Page 18 of The Wrong Bachelor

“She’s not the biggest fan of Jake,” I replied.

“Can’t say I blame the woman,” Hayley responded.

I threw a pillow at her head, but she easily snatched it out of the air before it hit her. She poked her tongue out at me. “You know what I mean. He was so sweet when you guys first started dating, but I just don’t think he’s like that anymore.”

My stomach dropped at her comment. Hayley had never admitted that to me before, and it hurt to know that she didn’t fully approve of Jake. The problem was that I couldn’t entirely disagree with her. Not when I’d been feeling something similar for the last few months.

I let out a sigh. “Yeah, he’s changed a lot this last year.”

Hayley slowly came out of the closet, a sad expression on her face as she sat next to me on my bed. “Do you still love him?” she asked.

I’d told Jake I loved him dozens of times in the two years we’d been together. I just wasn’t sure if I really knew the meaning of the word. Was the way I felt about Jake really true love?

“I’m always going to care for him,” I replied.

She tilted her head as she watched me. “You’re meant to be madly, stupidly, crazy about the boy. You don’t sound like you’re any of those things.”

“I don’t, do I?” I replied.

“No,” she agreed. “So, are you going to break up with him?”

I shook my head almost immediately. “No, of course not,” I replied instinctively. The thought of losing Jake made breathing harder. It made me feel anxious and uncertain. I didn’t know how to be without him. How could I break up with him?

She reached out and squeezed my hand. “It’s not fair on either of you to stay together if you’re not happy.”

“I know,” I replied. “I just think we’re going through a rough patch at the moment. Things will get better.”

She gave me a sad smile. “I hope so,” she said. From the way she was looking at me, I knew she wasn’t convinced.

“Enough moping about Jake,” she said, suddenly springing up from the bed. “We need to make you look hot for the big group date.” As she disappeared into my closet once again, I had a bad feeling that whatever I ended up wearing was not going to be Madi-approved.

After an hour of arguing over outfits, I managed to coax Hayley into letting me wear a pair of jeans. They hugged my legs tightly and were nothing like the ones I’d typically wear, but Hayley seemed happy enough. She somehow convinced me to wear a tight top that was far too revealing, but I’d succeeded in covering it up with a leather jacket that I could zip up to my neck if I felt uncomfortable. I finished the outfit with cute wedged ankle boots—the only thing the two of us agreed on unequivocally.

Hayley then helped me with my hair and makeup. We started on my hair, curling it in big loose waves that hung loosely down my back. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the makeup, but Hayley refused to let me leave the house without it. The girl sure knew how to channel the aggressive nature of a cheerleader when she needed to.

“You look so beautiful,” Mom gushed when I finally made my way downstairs. “That Cole Kingston would be crazy not to pick you.”

Dad was standing next to her, nodding in agreement.

“Mom,” I groaned. “I don’t want Cole to pick me. I have Jake.”

“Yes, yes I know,” Mom replied. Though it sounded like she had long forgotten Jake.

Dad gave me a hug. “Have fun tonight kiddo, and don’t forget to take photos so I can stalk them on Instagram.” The scary part was, he wasn’t joking.

“Dad!” I exclaimed. “And on that note, I’m leaving.”

I rushed out the door, dragging Hayley with me, not waiting to see what other mortifying things my dad would say next.

“He can be so embarrassing,” I muttered as we walked down my driveway.

“Really?” Hayley asked. “I think your dad’s hot.”

“Oh my gosh, you did not just say that!”

Hayley laughed and shook her head. “Totally joking, Mads. I like my boys older, not ancient. I’m not going to go American Beauty on you. I mean, maybe if he was twenty years younger and didn’t have such a dad-bod…”

I shoved my friend, laughing. “You’re terrible. You know that, right?”

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