TWO #2
“I met Sandy at the Viper Room for drinks earlier this week, and she told me that the executives at Universal had pitched a third movie—Ticket to Cape Town.” Maddie paused, letting the words settle between them.
Gemma and Maddie’s eyes were both on Caitlin, waiting for her to fill in the blanks. This was huge news, but it was clear that Gemma hadn’t heard about it either.
Caitlin sighed. “They came to me with an offer, yeah. They wanted to turn the movies into a franchise. It would have locked me in for the next three movies, though, maybe more. I told them I wasn’t interested.”
“Are you insane?” Gemma and Maddie gasped in unison, and Caitlin winced.
“It was right after the Oscars, and I’d already gotten everything I wanted.
” Caitlin offered a sheepish smile, turning to kiss Gemma on the cheek, whose mouth was still slightly open from the admission.
“I would’ve had to be in Africa for at least four months, followed by the press tour, and then do it all over again in two more countries.
I’d be gone for practically the next five years. ”
Gemma’s focus was locked onto her fiancée. “Are you saying that you turned down an entire franchise for me?”
Maddie watched as Caitlin threaded her fingers through Gemma’s. “I left you behind to chase the spotlight once before, and it was the worst mistake of my life, Squish. I don’t plan on doing it again.”
“But, babe, a franchise role is a huge opportunity. You know I support your career. We’d make it work.”
“I know you do, and that’s why I plan on marrying you.” Caitlin smiled, pulling gently on Gemma’s hand until she was seated across her lap. “I just want to focus on us right now. I missed out on an entire decade with you, and I’d like to make up for lost time.”
Maddie averted her eyes, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.
She felt a twinge of guilt for accusing Caitlin of hiding something so big from her.
Maybe Caitlin really had grown, and maybe that meant it was Maddie’s turn now.
She focused on topping off her glass of red wine in order to give them a moment of privacy.
“I love you, baby,” she heard Gemma whisper.
“I’m so deeply in love with you,” Caitlin breathed. “More than you’ll ever know.”
They were so earnest that Maddie’s heart ached as she turned back toward the couple, sipping her wine.
That. I want exactly that.
THE NEXT DAY, MADDIE SPENT HOURS poring over scripts Sandy had messengered over to her house before she left LA.
Frustrated, she threw the pages down onto the comforter next to her.
Ticket to Rio had been her last job, but not for a lack of options.
Whether or not they were good options could be debated.
The next packet she picked up immediately thumped onto the carpet.
She wasn’t even going to waste her time reading a movie titled Zombie Cheerleader.
“Ughhh,” she groaned into the empty room. While she admired Caitlin for turning down the franchise offer, Maddie would have been grateful for the surefire success that always came along with being Caitlin Stone’s co-star.
“Mads!” Caitlin shouted from the other side of the door, shaking Maddie out of her self-pity. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, okay? Meet us in the dining room.”
Shortly after, Maddie sat down at the table, noticing it had been set for four.
Weird. Caitlin hadn’t mentioned inviting anyone else.
Maddie certainly wasn’t prepared for Hayley Maddox to walk into the room.
The tall, striking woman wore money like a second skin.
Maddie’s eyes tracked the pristine black blazer, matching slacks, and Christian Louboutin heels.
The suit had clearly been tailored to her hourglass figure.
Her perfectly symmetrical, heart-shaped face contrasted against sharp cheekbones and dark eyes.
The combination was lethal, and Hayley knew it.
Since that first night they’d met, Maddie had been inexplicably fascinated by Hayley.
The two of them immediately clashed, both fiercely protective of their best friends, whose history was complicated, to say the least. And while Hayley hadn’t been subtle about her dislike, Maddie had a tough time buying it.
For some reason, she was convinced that it was all part of an act.
“Hayley, still dressing like an Italian mobster, I see,” Maddie teased as soon as she sat down, wanting to get under that incredible skin as quickly as possible.
“And I see you still dress like 1983’s finest Valley Girl,” Hayley retorted with an eye roll.
“I haven’t seen you since…” Maddie tapped a finger to her jaw, pretending to think. “Right, the Oscars. How have you been?”
Hayley took a slow, deliberate sip of wine, ignoring her this time.
“Oh, come on, you remember.” Maddie leaned across the table and lowered her voice as if Gemma and Caitlin wouldn’t be able to hear her. “You might not want to admit it, but I know you do.”
“So, when’s your return flight, Madison?” Hayley asked brusquely, her tone flat as she kept her eyes on her plate.
“I’m so glad you asked, Hayley.” Maddie smiled, shifting her attention toward Caitlin, suspecting that Hayley would sneak a peek in her direction if she thought Maddie wasn’t looking.
“I haven’t booked my return flight yet, but I’m guessing around October sixth or seventh?
I’ll be here until these two gorgeous brides say I do. ”
Four whole months. Maddie beamed with feigned innocence.
She looked just in time to watch Hayley’s eyes go wide as she whipped her head toward Gemma, then wince and rub her neck.
“I told you Caitlin was going to ask Maddie to be her maid of honor,” Gemma ground out through her teeth, holding a forced smile in place.
“Yes, but I don’t recall you mentioning she would be here for the next four months.” Hayley mirrored Gemma’s lowered voice as if no one else could understand their mumbling.
“She is right here,” Maddie chimed in, “and she will be doing whatever she can to help these two lovebirds until they walk down the aisle.” She slung her arm defiantly across Caitlin’s shoulders and started to sing, “Goin’ to the chapel, and we’re gonna get married. ” Maddie swayed as Caitlin laughed.
“Gee, I really love you, and we’re gonna get married,” Gemma sang the following line of The Dixie Cups’ single “Chapel of Love.”
“Fuck my life,” Hayley groaned under her breath and polished off her glass of wine. She tossed her blazer onto the chair beside her before reaching for the bottle to refill her drink.
The three of them broke out into laughter.
“Come on, Hay. Lighten up,” Gemma teased with a playful shove. “Maddie, how’s life in LA? Dating anyone?”
Clank.
Hayley’s fork hit the bone china as she began to cough.
“Hayley, are you okay?” Maddie asked with genuine concern. She started to rack her brain for the steps to the Heimlich maneuver before realizing Hayley’s dinner was still untouched. What was she even choking on?
Hayley waved her away, muttering, “I’m fine.”
Using Hayley’s coughing fit as a distraction, Maddie directed the conversation back to the upcoming nuptials. It felt like the wrong time to dive into the wreckage of her own love life. She had ended things with Kim, anyway. Mostly.
“So, what’s first on the wedding to-do list?” she asked, smiling sweetly and thinking about how Hayley would handle a group project.
“Well, Gem and I were hoping that you two could start planning the bachelorette party together,” Caitlin ventured, her gaze shifting between Maddie and Hayley. “We want to do a joint one.”
Maddie loved bachelorette parties. She lived for that window of celebration before the knot was tied. The final giddy exhale before watching a couple vow their love to each other in front of all their family and friends.
A grin split Maddie’s face, her words tumbling out before she could catch her breath. “We’d be happy to.”
“I’d be happy to find a venue and handle all of the logistics for the bachelorette, Madison,” Hayley interjected, suddenly finding her words.
Over my dead body, Maddie thought.
“No, we will definitely be planning this together so that it doesn’t turn into a corporate retreat,” Maddie chirped brightly, and then giggled at the deadly glare it earned her.
“This should be good,” Gemma stage-whispered to her fiancée.
Caitlin fought to keep her lips from curving upward in amusement. “We’d like it to be sometime in late August if we could make that work.”
“Cait, I will not let you down,” Maddie said with an enthusiastic salute. “Hayley, why don’t we grab a drink this week and brainstorm some ideas?”
Hayley mumbled something indistinguishable before she stood and began clearing the plates.
You’re not getting off that easily.
Maddie quickly stacked the remaining dinnerware from the table and followed Hayley into the kitchen.
The tiled floor was cold beneath her bare feet, but it offered a welcome distraction from the rush of warmth she felt watching the muscles on Hayley’s back shift and contract beneath her tank top with every scrub of the brush.
“Let me help you with that.” Maddie moved to take the plate from Hayley’s hand.
Their fingers grazed, and a jolt ran through Maddie. She almost pulled away, but instead she froze.
Hayley didn’t let go either as their eyes met. For a brief moment, they just stood there, neither of them breathing.
After a beat, Hayley turned back toward the sink, and Maddie fought to control the thudding in her chest.
“Caitlin didn’t mention you’d be here tonight.” Maddie slid a plate into the bottom rack of the dishwasher.
“Gemma hadn’t warned me either. If she had, I might not have come.” Hayley kept her eyes trained on the pot in her hand.
Looking for a way to regain the upper hand, Maddie leaned closer and whispered, “We never talked about that night.”
Hayley bristled. “Because there is nothing to talk about.”