She spun toward the door and saw Jonny standing just inside her office. He was wearing a leather jacket, jeans and boots. He looked good. Manly. Handsome. Sexy. All things that should have taken her mind off her troubles, but Ted was bigger than all of that. Which was pretty much the worst thing yet.
“You have no idea. But I’ll deal. How are things?”
In the world of snappy comebacks and distractions “How are things” wasn’t great, but it was the best she could come up with under pressure.
“Fine,” he said, walking toward her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Something.”
She faked a smile. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
He stopped in front of her and did nothing. He just stood there, as if he had all the time in the world.
“Seriously, I’m fine.”
One dark eyebrow rose.
She caved like the weak link she was. “It’s Ted. The ex-boyfriend who always comes to town with his beautiful wife.”
“The one you told me about?”
She nodded miserably. “Yes. The one who loves to reenact that scene from Bridget Jones’s Diary.” She lowered her voice and tried for a British accent. “So, Bridge, what’s it like being perpetually single?” She huffed out air. “It’s awful and somehow I agreed to dinner.” She squared her shoulders and faked another smile. “It’s fine. One night, right? I’m sure being with him and Marigold builds character.”
“His wife’s name is Marigold?”
“Uh-huh. She used to be a model.”
“Runway?”
“Catalog, but still. They talk about it and then ask about my ‘retail job.’” She made air quotes. “That’s what they call me working here. My retail job. I’m fine with that. I love what I do and I won’t apologize for it.”
“You shouldn’t. You make brides happy. Ted does weather, so he’s wrong sixty percent of the time. How often are you wrong?”
The question made her smile. “A lot less than sixty percent.”
“So you win.”
If only it were that simple. Despite the dread knotting in her stomach, she didn’t want to be whiny. “That’s how I need to look at it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He studied her for a second. “I’ll be your date.”
She blinked, sure she’d misunderstood. “Excuse me?”
“For the dinner. I’ll be your date.” One shoulder rose, then fell. “I’m a good date. Not just because you get to bring Jonny Blaze, but because Ted needs to be taken down a peg and I’m the man to do it.”
“I, ah, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Which part of it?”
The part where she got to walk in with a famous movie star as her date? Or watching said date take down Ted? “It’s a little calculated.”
“And his invitation isn’t? Does it occur to you that Ted and Marigold come here for a reason? One of them needs to show you they’re still together and happy. Maybe Ted thinks of you as the one who got away and Marigold wants to be sure you know they’re still blissfully happy. Maybe Ted has a secret thing for you. Maybe they’re just jerks. Regardless, there’s an agenda. If they get to have one, you should, too.”
Madeline felt her mouth drop open. She had never once considered that it was kind of strange her ex-boyfriend visited her every year.
“Wow,” she murmured. “You’re good.”
“Thanks.”
“That was really insightful.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”
“Sorry. It’s just, you’re a guy, plus what Ginger said about—” She slapped her hand over her mouth.
Crap. Double crap. Why had she said that? Now she was going to have backtrack, and with Jonny staring at her expectantly, she didn’t know how that was going to happen. It wasn’t as if she could think of something else on the spot.
“What did Ginger say?”
“Nothing.”
“Madeline, tell me.”
She dropped her hand. “You’re going to get mad. She loves you and thinks you’re great.”
His expression was unreadable. That whole actor thing, she thought glumly. Talk about an unfair advantage.
“Do you want coffee? We could get a coffee.”
He waited.
“Fine. She said that because of all the loss you’ve had in your life, you’re worried about admitting you care about anyone. That you never tell her you love her. You won’t say the words. But you need her to know, so you show it. Sometimes that’s great, but sometimes it gets out of hand. Like with the giant wedding cake.”