Chapter 50
Fifty
Eva was the one who finally pulled back. Not far. Just enough to look at Maddy. Her makeup was basically gone, her ash-blonde hair was sticking out of her wedding do in a scarecrow fashion, and she looked emotionally and physically exhausted. God, she was beautiful.
No, exquisite.
Her lips were parted slightly, her breathing uneven, her sparkly green-blue eyes enormous in a way that made Eva want to rip that silly dress off her body. She knew she was in love with Maddy. She’d known for a while. But now she was prepared to face it. All of it.
She had lost control, and it felt amazing and frightening and confusing. But she was in it, this thing. She would do her best to see it through. To let the madness of love take her.
But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t still Eva. ‘So… what now?’ she asked.
Maddy blinked, like she was trying to reset her brain. ‘Well, I’ve just left someone at the altar.’
‘I know, I was there.’
‘But I’m just realising that… I mean, I can’t go back in there,’ Maddy continued, glancing toward Hawthorne Manor as if it might bite her. ‘That’s not an option. And I can’t exactly go home, can I?’
Eva frowned slightly. ‘Why not?’
Maddy gave her a look. ‘Because Adam lives there.’
Eva winced. ‘Good point.’
‘So that’s great,’ Maddy went on, pacing now, her energy shifting from overwhelmed to actively spiralling. ‘I’ve just publicly humiliated my fiancé, discovered he may or may not have slept with Mary…’
‘He did,’ Eva said.
‘…And now I’m technically homeless. In a wedding dress.’
‘You’re not homeless,’ Eva said quickly. ‘You’re temporarily displaced.’
Maddy stopped pacing to stare at her. ‘Stop rebranding my life.’
Eva held up her hands slightly. ‘Sorry.’
Maddy exhaled, dragging a hand through her hair, which only made it more chaotic. ‘There was a house and a husband and a very predictable future, and now…’
‘You could still go on your honeymoon,’ Eva said.
Maddy blinked. ‘What?’
‘The honeymoon,’ Eva repeated, like this was entirely logical. ‘It’s booked, right?’
‘Yes, but—’
‘So do that next. Figure out the rest later.’
Maddy stared at her. ‘Alone?’
Eva hesitated. This was the part where a sensible person would stop. Instead…
‘Not necessarily,’ Eva found herself saying.
Maddy’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘No?’
It was still not too late to say something sensible. But Eva felt herself moving past the version of herself that chose the path and out into the rough instead.
‘I could come,’ she said.
Maddy stared at her. ‘Don’t you have weddings?’ she asked slowly.
‘I do,’ Eva agreed.
‘Do you delegate weddings?’
‘Never,’ Eva said.
There was a beat, and then Eva reached for her phone. Maddy watched, somewhere between disbelief and fascination, as Eva unlocked her device calmly, pulled up her messages, and started typing.
‘What are you doing?’ Maddy asked.
‘Delegating,’ Eva said.
‘You said you don’t delegate.’
‘Maddy,’ Eva said, not looking up, ‘I am having a moment. Please don’t undermine it.’
Maddy made a small, incredulous sound.
Eva hit send. She looked back up. ‘Done.’
Maddy stared at her. ‘Did you just give your assistant a week’s notice to run a wedding?’
‘Six days,’ Eva corrected. ‘Technically.’
‘Eva…’
‘She’ll be fine,’ Eva said. ‘She’s very capable.’
‘I’m sure she is. That’s not why I’m surprised.’
‘She’s been ready for more responsibility for a while,’ Eva said. ‘I’ve just been unwilling to admit it.’
Eva’s phone pinged.
‘What’s that sound?’ Maddy asked.
‘Jen, probably.’
‘You gonna read it?’
‘Nope,’ Eva smiled.
Maddy blinked. ‘Who are you?’ she asked.
Eva smiled, a little breathless, a little reckless. ‘I don’t know.’
Something shifted in Maddy’s expression. ‘You’re serious,’ she said.
Eva nodded. ‘Yeah. I am.’
Maddy let out a slow breath, like she was testing the idea, turning it over in her mind.
‘Okay,’ Maddy said.
Eva blinked. ‘Okay?’
Maddy nodded, a small, disbelieving smile tugging at her mouth. ‘Okay.’
Something bright and giddy sparked in Eva’s chest. ‘Okay,’ she echoed. ‘Let’s go.’
They were still talking, half-laughing, half-processing, when they reached the car park.
But the fun stopped abruptly. They weren’t alone.
Adam stood near the cars, jacket off, sleeves rolled up. Beside him was Mary, holding a very large steaming cup of what was hopefully strong coffee. Maddy’s mother, Kelly, stood a little apart, arms folded, her expression flat. Hannah was telling her it could still be fine, the bloody lunatic.
Adam’s dad, Harry, was holding up his phone, set to the calculator app, which showed a number. ‘This!’ he was saying to Ralph. ‘This is the proportion of the day that you need to refund. My son was only responsible for twenty-five percent of the problems.’
Ralph, who looked more tired than anyone in all of human history had ever been, was shaking his head. Nearby, Adam’s mum’s eyes were rolling.
Eva and Maddy came to a quick halt, the gravel crunching underfoot. All eyes turned toward them, side by side and suddenly very visible.