The Wedding Setup, page 8
“And? So we’ll get caught. Who cares?”
“I do!”
“Clearly.”
They lapsed into a tense silence again, Ryann almost fuming. Something about this entire situation with Maddie was tearing at every defense she had. Normally cool and collected, she’d been angrier with this perfect stranger than she had with almost anyone, and it had happened several times in less than twenty-four hours.
Still, she thought, risking a quick glance at her, they had to work together. She might be able to lessen their contact with some careful dodges over the next week or so, but she couldn’t completely avoid her, either. She was going to have to make the best of this weirdness between them.
“Listen,” she said, touching Maddie’s sleeve. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It doesn’t matter at all. We can pretend, if that’s what you want.”
Maddie perked up at once, her face lighting up. “Really? You don’t mind?”
She still didn’t see the purpose of the make-believe, but Maddie seemed really happy with the idea. It didn’t seem to have any malice behind it, anyway. And really, what difference did it make?
“No. I guess not. It could be fun.”
If Maddie detected the lie or her reluctance, she didn’t let on.
“Great!” Maddie said. “I have this theory that we’ll be treated better if people think we’re a couple. Let’s see if I’m right.”
“Really? Even though we’re…” She gestured between them.
“What?”
“Two women?”
Maddie’s brows lowered. “What do you mean?”
She laughed. “I mean, don’t you think some people might treat us worse if they think we’re a couple? A lesbian couple, I mean?”
Maddie was about to reply, but they heard Brenda coming their way again and froze. Ryann took Maddie’s hand almost unconsciously, and Maddie squeezed her fingers just as Brenda walked into the room holding two steaming mugs. She smiled at the sight of them and set the drinks down before sitting across the table from them.
“Did you get a chance to look at any of this?” Brenda asked, indicating the swatches and the binders.
“No,” Maddie said. “We weren’t sure if we should wait for you.”
“That’s fine. Let’s start with colors.”
“Red, white, and pink,” Ryann said.
Brenda chuckled. “Makes sense for Valentine’s Day. Let’s see what we have here in those shades.” She riffled through the swatches, pulling two for each of the colors. She slid one of each to them. Each swatch had about thirty different squares on it, all variations of the same color.
“Wow,” Ryann said. “I didn’t realize so many different reds existed. Or pinks or whites, for that matter.”
“Actually,” Brenda said, “there are far more than you see there. If you don’t see the exact color you want on one of those, I can show you more.”
Ryann and Maddie made eye contact, and Ryann raised an eyebrow. She was totally lost, with no idea which of these Jai and Stuart would like.
“Any ideas?” she asked. “You’re the artist, so that makes you the expert.”
They were still holding hands, and Maddie squeezed hers again, lightly, almost as if for reassurance.
“Let’s aim for the classic Valentine’s hues,” Maddie said. “What do you think of this one?” She pointed.
While Ryann could clearly see the difference between most of the reds (some were very subtle), she couldn’t really see why one might be better than the other. That said, the one Maddie indicated did in fact seem very “Valentiney”—a bold, bright red that reminded her of the various paper cutouts and streamers she’d seen around town.
“Looks good to me.”
Brenda made a note. “Okay—Candy Red. The next two are a little harder.”
“Why don’t you pick the pink, hon?” Maddie asked.
She couldn’t help but glare at this endearment, and Maddie smirked in response. She focused on the color swatch to avoid saying something but immediately felt out of her element. It was true—there were a lot of pinks in the world. Some seemed closer to red, some to white, obviously, but a whole swath in the middle were something else—maybe a little blue or purple? She couldn’t tell. She’d seen greater variations in the pink decorations around town, as well. She couldn’t determine a correct choice here.
“Boy, I don’t know,” she finally said. She glanced at Maddie. “They’re all so different.”
“Which one do you think would go best with our red?” Maddie asked, holding out the swatch to her.
Why was Maddie making her do this? She’d meant what she’d said before—she trusted Maddie’s eyes more than her own. Still, she could see that Maddie wanted her to choose, and it wasn’t as if she’d never selected colors for an event before. She started dragging the swatch of Candy Red near each of the pinks, finally stopping next to two that stood out to her.
“One of these?” she asked, uncertain.
Maddie bent closer and nodded. “Good choice. I like them both. You decide.”
She was strangely pleased with herself and Maddie’s trust in her. She studied them for a few more seconds before pointing at one. “This. Carnation Pink.”
“Nice,” Brenda said, making a note. “Okay, and finally the hardest of all—the white.”
“This one’s on you, sweetie,” Ryann said, smirking at Maddie.
Maddie laughed and pulled the swatch close to her face, brows furrowed. “Gosh. I don’t know. I think as bright and as vivid as we can with those other colors, but our red and pink have a little blue in them too, so I guess that means this one.” She pointed.
“Great! Chantilly will go nicely with your other colors,” Brenda said, once again making a note. “That was very quick, ladies. I have to say, I’m impressed with both of you. Most couples are in here choosing colors the entire first session. Five minutes has to be a record.”
She couldn’t help but meet Maddie’s smile with her own. This was all pretend, but it was hard not to feel a little proud.
“Thanks,” Maddie said. “We like to think we agree on a lot of things.”
“That’s lovely,” Brenda said. “I always say I’m lucky to work in this field, and it’s because of nice people like the two of you. You’re adorable, by the way.”
She thought Brenda was laying it on a little thick at this point, but she didn’t really care. She was actually starting to enjoy this little fairy tale. Now a little emboldened, she decided to push things a little farther.
“Thank you,” she said. “That’s partly why I couldn’t wait any longer to marry her. Because she’s so dang cute.”
Maddie’s eyebrows lifted in clear surprise, and Ryann couldn’t help but smirk at her. Two can play this game, she thought.
Brenda chuckled. “Well, you two made it just under the wire, I’d say. Yours is the last wedding I can squeeze in. Busy time of year.”
Ryann thought it was basically a miracle that she’d had any openings, but as Stuart had mentioned, this wasn’t New York.
“All right then, let’s talk flowers and arrangements. This can be even harder than colors, but I can certainly narrow it down for you based on your color choices. Let’s discuss arrangements, first, and then we can think about what kinds of blooms you like. These three binders should get you started. This one is bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages. This one is centerpieces and other decor. And this is for everything else. I’ll be back in a few to give you some more guidance.”
She closed the door after herself, and they exhaled audibly, suppressing giggles. Ryann remembered then that they were still holding hands and let go, picking up her lukewarm cocoa and taking a sip.
“You’re enjoying this now, aren’t you?” Maddie asked, smiling.
She pretended to consider. “Yes. You should have seen your face.”
Maddie laughed. “Yours, too, ‘hon.’”
They laughed again, and she turned her attention to the first binder. “I hadn’t thought about this part. Now she’ll know it’s not us getting married.”
“Why?”
“Because there won’t be any bouquets.”
Maddie snorted. “Of course there will. Jai specifically asked for them.”
“He did?”
“Yes. And boutonnieres. And corsages. And flower crowns. He basically wants a million flowers on everyone.”
“Do you have a list of how many we’ll need?”
“Not yet. But I think we can choose the arrangements now and tell her numbers once we have them.”
“Okay. Which one do you want to look at?”
“We should do it together,” Maddie said, pulling the wearable binder toward them. She scooted her chair closer, her shoulder brushing Ryann’s now, their knees touching. Ryann didn’t know if she should pull away or stay where she was, but since Maddie didn’t seem to notice how close they were, she stayed put. She had to turn the pages as they opened from her side, and Maddie leant forward, examining every page closely. Ryann wanted to get closer herself, but that would put her farther inside Maddie’s personal space, and she wasn’t sure if she should do that. It was all fine pretending when Brenda was in the room, but alone was different.
“I like the bouquets on this page the most,” Maddie said after flipping back and forth a few times. “What do you think?” She leaned back, and her eyes met Ryann’s, their faces very close now. Ryann didn’t look down at the binder, her gaze still locked in those blue pools of light.
“Beautiful,” she said, almost whispering.
One of Maddie’s eyebrows rose, and she leaned forward slightly, amusement tugging up one corner of her mouth. Ryann inched forward, her eyes fluttering closed, and then the door opened, startling them away from each other.
“Oh, gosh. I’m sorry,” Brenda said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You didn’t—”
“It’s fine,” Maddie said. “We can always kiss later.”
Ryann flushed with heat, suddenly mortified. What on earth had almost happened? What had she almost done? She didn’t know Maddie at all. It wasn’t like her to kiss some stranger on a whim. Even someone so cute.
Damn it, she thought. She really is cute.
As Brenda and Maddie discussed the bouquets and matching boutonnieres, Ryann let herself drift, still wrestling with what had almost happened. It was entirely out of character for her. She’d let herself get carried away in their little playact.
She managed to smile along as they moved on to the other arrangements, letting Maddie take the lead for all the specifics. Maddie threw her a few confused, concerned glances, so Ryann squeezed her hand a couple of times in reassurance. However, Ryann remained in a tumult. By the end of the session, she almost ran for the door.
Chapter Seven
Outside, the air was still piercing, but as Ryann stood there nearly panting, the sun was warm on her skin. She closed her eyes, tilting her face toward the light, breathing deeply to calm down. Stuart had mentioned the elevation when he first moved here, but until she’d been here herself, she hadn’t realized how much it would affect her. The air seemed thin, insufficient somehow as she took it in.
“You okay?” Maddie asked, startling her.
She managed a weak smile. “Sure. I was getting a headache in there with all those flowers.”
Maddie narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure that’s all? You got kind of funny after we almost—”
“I’m fine.”
Maddie continued to squint at her before finally lifting one shoulder, dismissing the issue. She checked her watch.
“We’ve got almost two hours before the next appointment. Anything you need to do in the meantime?”
“I should probably check in with the office.”
“Do you need to go back to the hotel?”
Ryann paused. “No. I can do everything on my phone and tablet. I just need somewhere quiet to work for an hour or two. I have a phone call and some email to catch up on.”
“Great. I was gonna drop in on the remailing program, see if I can help for a bit. It’s not my shift, but they always need extra hands. It’s on the way to the bakery, so it will save us a trip back downtown if we go there from here. They have a little table in the break room you could use while I’m busy. Would that work?”
“As long as I won’t be in the way, that’ll be fine for me.”
They made their way back to the Bronco. It was colder inside than out, and Maddie glanced her way.
“Still want the heat?”
“Please.”
They drove in relative silence, Maddie pointing out her old high school and a few other landmarks, classical music playing softly all the while. Verdi, this time. A few minutes into the drive, Ryann started to relax again. She’d been afraid Maddie would bring up the not-quite kiss, and she didn’t want to talk about it. The less said about that near disaster, the better. In fact, if they never talked about it at all, she’d be much happier about the whole situation. She’d blame the elevation.
“What are you smiling about over there?” Maddie asked.
“Inside joke.”
Maddie was still glancing at her every few seconds, clearly waiting for an explanation, and Ryann scrambled for a new topic.
“So, you like classical music?”
Maddie squinted, looking suspicious, then turned her eyes back to the road. “When I’m driving. Keeps me calm. How ’bout you? You want to listen to something else?”
“No. Classical is nice. I used to play, you know, in high school. So did Stuart.”
“Oh yeah? How funny. So did me and Jai. Wait! Let me guess. You played…viola. And he played cello.”
Ryann laughed. “Close. He played viola, and I played cello.”
“Really? That’s…” Maddie gave her a wry smile.
“What?”
She turned her way, lips curled impishly. “Hot. I’ve always thought lady cellists were sexy.”
Ryann looked away, cheeks warm. Maddie laughed. They drove in silence another minute or two, Ryann desperate for a comeback but not thinking of one. She was usually smooth, a flirt, at least when she wanted to be, but the whole situation had thrown her off. Further, she didn’t know if she wanted to be flirting. Was this Maddie’s usual banter, or did she mean something by it?
“We were bass and piano,” Maddie suddenly said. “I played the bass, Jai the piano. We were in the full band and in the orchestra pit for musicals, too.”
Ryann was relieved to be back on safer ground, and she tried to make herself relax. “Wow. The bass is really heavy. Did you have one at home so you didn’t have to lug it back and forth?”
“Unfortunately, no—my parents couldn’t afford it. But I had the Bronco then, too, and a special dolly. It wasn’t too bad if I got places on time. Jai helped a lot.”
Ryann glanced in the back of the cabin again, picturing it. She could see a young Jai and Maddie stuffing the big instrument back there together, both in bad late-nineties fashion with terrible teenage haircuts. Maybe they shared a cigarette or two before heading home, like she had with Stuart.
She and Stuart would sit on the hood of her car blowing smoke rings, trying to outdo each other before she drove him home. Sometimes she’d stay over at his place for a night or two. Neither set of their parents had cared. In fact, she was pretty sure Stuart’s parents had been hoping the two of them were up to something together in his bedroom those first couple of times she met them at breakfast. The less-than-subtle winks and smiles were a dead giveaway. His parents must have known he was gay long before he came out, but they seemed to have hoped for other news. And her parents had simply never kept track of where she was, even before she came out.
Maddie pulled into the parking lot in front of a small building with a canvas Loveland Chamber of Commerce Volunteers sign above the door.
“You wanna stay out here for your phone call, or come in now?” Maddie asked.
“Where would I go if I come in later?”
“We’re all right there right inside the door, and don’t worry. I’ll see you. Or you can follow me in and meet the ladies now, and I can show you that quiet area to work.”
She was already getting chilly, so she indicated that she’d follow her inside. They climbed out, leaving their heavier coats and outerwear in the Bronco. Ryann brought her phone and tablet in her purse.
Inside was a whirlwind of activity and decorations. Several long picnic tables had been set end-to-end in three rows, all covered with red plastic tablecloths with white hearts. More of the usual cutouts and streamers hung on the walls and from the ceiling.
Seated at the tables were some forty or fifty seniors, mostly women, all with various boxes of letters next to them, all wearing a red volunteer T-shirt. One woman removed a large manila envelope, opened it with a knife, and then stamped the smaller letter inside with a red inkpad. Laughter and high, excited voices, hammering stamps, and a radio blaring Perry Como nearly pierced her ears.
“Oh, good, you’re here,” an older woman said, bustling toward them. “And you brought a friend. That’s great. We’re actually short two people today, so we could use the extra bodies.” She was wearing a bright-red shirt with white hearts, nearly identical to the tablecloths. Her hair was a bouffant of gray, almost bluish tight curls, her eyes twinkling behind her glasses.
“Doris, this is Ryann,” Maddie said. “Doris is the volunteer coordinator here.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Ryann said, shaking her hand.
“And you, dear,” Doris said, grasping Ryann’s with her warm, soft ones.
“Unfortunately, Ryann has to make some phone calls and things for work,” Maddie explained. “She was just with me in the car.”
