Soon after the wedding, Mila returned to work and hoped she could put all of this behind her: the social climbing, Danny’s kids, and most of all, Maddox Cross.
But several days later, her manager asked to talk to her privately. Then, she was given the news: she was laid off.
Mila was shocked. Despite the manager’s excuses, the fact that she’d told Jackson not to come back to see her again came to mind.
And the fact that Jackson saw her kiss Maddox at the wedding.
She wanted to kick herself. What a stupid, immature thing to do! It wasn’t worth losing her job for.
Mila trudged home and splayed out on her bed, counting the chipped spots on the ceiling. Her mom had left a message, but Mila didn’t want to have to tell her about her job right now.
She didn’t want to ask for her help either. And she knew her savings wouldn’t take her far.
Mila dragged her phone to her ear and listened to her mother’s message about how beautiful Tahiti was.
Mila only half listened until her mom broke out into a completely different topic. “Maddox confirmed the rumors that you kissed at the wedding!” Her mother almost squealed. “I know you promised to keep an open mind, but this is more than I expected!”
Mila bolted upright. “Oh, no,” she said out loud.
Mila let the phone slide onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. What had she done?
Why would Maddox tell them that? And how was she supposed to handle this? It was true they’d kissed. But that was as far as it went.
Her mother mentioned rumors. Did Jackson tell everyone? It didn’t sound like him. But she didn’t know him that well. And he might be spiteful. Especially if he did get her fired.
The worst part of this was that it was true. She did kiss Maddox. And that was clearly a huge mistake.
Especially now that her mother knew. Mila would never escape this now.
Mila put off talking to her mother for as long as possible. She thought her lack of employment was her biggest problem. But she was sadly mistaken.
The next message from her mother a few days later informed her that Maddox was supposed to be in New York again. And she wanted to know if they were going on a date.
Mila rested her forehead against her palm. She sat at her makeshift desk job hunting. The longer she waited, the worse her mother’s delusions were getting.
But before she could work up the nerve to call her back, someone else called. It was an unfamiliar number, but it could be her mother. So, Mila braced herself and answered.
It wasn’t her mother. In fact, it might be worse than that. Tiffany squealed, “Mimi!”
“Hi, Tiffany,” Mila said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
It didn’t dampen Tiffany’s spirits at all. “I’m so glad you picked up. I have an event emergency and I really need your help.”
Mila didn’t like the sound of that at all. “What do you need?” she asked warily.
“Well, I’m obligated to attend a small daytime fundraiser tomorrow. But my plus one canceled last minute and they expect you to fill seats. So…I was hoping you would help me out and be my hero…?” Tiffany’s voice rose at the end.
Mila stared at the wall. Why would Tiffany ask her to do this? It didn’t make any sense. Mila figured Danny’s kids would want to distance themselves from her too. “Well…”
“It would mean so much if you could help me out just this once…” Tiffany affected a pouty voice and Mila held back a sigh. This was definitely worse than her mother. “Pretty, pretty please?”
Mila shut her eyes. She knew this would be a mistake. “All right,” she said with her eyes closed. “I’ll go.” At least it was a fundraiser and not a random party.
Mila held the phone away as Tiffany squealed. “You’re the best! I’ll text you all the details later.”
After she hung up, Mila stared at the phone unsure if she should be afraid or annoyed. “Probably afraid,” she mumbled.
She didn’t have a lot of time to worry about it. Or prepare. She went with a dress she’d worn to something with her mother and met Tiffany at the event location the next day.
Tiffany appraised her as Mila approached and Mila thought jealousy crossed her face. “You do seem to know how to put yourself together,” she said with less enthusiasm than she’d affected on the phone. Then, she straightened her shoulders and led the way inside.
As they stepped inside the actual event room, the first person Mila laid eyes on was Maddox Cross.
Unbelievable. Why did her mother have to be right that he was in New York?
She averted her eyes immediately even though it was too late; he’d seen her. What was he doing there? Of all the things he could be doing, why was this one of them?
More to the point, Mila would never have been there if not for Tiffany. Was this some sort of conspiracy? Maybe Tiffany thought she could bring her down because of the rumors.
“Vannah!” Tiffany exclaimed and dragged Mila in a different direction, which was fortunate for once. Tiffany grabbed Savannah Carlisle’s arm and tugged her away from the people she was talking to. “Both of my sisters in the same place. I always wanted a sister and now I have two.” She squeezed their arms.