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I was relieved that she was back to her old self, now that her mother was home safe.
“Tori, you may have your job back once I get an invitation to your wedding,” Maggie Hill said. “I’ll be damned if I’m the last person in town to get one.” She smacked her hand on the table for emphasis.
The crowd looked our way, Margo tilting her head at me as she tried to figure out what was going on.
The other Maggie piped up, “Unless you want terrible last-minute presents and disgruntled guests, you should give everyone plenty of time to plan and prepare for what will no doubt be the biggest, most expensive, and most luxurious wedding this small town has ever seen.”
Nearly choking on my spit, I stared wide-eyed at the two women. What in the world was happening? I couldn’t believe they were going on about my wedding when I was trying to get my job back. Plus, why in the world would I have such an elaborate wedding? It was ridiculous. It didn’t help that this engagement was fake, so I obviously hadn’t given wedding planning any thought whatsoever.
Swinging my head back and forth between the two town gossips, I stammered, “I haven’t really been focusing on the wedding planning. With everything happening in town and the hospital stays, it hasn’t been the highest priority. Surely I can have my job back if I promise to be at every shift on time.”
The Magpies looked scandalized by my statement.
“Stopped your wedding planning? Are you nuts, girl? Why would you go and do a crazy thing like that?”
I opened my mouth to answer but shut it again. I didn’t have an answer for them.
“Never mind that, we can get this back on track in no time,” Maggie Hill said. “I have a niece who’s a dream wedding planner. She’s the perfect person to plan your wedding.”
“That’s right,” the other Magpie said with a nod. “There’s no reason to be dragging your feet now, no matter what was going on around here. When you have a catch like Ridge Blackwood, you must hold on tight and seal the deal.” She looked aghast that I wasn’t being the quintessential ‘50s housewife, and at my age, no less, because I was already an old maid and should’ve been popping out my second kid by now. “He was a wildly eligible man before your engagement, with every family in town trying to get him to notice their daughters. And not just in this town, either. He’s known all over for his name, looks, and money.”
The Magpie reached over the counter and patted my hand. “You need to tie him down while you still have his attention. A man like that won’t stay around for long.”
My jaw dropped in mortification. These women fully believed that Ridge would leave me if I didn’t marry him ASAP, that he’d find someone else. Forget the fact that we weren’t actually engaged—what they believed about Ridge was appalling. Ridge was the most loyal man, and I knew he would never go sniffing around elsewhere. And it was very backwards to think that I had to secure a man in this day and age.
The shifter Magpie, Maggie Peters, leaned in close to me and dramatically lowered her voice, looking around the café like a sleuth from a black-and-white noir film. “You need to claim your mate. None of the shifters in town can understand how an alpha like Ridge hasn’t given in to his impulses to mark you as his mate by this point. It’s making people talk and express doubts about Ridge’s words, both as mayor and alpha. It’s not looking good for him.”
I fell back in my seat as if she’d slapped me. Ridge did everything for this town, and just because I hadn’t sent out wedding invitations or claimed him—whatever that meant—they were questioning him as a leader. How could they say or think anything like that?
Frustrated and furious, I had to bite my tongue to keep from blurting out the truth and ending the entire charade. What they were saying was utterly ridiculous. However, I didn’t want to make things worse for Ridge by bringing his character into question. He’d only offered the fake engagement ruse to protect me. That was how amazing of a guy he was, and everyone here should be honored that he was their alpha and mayor.
My inner wolf was agitated, and I worried she would cause some problems, but she didn’t try to take over. The talk of claiming had her acting strange. It also didn’t help that we’d imagined other women drooling over Ridge. I wasn’t proud of the jealousy boiling my blood, but my wolf didn’t give a damn. She didn’t want women looking at Ridge at all; in her eyes, he was off-limits. As soon as we ended the charade, however, he’d be dating others, and there was nothing we could do about it.
I shouldn’t have thought that. My wolf snapped her jaws at me like a bratty dog.
It didn’t help that when I separated our feelings about things, many of them were my own distaste at picturing anyone else touching Ridge. My animalistic response to the idea stopped me cold. I figured that should only be my wolf’s reaction since she was the animal, but there was no denying I had just as much of a possessive streak when it came to Ridge.
Unhinging my jaw, I firmly stated, “I don’t need a wedding planner, and everything between me and the mayor is fine, thank you. Things have been complicated lately, and it’s not your or anybody else’s business. I only came in because I want my job back.”
I couldn’t believe they were holding this job for ransom and telling me what to do in my fake relationship. I never would’ve tolerated this if my relationship were real, so why the hell would I tolerate it when it was fake?
Both Magpies huffed and bristled at me. “When couples let complications into their relationships, that’s when affairs happen,” one of them said.
“Ridge could have his pick of any female in town or any pack, for that matter, since he’s a Blackwood. It’d be good for you to remember that.”
Everything went red as my wolf’s fury skyrocketed, and my head started to get the dull headache that meant trouble was brewing. It would fully erupt soon. I didn’t want to struggle with my wolf and keep her under control anymore today. Earlier at the jail had exhausted me, and if I had to do it again, I’d be wiped out and unable to function for the rest of the day.
The best solution for everyone was for me to leave and cool off.
Scowling, I hurried out of the booth and said, “Since you two appear to make business decisions based on your nosiness, not qualifications, this place is inappropriate for me. I’ll find a job elsewhere.”
Without turning back or listening to anything else the town’s busybodies had to say, I marched out of the diner as if my tail were on fire. I couldn’t stick around much longer before my wolf forced a shift and made it perfectly clear what she thought about the Magpies’ relationship advice and petty manners.
Once outside, I stomped away, stopping once the two Magpies could no longer see me through the windows. I shut my eyes and raised my head to soak in the sun, letting the heat wrap around me. It had a soothing effect. My head suddenly stopped pounding, and my wolf, while still disgruntled, no longer wanted to make an example of the two gossipy women.
Feet pounding toward me had me sighing and opening an eye. Relieved to see it was Margo, I gave her my attention.
“Hey, I heard something about wedding planning.” She plastered an enormous smile on her face, reaching for my arm as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “If you need help with your wedding, I’d be honored. I mean, I’m obviously not some super-qualified professional wedding planner like Maggie Hill’s niece, but I’ve got, like, ten thousand Pinterest boards full of wedding ideas and have been studying wedding magazines for as long as I can remember. Please let me help you plan yours. I’d love to help.”
