Page 40 of Feast

Maddie paused to grin at her sister. “Then I called him Daddy.”

“Ew.”

“Don’t kink shame,” Maddie chastised and tugged the panties into place.

“Wasn’t that weird?”

“No, it was hot.”

“If you say so,” Halley said, still looking dubious.

“And I do.” Maddie pulled the towel off her hair. “I’m going to deal with hair and makeup, then finish getting dressed. When do we have to leave?”

“Twenty minutes,” Halley said, consulting her watch. “Twenty-five if we run.”

“I’ll be ready in twenty,” Maddie said, and dashed into the bathroom with her makeup bag.

They walked out of the room with sixty-seconds to spare.

“Are you sure I look all right?” Halley asked for the third time, smoothing a nervous hand over her hip.

“You look lovely,” Maddie said, also for the third time. “Why do you keep asking me that?”

“The dress is tight,” Halley admitted. “Not much, but I can feel it.”

“It doesn’t show,” Maddie assured her as they walked down the hall toward the elevators. “Is it uncomfortable?”

Halley’s hand drifted from her hip to her belly. “No. It’s just strange, I guess.”

“If you don’t want anyone to know you’re knocked up, you better keep your hand away from your belly,” Maddie warned.

“Right.” Halley dropped her hand and reached for the elevator button. “You look amazing, by the way.”

“Thanks, Hal.”

“The one-shoulder top is super sexy,” Halley continued as the elevator chimed its arrival. They stepped inside. “And is thankfully on the right side to cover up that massive hickey.”

“It’s a love bite,” Maddie corrected with a laugh and hit the button to close the doors.

“What’s the difference?”

“Teenagers get hickeys,” Maddie decided after a moment. “Grown-ups get love bites.”

“Right,” Halley drawled. “Anyway, I take back what I said about the jumpsuit not being fancy enough. It’s perfect.”

“I love it,” Maddie admitted. “Except for the part where I have to take the whole thing down when I have to pee.”

“Yeah, that’s a design flaw,” Halley stepped out of the elevator when the doors slid open. “The wedding chapel is just down here, I think.”

They slowed as they reached the door, the discrete brass plaque beside the door confirming they were in the right place, then pushed inside.

“You sure we’re in the right place?” Maddie wondered. The room was lovely—elegantly decorated with plush carpet and lush curtains—but there was nothing to indicate a wedding would take place there in half an hour.

“I don’t know, let me text Dad,” Halley said and was pulling her phone out of her bag when the door behind them opened.

“Good evening ladies.” The woman was Black, her tall, willowy frame draped in a tailored gray suit and her curly hair cropped close. Small pearls glowed at her ears, matching the single pearl on a thin gold chain nestled in the hollow of her throat. She gave them a professional smile. “Can I help you?”

“We thought our dad’s wedding was being held here,” Maddie said.

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