not just my roommate. He’s not just related through marriage. It’s all of those complicated strings tangled together to form the world’s tightest knot around my heart. Screw things up with him, bare my soul, and get rejected? Then what? Where do we go from there?
Chapter Four
Maddie
“So then I had to force her to try a dress that was a little more formfitting and guess what?!”
There’s a long pause as my sister stops talking.
Oh, shoot. She’s expecting me to actually guess.
“She loved it?” I venture tentatively.
“She loved it!” she confirms.
Phew. I was barely listening. That was a close one. I don’t normally make a habit of ignoring my sister; it’s just that she called during the worst time. I just left the salon after fitting in a quick haircut after work, and I’m walking home to the condo. City noise is a nightmare, and my brain is scrambled from trying to keep up with Elise and her wild ramblings all day.
My sister calls me once a week, every Thursday, so we can catch up, but it’s really a ruse. There’s no catching up; there’s just Jolie talking about Jolie.
She owns a bridal boutique in Highland Park, precisely three blocks from our childhood home. She absolutely loves it, and the women who come in love her right back. I doubt there’s a bride in Dallas who doesn’t make a point to go to her shop while shopping for a wedding dress. She flies to Paris twice a year for Bridal Fashion Week and prides herself on having all the latest styles. Vera Wang put out a list of her top bridal boutique recommendations across the United States and my sister’s shop made the cut. Business has been booming ever since, and my sister has been busier than ever. Did I mention she also now has a kiddo on the way to boot? Talk about checking off all of life’s little boxes.
She’s still telling the same story from earlier about the woman and the wedding dress. I feel like I’ve heard it a million times before. Bride comes in, she wants a certain style, Jolie talks her into something else, lo and behold, the bride credits Jolie with single-handedly making her wedding day spectacular.
I unlock the door of my condo and kick it open with my foot. I can’t use my hands because they’re laden with things from Elise. I have two shopping bags full of stuff she wanted me to take home from work.
Aiden is on our couch, computer open on his lap, pencil between his teeth. Cole is here with him. That happens sometimes. Aiden invites writers from Texas Monthly over to our place when they’re working on a story together. Cole looks up and smiles in greeting, but Aiden’s still typing and therefore hasn’t realized I’m home. When he’s writing, he completely zones out the rest of the world. Usually, I find it to be an endearing trait. Right now, I’m annoyed that he’s not acting as my scapegoat.
“Hey Aiden, yes! I just got home!” I say aloud for my sister’s benefit.
He stops typing and looks up at me. The pencil drops from his mouth.
Oh right, Elise had me put on makeup this afternoon during a meeting she had with Austin Organics. They’re a local vegan cosmetics company, and their marketing team brought in products for her to test so she could get a feel for their brand. I was at my desk, responding to emails when she snapped her fingers and told me to follow her. From there, Elise proceeded to use me as a guinea pig during the meeting and I worried I’d come out of the room looking like a clown, but they actually did a really good job. Their tinted beeswax lip balm made my lips look lush without becoming annoyingly sticky, and the all-natural blush set off my cheekbones even more than usual.
I forgot to wash it all off, and Aiden’s blinking at me in surprise.
“Oh perfect!” Jolie says. “Aiden’s home? Put me on speaker, will you?”
I do as she says, and her chipper voices rings out through our living room.
“Hi Aiden!”
“Hey Jolie,” he says, dropping his computer onto the cushion beside him and pushing to stand. He’s headed my way, studying my face. His eyes are crinkled at the edges.
He doesn’t stop until he’s a foot away from me. We’re toe to toe with my phone held out between us. Aiden reaches out to finger the end of my blonde hair, and I