CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Apparently my subconscious mind took my challenge seriously, because when I woke up the next morning, the answer was clear.
I couldn’t break the NDA, but what if Sadie could? I sent a text to our lawyer, asking for the specific language. I used the bathroom and came back out to find a response from Gerald—a quick runover told him that while I couldn’t disclose, there wasn’t any kind of similar language for Sadie. She was free to tell whomever she wanted.
At the combined bachelor/bachelorette party last night I’d been so worried about Sadie accidentally exposing the truth and it sounded like I should have encouraged her. Then I could have cleared the air with Camden, explained everything to him, and things would all be okay.
That might have been overly optimistic, but it was the one hope I had right now. Because the alternative, that I’d have to cut him completely from my life when we got back to New York, was too overwhelming for me to think about. I didn’t want that.
But could I even ask that of her? I hoped that she’d be amenable to it, but I would still feel like a very selfish person for asking. It was her wedding day and everything should be about her and her happiness.
Maybe once she was home from her honeymoon I could check in with her and see if she was open to it. Despite how hard she was trying to push me and Camden together, I had to admit to myself that there was the very real possibility she might not want this information to ever get out. She was so protective of her online image and I knew this might hurt her.
One thing at a time. I put on the outfit Sadie had selected for us—blue T-shirts with the word bridesmaid on them. She would be wearing one that said Mrs. We were all going to wear the same black yoga pants so that we’d look oh so cute in her videos and pictures.
I made my way down to Sadie’s villa. Both she and Dan had been given villas on the beach, with their own private pools. The nice thing about it was that she had several rooms, which helped with the absolute zoo that was happening when I got there.
There were several hairstylists and makeup artists, a camera crew, Stefan and his dress team, one of Troy’s assistants, Irene, Mandy and Brandy, and then me and the two other bridesmaids. The crowd surprised me because I was twenty minutes early.
Somehow Sadie sat in the midst of the chaos, looking serene and happy. I opened my bag, putting some of the contents on the table. “Okay, I’ve got acetaminophen and Visine if you need it.”
“Grab something to eat first,” she said. “I’m feeling great. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“That’s my job.”
She took my hand, squeezing it. “You’ve done amazing so far. I’m so grateful for you. Now, go eat!”
I checked to see what Brandy was up to, and she was chatting with her sister. She appeared to be sober and so I turned my attention to the massive brunch spread. No alcohol, which was wise. But a ton of everything else. Pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage, muffins, doughnuts, fruit, slices of bread, deli meats, and several different kinds of salads. Knowing that I had a long day ahead of me, I piled my plate high.
Krista was sitting by herself, checking her phone, and I sat down next to her. “Carb-loading, I see,” she commented. “Same.”
She knew as well as I did how exhausting everything was about to be. Despite the frenzied excitement currently taking place, this really was the calm before the storm.
“Are we laying odds on what goes wrong first?” Krista asked and I shushed her.
“No. Sadie’s going to have a perfect day and we’re not going to jinx it.”
“I think you just did by saying that. Everything’s gone too smoothly so far. You know as well as I do what that usually means.”
Shaking my head, I dived into my blueberry muffin. It was almost as big as my whole hand, and so delicious. When I got a mouthful down I said, “Things are going to be just fine.”
It was then that I glanced up and saw Mary-Ellen’s face. Her eyelids and her mouth were swollen. It looked like she’d just gone three rounds with the heavyweight champion of the world.
“Mary-Ellen?” I asked, trying not to sound as alarmed as I felt. “Are you feeling okay?”
“My mouth’s a little itchy, but other than that I’m fine. Why?”
I reached into my bridesmaid bag and pulled out a compact, passing it to her. When she saw her reflection, she shrieked. Everybody stopped what they were doing to look at her.
Mandy came over and asked, “Did you eat any almonds?”
“Of course not, Mother!” Mary-Ellen shot back, putting her hand up to her swollen mouth. “I’m not stupid.”
One of the servers at the brunch said, “The pancakes are cinnamon and almond flour.”
“Is this an anaphylactic situation?” I asked. I knew I should have brought an EpiPen with me, but Krista had talked me out of it, telling me my Mary Poppins bag was fine as it was.
“No, she just needs some antihistamines,” her mom said. I had some in my bag and I dug them out, but Mandy shook her head and named a specific brand that Mary-Ellen responded to.
“I’ll get them,” I volunteered. “I’ll go over to the gift shop right now and see if they have them.” Otherwise I’d have to use a grocery delivery app.
“The pictures are going to be ruined!” Mary-Ellen said with a whine.
Not if I had anything to do with it. I ran out of the villa, headed toward the lobby. My phone rang and I answered without looking, thinking that they might need me to grab something else. “Hello?”
“Rachel?”
It was Camden. I came to a complete stop at the sound of his voice. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Dan. He’s missing.”
I felt my stomach bottom out. No way. There was no way that Dan had taken off. Even if he had, he would have told his best friend / brother. “Okay. Come down to the lobby and I’ll help you look for him. I just have to take care of one thing.”
I hung up my phone and ran for the gift shop. Fortunately, they had the brand Mary-Ellen needed. I sprinted back to Sadie’s villa and made my way inside, handing off the meds to Mandy.
With everyone watching us, I realized I couldn’t just go back out without explaining. “I forgot something in my room. I’ll be right back.”
Krista gave me some serious side-eye, which was warranted. I didn’t forget things when it came to weddings. But there was no way I was letting Sadie know that her groom was missing.
Camden was waiting for me in the lobby and without thinking, I rushed up and hugged him tightly. I could see how worried he was. “It will be okay,” I told him. “We’ll find him. When did you see him last?”
“At the bachelor party thing last night. When we left.”
I had to force back the memories of what had happened outside our rooms after we’d left—something much bigger was happening here.
“You haven’t heard from him since? He didn’t text or call this morning?”
“No, but that’s not unusual. Dan is bad about charging his phone.” Camden ran a hand through his hair out of frustration. “He’s not in his villa. I knocked on the door for fifteen minutes and called his room. No answer.”
“Did you check in with the groomsmen?”
s“Vance says that something happened with Rick last night and that he said he was going over to Dan’s villa to talk. Apparently Rick was pretty drunk and mad that Dan hadn’t chosen him to be the best man.”
“Maybe if they’re not at the villa, they’re someplace nearby? The beach?” I said. I still refused to believe that there was any possibility that Dan had taken off.
“Let’s go check.”
We got to the sliding doors before Camden stopped and put his hand on my shoulder. “Hey.”
I turned, my expression questioning.
He put my face in his hands, looking at me with such incredible tenderness. Then he pressed his lips on mine, kissing me with so much passion that somebody behind us yelled, “Get a room!”
“Sorry,” Camden said as he pulled back. “I just realized that I hadn’t greeted you properly this morning.”
“Uh-huh.”
He started walking away but I just stood there for a second because I was pretty sure that kiss of his had disconnected my legs. I took a tentative step forward and was relieved when I didn’t fall flat on my face.
“Come on,” he said, reaching for my hand, holding on to me tight.
We made it down to the beach closest to the hotel and did find Dan and Rick. Who were on their hands and knees.
“That’s not good,” I said.
Camden didn’t get it right away, and as we approached them I braced for the worst.
Dan glanced up at us as we approached and announced, “My idiot cousin lost Sadie’s wedding ring.”
Rick looked bleary-eyed and sheepish.
This was why people shouldn’t get drunk right before a wedding: they so often did stupid things. Like lose the bride’s freaking wedding ring.
“Aren’t you supposed to have the ring?” I whispered to Camden.
“Dan was going to give it to me this morning.”
“We’ve been out here for hours,” Rick complained. “We’re never going to find it.”
“Keep looking,” Dan said. “People who lose expensive rings don’t get to complain when they have to search for it.”
Much as I didn’t want to admit it, Rick was kind of right. “I know what to do.” Dan probably wasn’t in the mood to hear it, so I turned to Camden. “Believe it or not, this is not the first time this has happened to me. Get a real phone that has an actual data plan and look up the Ring Finders and give them a call. Tell them it’s an emergency, and I bet they’ll get someone out here right away to help. Finding lost rings is what they do. But don’t text them on your phone, because you want them to respond this century.”
“I can do that,” he promised.
“Great. I’ll check in with the front desk and see if a ring’s been turned in. I’ll also ask the concierge to keep an eye out for it.”
Camden nodded and I glanced at Dan. His face was pointed down, so I kissed Camden quickly. His face lit up with delight at my small gesture. At me making the first move. I told him, “I have to go. I’ll see you later. Let me know how things turn out. We’ll figure something out if it doesn’t turn up.”
I had to hurry. I had to stop in the lobby and talk to the concierge and then get back to have my hair and makeup done. If I didn’t get back soon my absence was going to be noticed. I said a small prayer that they’d find the ring and hoped that this was the worst thing that would happen today.
If I’d only known.