poorly of everyone.
