Honey on Your Mind (11 page)

“Well, my only real family is my dad, and yes, he’s still out there. He lives in Sacramento.” The mention of my dad made me realize again how long it had been since I’d talked to him. I made a mental note to give him a call.

“Good for you for being adventurous. I love New York and have always wanted to try living here, but I can’t leave Nashville, at least not now.”

I looked at Paige.
I can’t leave Nashville
?

“Gary’s youngest is in high school,” she said.

“Oh.” I had no idea what to say.

“It’s complicated,” Gary said.

“Oh,” I said again, suddenly feeling awkward. Was he separated? Divorced? How many kids did he have? Would it be appropriate to ask? Call me sheltered, but I’d never really hung out with anyone who’d been separated
or
divorced, much less with kids on top.

Mercifully, Paige changed the subject. “So, Waverly, I know you’re swamped these days, but I need you on a plane again.” As she spoke, Gary excused himself to use the restroom.

I raised my eyebrows. “Somewhere exciting, I hope.” Our last couple of trips had certainly been lacking in the glamour
department. Central New Jersey and upstate New York? Enough said.

“How do you feel about Cleveland?”

“Cleveland? As in…
Cleveland
?”

She laughed. “The one and only. I have a buyer for Bella’s Boutique who wants to see your line, and she specifically wants to meet you.”

“She specifically wants to meet
me
?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You know the products as well as I do now.”

Paige laughed. “Hello? You’re a minor celebrity, Waverly. A lot of women out there watch
Love, Wendy
. Or have you forgotten that?”

I looked at her. “Do
you
watch
Love, Wendy
?”

“Me?”

I nodded.

“No.”

I pointed at her. “See? You don’t watch it. Andie and McKenna don’t watch it. Kristina doesn’t watch. Even
I
don’t watch it.
That’s
my reality, which is why it’s so weird for me to hear that yet another complete stranger wants to meet me. I’ve lived in New York for…how long now?” I held up a hand and counted the months on my fingers. “Three months? And in that time, how many times have I been recognized on the street by someone who lives here?”

“How many?”

I collapsed my fingers around my thumb. “Zero.”

“Really? Never?”

I shook my head. “Not once. Anytime I get recognized, it’s always a tourist from somewhere like…Cleveland.”

She laughed. “So can you go?”

“When would we leave?”

“Can you do Thursday afternoon for a Friday late-morning meeting?”

I pulled my day planner out of my purse and flipped through it. “Yes, I’m not taping on Friday, so that should work.”

“Good, because you know what
else
is happening in Cleveland on Friday?”

“In Cleveland? I have absolutely no idea.”

“Guess.”

“Um, pumpkin festival?”

“Nope.”

“Quilt fair?”

She shook her head. “Try again.”

I held my hands up. “Hog parade?”

She laughed. “Try the Atlanta Hawks versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

My eyes opened wide. “No way!”

“Indeed.
Now
how do you feel about a trip to Cleveland?”

I smiled at the thought of seeing Jake…at the thought of spending an entire night with him. “Why Paige Murphy, I
love
the idea of a trip to Cleveland.”

“I thought you would. I’m excited to meet this Jake you’re always talking about. You think he can hook us up with some tickets?”

“I would think so. Are you a basketball fan?”

“I’m a fan of anything that involves athletic men in shorts.”

I laughed and held up my drink. “That sounds like something your cousin would say. Oh my God, that reminds me. She’s coming to visit!”

“Really? When?”

“The weekend before Christmas, for her birthday. I’m so excited. I haven’t gone this long without seeing her since we were in college. I’m totally going through Andie withdrawal.”

She laughed. “Be careful. That girl is a whole lot of trouble in a very small package.”

“Oh, believe me, I know. Why do you think I love her so much? Are you around that weekend? You’ve got to come out with us if you are. I know she’d love to see you.”

She lowered her voice and leaned toward me. “I’m not sure yet. Gary and I are planning to spend a weekend up in Vermont sometime in December.”

“Really? I’ve never been to Vermont, but isn’t that supposed to be, like, the most romantic place
ever
in December?”

She nodded. “He’s incredible, Waverly. I mean I know we’ve only seen each other a few times, but he’s completely different from any other guy I’ve dated. He just makes me feel so…so…I don’t know…
connected
. Does that make sense?”

I loved her choice of word. It was exactly how Jake made me feel.
Connected
.

I smiled. “That makes complete sense, Paige. I’m so happy to hear that.”

“Happy to hear what?” We both turned our heads at the sound of Gary’s voice.

I coughed. “Oh, nothing, I was just telling Paige about, um, about a nice e-mail I got from, um, a fan the other day.”

“A fan?”

Paige nodded. “Waverly’s a celebrity.”

I laughed. “Hardly.”

Gary looked interested. “A celebrity? Really? How did I not learn this in Chicago?”

I shrugged and took a sip of my beer.
Because you and Paige were flirting too much with each other to ask me any questions
.

“Believe me, I’m
not
a celebrity,” I said.

“Celebrity.” Paige put her hand on my shoulder and nodded. “Just ask the folks in Cleveland.”

“Not a celebrity.” I shook my head. “So hey, I know this is totally changing the subject, but I have a question for you guys.”

“Still a celebrity,” Paige said. “So what’s the question?”

I leaned toward them. “I was on the subway earlier today and noticed this girl with a huge nose ring, and all I could think was
How in the world does she blow her nose
? I mean, how does that
work
?”

Paige laughed. “You’re nuts, Waverly.” Then she turned to Gary and put her hand on his arm. “We were just chatting about our next trip for Waverly’s Honey Shop. We’re off to Cleveland after you ride your white horse back to Nashville.” I’d never seen her flirt like this before.

I coughed. “
We’re off to Cleveland after you ride your white horse back to Nashville?
That sounds like the name of a bad country song.” I closed my eyes for a moment and pretended to play the guitar.

Gary laughed. “I like you, Waverly from San Francisco. You’ve got spunk.”

I smiled and held up my glass to his. “I like you too, Gary from Nashville.”

• • •

The next morning, the entire
Love, Wendy
crew had a planning meeting at NBC. Wendy attended it, but arrived a few minutes late, looking a bit disheveled. That woman had never
looked disheveled in all the time I’d known her, but today she just looked…
off
. Even her helmet hair was droopy. She sat down next to me at the far end of the conference table. I briefly took in her unusual appearance, and then turned my attention back to Scotty at the front of the room.

“So the powers that be at NBC have chosen December twelfth, at the lovely New York Athletic Club on Central Park South. If you have a conflict, that is unfortunate, because I believe the contract has already been signed, sealed, and delivered. Correct?” He gestured toward the intern, who nodded his confirmation without looking up from his phone. I think that thing was surgically attached to his hand.

“What’s he talking about?” Wendy whispered to me.

“Holiday party. It’s for all the daytime shows,” I whispered back.

“Oh, yes, of course. I knew that.” She seemed distracted, even a little dazed. What was that look in her eyes? Despite the typical power play of stating that
of course
she knew the party date ahead of time, she didn’t look as, well, as
evil
as usual. I’d long ago abandoned my efforts to figure out what made her tick, but I was still curious.

Scotty kept talking. “Details to be announced, but it’s going to be fun and fancy and full of famous people, so start shopping for that perfect outfit now.” I adored Scotty, and so did everyone else, except Wendy. How could you not love a male boss who actually cared about what anyone was going to wear to the company holiday party?

“Also, I have another announcement. A big one,” Scotty said.

We all looked at him.

“The bosses upstairs have decided to let us participate in the New Year’s Eve show.”

We all raised our eyebrows.

“You mean the live show?” I said, swallowing.
Live? As in the one with the ball?

“Yes and no. We’ll film it live from Times Square, but it will be aired at our regular time slot the next morning.”

“So…still basically live?” I said, feeling hoarse.

He nodded. “Exactly. We expect enormous ratings for this because they’re going to promote it on the regular live New Year’s Eve show, so this is our chance to really make a name for
Love, Wendy
.”

A wave of energy engulfed the room as everyone began chatting excitedly about the pseudo live broadcast. Amid the mayhem, I glanced up at Scotty, who looked at me and nodded slightly. This opportunity was a big deal for all of us, and I knew the pressure was on.

Yikes.

• • •

After Scotty went over the logistics for the New Year’s Eve show, he dove into the normal planning meeting. Soon, Wendy snapped out of her haze and returned to her old self. I flinched when she suggested we do a show on…child beauty pageants.

You can’t be serious.

“I mean, I think that would make for a wuuunderful show, don’t you agree?” She batted her eyelashes and looked around the room. As usual, no one disagreed…everyone was too afraid of her. Scotty wasn’t intimidated like the rest of us were, but he rarely challenged her opinions either. I wondered whether that could be because he really didn’t care. After all, he had plenty to think about with the
Today
show, the darling of the network.
Normally, I didn’t care all that much either because my contribution to the show was taped separately, but this new idea of Wendy’s was too much for me.

I cleared my throat. “Um, don’t you think that might be a little offensive to some people?”

She turned and looked at me. “Offensive? Why do you say that?” Her surprise at my objection seemed genuine.

How can you be so clueless?
I wanted to say.

I shifted in my chair. “I mean, well, because there are a lot of people out there who think child beauty pageants aren’t…aren’t a very good idea.”

She waved a hand in the air. “That’s nonsense, Waverly. Beauty pageants are important for positioning women as strong members of society, and they provide wonderful educational opportunities through scholarships. That’s how I put myself through college.” The
when I was Miss South Carolina
went unsaid, because we’d all heard her say it a thousand times.

I swallowed. “I totally understand that, but I mean
child
pageants. Adult pageants are one thing, but child pageants seem to be more about the parents than the kids.” I quickly scanned the faces around the table for help. I could see support in everyone’s eyes, but no one spoke up.

“Well, I disagree,” Wendy said. She didn’t sound angry, however. Then she completely surprised me. Instead of vetoing my dissenting opinion outright, she looked around the room. “What do y’all think? Do you think Waverly is right?”

I pleaded around the table with my eyes.
Come, on people!

Finally, a couple of people nodded their heads.

“I think she’s right,” Scotty finally said. “To be honest, I think child pageants are awful.”

The intern raised his hand without looking up from his phone. “I second that.”

Wendy’s eyes got big. “Really? Do y’all really think that?”

One by one, everyone in the room nodded.

I was afraid Wendy was going to slap me and storm out, but all she did was shrug her shoulders.

“Well, OK, then, I guess we’ll scratch that idea. How about we move on to the cutest dog contest? I’m thinking only dogs that fit in purses could apply. Wouldn’t that be
faaabulous
?”

And that was that.

• • •

Later that morning, I was chatting with Scotty in the kitchen about the New Year’s Eve show when Wendy walked in. Given her moodiness, I’d learned to mirror her behavior and not speak to her before she spoke to me, but for some reason, that day I decided to roll the dice and be friendly. Maybe it was because of her change of heart about the child pageant show, or maybe it was because I knew I’d be on a plane to Cleveland in a couple of days. When I was about to see Jake, nothing could sour my cheeriness, not even crazy Wendy Davenport.

“Hi, Wendy, how’s it going?” I said with a smile.

Scotty looked up from his coffee mug at the sound of my voice, clearly surprised to hear it. He knew my strategy for dealing with her because he employed it too:
Don’t speak until spoken to
. I think pretty much everyone who worked on the show did the same thing.

She sighed loudly. “Hello, Waverly. Hello, Scott. I’m doing fine, not great.” She placed a tea bag into a mug and poured hot water over it.

Now I was the one who was surprised. In all the months I’d known her, Wendy had never been so candid.

I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I didn’t say anything.

“I just haven’t been sleeping well lately,” she added, her back still to us.

I looked at Scotty, who raised his hands in an
I have no idea
gesture.

“Um, I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.

She turned around and half smiled. “Thanks. To be honest, I’m a bit stressed out about something.”