Marcus nodded. “All that and more.” He pulled back, wincing before he continued. “Like I said, I already emailed her, just to see if she was available. And she is.” He held up his hands like Abby was about to shoot him. “Just think about it, okay? For me? At least, have a meeting with her, see what she has to say. Her recommendations are off the chart. If you don’t get on, no problem. We’ll can the idea. But if she can make your life easier, then why not?”

Her insides were still boiling. How dare he do this? But this was Marcus. It came from a place of love, not control. Unlike his mother.

Plus, if this woman could deal with Marjorie, maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea.

“I’m still mad at you for doing this behind my back.”

“You’d never have agreed otherwise.” He gave her his special smile, the one he reserved for her.

She gave him a long sigh. “You’ve already contacted her?”

He nodded. “I sent the email yesterday, so she’s going to give you a call. Her name is Jordan.”

“Jordan.” What kind of a name was that?

Chapter 3

“Why are we doing this again?” Jordan could barely speak she was so out of breath, but she kept her feet moving. She knew from grim experience that if she stopped, it was doubly hard to get moving again. Beside her, Karen was gliding like she was on roller skates. There was clearly something to be said for regular training, as opposed to doing your first run in at least a month.

“Because you’ve got yet another rich bitch wanting you to pretend to be her long-lost bestie bridesmaid. To fulfil your clients’ wish list, you have to be slim. And hot. Nobody wants a fat bridesmaid, do they?”

How could Karen just chat, like they hadn’t been running non-stop for the past 20 minutes? “You’re being a bit fattist,” Jordan gasped. To her left, the sea bobbed and weaved like the largest waterbed on record. Up above, the sky was grey with white clouds streaked across it. It looked like the grey sweatshirt she’d accidentally sprayed bleach on as opposed to stain remover, and now only wore for home decorating. Which basically meant never.

“I’m being a realist. Although, you don’t want to get too slim and hot, because no bride wants to be outshone on her wedding day. It’s a tricky balance to hit, isn’t it?”

Jordan said nothing in reply. Mainly because she didn’t have the breath.

Karen glanced at her. “Although you’re not looking so hot right now, with your tongue hanging out like a dog. But you generally do.” She grinned. “You can be an inspiration to brides everywhere. Remember Kate Moss’s words: nothing tastes as good as skinny.”

“Maybe I should get a nasty cocaine habit to aid my quest.”