Chapter 6 Eva
Myles is standing beside us looking relieved now that the speeches are over.
With a smile, Maddy places her hand on his arm to reassure him. We spoke earlier, and it was evident he was overwhelmed by the attention.
“You did great,” I tell him. “Besides, this was practice for the big day. Not to stress you out, but wedding speeches go down in history as either the greatest speech of all time or an epic fail.”
Myles chuckles. “So, what you’re saying is I should watch what I drink so I don’t make a fool of myself?”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t worry, my father will make sure the spotlight is on him,” Maddy says with an eye roll. “It’s always about him.”
When Maddy mentioned the small get-together to introduce the two families, I dived headfirst into planning mode. The Grand Honey Lodge has multiple function rooms to host either large events or small, intimate ones, so I secured the Japanese Maple Room, one of my favorite places in town.
It made sense to host it here so everyone can familiarize themselves with the lodge, even though the wedding will be held in a different part of the property. Most of Myles and Maddy’s family live within an hour of Cinnamon Springs, but the rest will be traveling in just before the actual wedding.
“Your father has spoken to me in quite some detail about family business and carrying on the legacy,” Myles informs Maddy.
She crosses her arms, evidently annoyed. “I told him to leave business out of today. I told Aston as well. Has my brother been trying to talk shop? Because I swear I will annoy the hell out of him when we get home.”
“Your brother is fine,” Myles says simply.
Aston caught my attention from across the room before the speeches.
I was in the middle of eating a salmon puff while in conversation with Maddy’s Uncle Frank.
He was talking about his house on Martha’s Vineyard and the cost of upkeep.
When he started mentioning whale watching, boredom crept in and I found myself scanning the room.
That’s when I saw him. I had no idea when he’d slipped in, nor why my chest felt like it was up in my throat, causing me to choke on my salmon puff. It was brief, and embarrassing when Frank joked about giving me the Heimlich maneuver.
All of a sudden, I felt like I’d stepped into the Sahara Desert. The shock of seeing him froze me to the spot, making me look stupid and awkward. I rapidly swallowed, but the air was so stifling.
Why was he staring at me like that?
And why does he look so tall and…
Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it.
I try to focus back on our conversation but find myself scanning the room again.
“Oh my God.” Maddy yanks on my arm with sweaty palms the moment Myles is pulled aside by his father. “Myles’s mother lectured me on purity. If only she knew how much her son likes reverse cowgirl.”
I shake my head, trying to catch up with reality. “Um… yeah.”
Maddy bites her lip. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Um… nothing.” I wrack my brain trying to come up with an excuse, but everything feels blurry, and why the hell is it so damn hot in here? “I, uh, thought I got my period.” Really, Eva?
“You’re not due for, like, what”—she does the mental period math, nodding her head to count the days—“another week? We’re period sisters.” Maddy gasps, covering her mouth with much exaggeration. “Do you have something to tell me?”
Whoever came up with the term period sisters needs a big slap in the face. It’s all fun and games when everyone is in sync, but the minute someone isn’t, everyone assumes there’s a secret pregnancy brewing. Considering I haven’t had sex in forever, the chances are, well, zero.
“Absolutely not !” I take a deep breath, trying to get a hold of myself. “Ignore me, and ignore Myles’s mother.”
She raises her hands in defeat. “Okay, calm your farm. I’m going to check to make sure we still have enough food.”
“Let me do that. You go mingle.”
“Do I have to?” Maddy whines.
A small laugh escapes me. “If I have to play nice, then so do you.”
The bar staff are doing a fantastic job, ensuring there is enough for everyone to drink and the food is served at the correct intervals. I make the rounds, chatting to many of the guests before deciding to stick around Myles’s cousins’ group for a moment.
“So, you’re Maddy’s best friend,” Olivia, his younger cousin, begins with pursed lips. “What’s the deal with her brother?”
“Her brother?” I repeat, trying not to look surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Is he single? Because word is he’s a billionaire, and boy is he fine.”
The girls giggle, waiting for me to respond. The question itself annoys me. Like, why would I be involved in setting him up with someone? Don’t they know I have better things to do than worry about Aston Beaumont’s sex life?
“Actually, I have no clue. He lives in Manhattan. That’s the limit of my knowledge.”
Ramona, another one of Myles’s cousins, joins the conversation with a champagne glass in her hand. She brings it to her lips, drinking it in one go before dumping it on a table beside her.
Olivia is quick to interrogate her. “So, what’s he like?”
I observed Ramona talking to Aston earlier. To be honest, he looked bored with the conversation, but knowing him, he’s too into himself to care about anyone else.
“Smart, sexy, and I’m going to ask him out for a drink,” she’s quick to inform everyone. “It’ll be our little secret, girls.”
Again, they all giggle.
Something leaves me unsettled, and the more I stand here pretending to be okay with this potential hookup, the more irritated I become.
I try to think of an excuse to leave and end up mumbling something about needing to speak to Maddy.
When I glance over, she’s busy nodding as her father and Myles’s mother are talking.
Slowly, she side-eyes me, then quirks the sides of her mouth to smile as if the conversation is enthralling.
I take the opportunity to exit the room and head straight for the bar near the lobby. The champagne is not doing its job. Maybe a shot or two at the bar. Nobody has to know.
As I walk toward the bartender, a man standing next to a barstool looks awfully familiar. As he turns to his side, I instantly recognize the jawline. Sharp, freshly shaven…
“Dr. Wilde?”
His attention shifts from the bartender to me, a grin etching his handsome face. I take a deep breath, calming the butterflies inside my stomach. It’s been a very long time since a man has made me feel anything, or maybe it’s the fact that he’s a handsome doctor.
“Please, call me Marco,” he insists, then murmurs, “I’m off duty.”
My lips curve upward and I move closer, easing myself into the spot beside him. There are a few people in the bar, but it’s not overcrowded.
“So, what does an off-duty doctor do for fun besides drinking a…” I trail off to pick the glass up, sniffing the liquor. “Gin and tonic.”
“Should I be worried you were able to guess that correctly?”
“Since I’m off duty as a patient, I need a strong drink to get through the next two hours,” I inform him with a quirk of a smile.
“Oh…” He glances back at the room. “It looks like a party to me.”
My shoulders fall, and at the same time, a sigh leaves me. “My best friend is getting married.”
Marco presses his lips together, observing me with soft eyes. “And you’re… upset about it?”
I shake my head. “Far from it. There are just some family members who, let’s say, are challenging to be around. You know how it is.”
“When my older sister got married,” he begins, still keeping close to me, “every family member interrogated me on when it was my turn. Of course, since I practice medicine, it makes me a target for all my aunties trying to play matchmaker. Some of them pulled out photos of single women from their purses.”
My shoulders move up and down, unable to hold back my laughter. “Poor Marco. It’s hard being a handsome doctor.”
His pout is cute. “So, you’re welcome to join my friends and me over there. Mind you, they’re all medical professionals, so there are a lot of cringey jokes.”
“I’d love to hear them one day.” I grin, then pause when I realize it sounded like I wanted to hang out with him, and that’s against the rules. “I mean, I’m sorry.”
Marco cocks his head, placing his hand on my arm. His touch sends this warm sensation through me, making me want to break all the stupid rules of society. Who says you can’t date your doctor? “What are you sorry for?”
“You’re my doctor,” I state, looking him directly in the eye.
He leans in and whispers, the scent of his cologne lingering. I have no idea what scent he wears but it smells delicious. “I have a lot of doctor friends in case you need a referral.”
As he slowly pulls away, I bow my head, trying to hide my grin this time. Slowly, I lift my eyes to meet his, admiring his handsome face.
“I did find your consult rather mediocre,” I tease, just as the bartender diverts his attention to me. “Vodka with a twist, please.”
Marco rubs his chin, making him all the more irresistible, but then a man calls his name. We both glance over to a group of men waiting for him.
“Listen, I have to go, but expect those referrals soon. I wouldn’t want your medical treatment to be compromised,” he says with a slight chuckle. “Can I call you?”
“I’d very much like that.”
He throws some bills on the counter, then winks.
After Marco leaves, I quickly drink the vodka, my insides vibrating from excitement.
It disappears the moment I stupidly open my email.
The florist has emailed regarding a meeting about the flower arrangements.
She’s out of town for the next week, so the meeting has been postponed, which may risk being able to get the right flowers in on time.
Given it’s winter, there’s limited choice, and when I saw the word artificial get thrown around, I nearly died for Maddy. She despises artificial flowers.
From there, I begin to spiral, especially when I notice an email from the violinist Maddy desperately wanted. It turns out he and his partner will be away in Italy on the day of the wedding.
Just fucking great.
I release a long sigh, forcing myself to walk back to the main room while trying to come up with an alternative plan.
Considering Maddy was banking only on this duo, returning to the drawing board will mean I have to deal with auditions for a new violinist who can play a Beyoncé song for Maddy to walk down the aisle to.
How hard can it be?
I walk into the room, eyes glued to my screen, only to be stopped by an unexpected grip on my arms. The jolt startles me, leaving me breathless and painfully aware of the man holding me. My mind races, stirring up memories I’ve buried deep—a powerful gaze, and a shadow of the past.
His intensity is suffocating, pulling me back to a version of myself I’ve outgrown.
Suddenly, I’m sixteen again and facing the boy who broke my heart. The boy who kissed me first then pulled away like I was nothing.
No matter how much time has passed, how many boys or men have broken my heart since then, the first one will always sting the most.
And now—he’s standing right in front of me.