Page 33 of Pucking Your Best Friend

“I don’t care if it hurts, it looks terrible!” she hissed in disbelief. “You’re supposed to be photographed and filmed today, Matt! You said you’d be careful!”

He scratched his head. “Martinez started it! He called my brother a son of a bitch.”

“You don’t have a brother!”

“Yes, but he didn’t know that. Besides, that made my mother a whore.”

“Matt! You’re supposed to be the poster boy for the agency. Now you look like a prune.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. She couldn’t have thought of a worse word.

“It’s fine!” Lucy intervened. “People won’t recognize him otherwise.”

Maddie groaned and narrowed her eyes. “He has such a pretty face.”

Matt felt hispretty faceflush. Did she truly think that?

“Seriously, Maddie, it’s not a big deal. He looks hotter with a black eye,” Hailey murmured, patting her friend on the shoulderreassuringly. “They’ll still be beating down our doors. Hundreds of millions of women will sign up because they want to be matched with Matt. Then hundreds of millions of men will sign up because they know how many women have signed up. Really. It’s going to be great!”

Chapter 8

Hailey was right.

The walk-in clients who were watching the photo shoot outside their office and noticed that a hot hockey player was searching for a partner on Match Me! were literally beating down their door.

It didn’t cost a lot to register on their website, if you didn’t want personal advice and exclusive support. Still, within a few hours, they made as much money as they had in the last six months. Yes, this showed how little they had earned thus far, but it was also a great upswing!

Most of the women stayed, probably hoping to catch Matt and introduce themselves to him personally. Their new star was being miked for the TV interview that would be aired live on ESPN. A small crowd soon formed around them, completely blocking the promenade. Everyone could go around them across the beach, though, so it wasn’t too bad. Nevertheless, Maddie would have preferred to speak to Matt before the interview and go over what he wanted to say. Matt could be incredibly charming and was always friendly and courteous, but sometimes, he said things like, “What was the name of the woman I slept with earlier?” or “Oh, please. The phrase ‘spiritual kinship’ is super sick because it actually means you’re committing incest!” Now, though, the ESPN people were too close for her to whisper to him how he should convince everyone he was seeking true love – even if he didn’t believe in it.

She had no choice but to nervously shift from one foot to the other and think about everything that could go wrong.

“Relax, Maddie,” Hailey said, wrapping her arm around her. “Really, this is already great! We have a chance of finally getting out of the hole.”

Frowning, Lucy looked up abruptly and glanced from one to the other. “What hole?”

Maddie’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, nothing,” she said quickly, earning a dirty look from Hailey.

“We’re having some financial problems,” Hailey stated bluntly.

“Hailey!” Maddie whispered sharply.

“It’s true. I’ve had financial problems my whole life, so it’s not hard for me to say it. Unlike you, apparently.”

Her sister stared at her, her mouth gaping. “You said the agency was doing great!” she said, stunned.

“Well, it is…”

Hailey cleared her throat audibly.

“…now,” she whispered.

“Madison!” Lucy hissed.

Oh, great. She was using her full first name. “Yeah, okay, it has been difficult,” she said in a hushed voice. “That’s why this was so important today.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? I’m a marketing professional, Maddie. I could have helped you.”

She swallowed. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

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