Page 29 of Recklessly, Wildly Yours

I’m distracted from the texts when I’m alerted that my coffee order is ready. I grab the drinks and pastries I got for Madeline in case she’s hungry and head back to the hotel.

When I walk through the door of our room, I’m presented with Maddie bending over her bed, rummaging in her suitcase while wearing only her underwear. And those panties she’s wearing? They put a massive grin on my face.

“I see you’re in your grandma era, Miller,” I say as the door shuts behind me.

She spins to face me and glances down at the big granny panties she’s wearing. Her smile matches mine. “I don’t think I’m ever going to leave my grandma era. Seriously, these are the most comfortable undies I’ve ever owned.”

I’m looking at the most oversized panties I’ve ever come across. They’re white with big red hearts all over them and red frilly lace along the edges. There’s nothing sexy about them, but Maddie manages to look sexy in them. Although, that could have more to do with the bra she’s wearing. No grandma bra to be found here unfortunately. It’s lacy, and hot as hell. And if I thought her pajamas killed me, I had no idea of the death still awaiting me.

Helping a runaway bride was not on my bingo card for this year and now I know why. Under any other circumstances, I’d ask Madeline on a date. Under these circumstances, that feels like a crass move and I’m in a constant state of pushing my interest down.

I give her the coffee and pastries I got her. “Do you often wear granny undies?” And killer bras?

She laughs. “No, not like this. These were a fun joke from Leigh that I just found in my suitcase. I doubt she’s expecting the message I’ll be sending her about finding more.” She mercifully reaches for a black T-shirt from her suitcase and puts it on along with a pair of jeans.

I take a sip of my coffee. “Okay, I’m thinking if we leave around nine this morning, we’ll make it to Louisville today. Probably around five p.m. based on the number of stops you insisted on yesterday.”

Her brows lift as she drinks some of her coffee. “Me? I recall you wanted to stop to take photos.”

“If we remove those stops from the equation, we’re still looking at a fuckload of breaks for all kinds of odd things.”

“Since when is having to use the bathroom an odd thing?”

“It’s not the bathroom breaks that give me pause.”

“Oh, hello, Grandpa Ethan. Who says ‘give me pause’ anymore?”

My lips threaten to curl up into a grin. “I can get behind stopping for snacks, for looking at historical markers, for collecting shit you see that gives you lyric inspiration, for looking at cute animals you see along the way, and for buying trip souvenirs, but stopping to gaze at cloud animals you see? That shit’s weird, Miller.”

I think she’s also trying not to smile but she’s doing a bad job of it. “It’s a good thing you enjoy bumps in the road of a friendship because I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting to look at cloud animals. And honestly, I’m unsure why you don’t like them.”

“I’ve nothing against them, but they add time to our trip that we need to factor in.”

“For a guy who seems to enjoy spontaneity, that is the most unspontaneous thing you’ve said since I met you.”

“A guy can be both spontaneous and practical.” I nod at the cup in her hand. “Drink your coffee. We’ve got half an hour till we need to leave but about five hours of packing ahead of us.”

She can’t contain her smile any longer. Sweeping her gaze around the messy room, she fakes offense. “I can’t believe you just said that.” She puts her hand to her heart. “I’m wounded.”

“Can you save that for after we pack? You’ll have at least six hours to feel all those feels in the car.”

She walks my way and pats my chest. “Soon, you’ll be talking in acronyms.” With that, she moves past me and goes into the bathroom to begin packing. I’m helpless but to watch every step she takes.

12

Madeline

I try to pack my belongings in half an hour. I really do. But when Leigh sends me a stack of texts outlining some things we need to do immediately, I fail.

Tucker made a statement about our relationship and the tour last night and it wasn’t kind to me. Leigh is furious and so am I after I read it. I was already angry after the messages we exchanged yesterday, but this...this lights a fire inside me that I would never have imagined possible.

He can’t marry me because I don’t love him like he loves me?

That fucking asshole.

I need to make a statement of my own but Leigh has reminded me that not only do I need a new manager and lawyer, but I also need a new publicist. Every person on my team is also on Tucker’s team, so I can’t use any of them. I won’t use any of them. Leigh has taken it upon herself to change all my social media passwords and compile a list of possible PR replacements. Until I hire someone, I need to decide what to do with my socials. And I have to decide whether I want to make a statement immediately or wait until I have someone to advise me of the best way to handle this.

Leigh, being the amazing assistant she is, texted me one she drafted as a starting point for me to tweak. I stop packing and sit on the bed to read it.

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