Chapter 17 Madelina
The car ride home is quiet, unlike the ride over to Bluebell Ranch, where we lost ourselves in mindless chatter. The uncomfortable blanket of silence settles between us after tonight’s events.
Outside, the night casts a shadow on our somber moods, and the only light across the road is the gentle glow of the full moon radiating in all its glory.
My eyes close for a split second, but the simple act makes me dizzy from all the wine I drank.
I promised myself I wouldn’t drink myself into a stupor for fear of doing something stupid.
And perhaps I didn’t avoid it altogether.
I let emotions get the better of me.
The road back to Cinnamon Springs feels desolate and lonely, with only an occasional car whizzing past, their headlights momentarily illuminating the dim surroundings.
I glance out the passenger window, finding myself replaying my conversation with Myles like a memorable, yet painful, song.
Dissecting every word in case I missed something.
When Myles asked to cut in, it caught me off guard, stirring up a storm of memories I thought I had buried deep, the moment I left on our wedding day.
But as his words came out, my mind was also on its own journey.
The kiss with Elliot.
“You look as beautiful as ever, Maddy,” Myles murmurs, his warm gaze searching mine.
“Uh, thank you. You look good, too,” I answer casually, trying to suppress the emotions swirling within me.
Myles smells just as I remember, his signature cologne taking me back to the time when we were first dating. When everything felt exciting, and the rush of being with someone new was all I could think about.
“So, is he your boyfriend?” Myles presses, urgency lacing his tone.
His hands have tightened their grip on me, making me slightly uncomfortable.
“Myles… why does it even matter? You have Lara,” I deflect, but his eyes are relentless. Myles was never a jealous man when we were together, so this side to him is something new.
“I think I deserve an answer,” he insists, his voice firm with a hint of vulnerability. “I saw him with you last week, and you claimed he was just your friend. Now, you’re all over him on the dance floor.”
“Why did you ask me to dance?” I counter, grappling for momentum. “Again, you have Lara.”
“Well, for starters, you left me at the altar, and now you show up with some new guy.” There’s a hint of hurt in his voice that cuts through the night.
“Elliot is not just some new guy. He’s Eva’s elder brother. I’ve known him a long time,” I clarify, a sense of protectiveness rising in me. “And, also, we’re working together.”
“So then, what you’re telling me is that you’ve known him for how long? And this has been going on for…” Myles trails off, disbelief etched on his face.
“It’s not like that, Myles. Yes, I’ve known him since childhood, but I swear I haven’t seen him since.
Not until I came back to Cinnamon Springs and we started working together at the café,” I rush out.
“There wasn’t anyone else, okay? All these lies out there, they’re told by people who don’t know a damn thing about us.
The only person telling the truth is the person standing right in front of you. ”
“Then why did you stop the wedding?” His question lingers, heavy and accusatory.
“I was scared. The wedding grew into something beyond us,” I admit, feeling the weight of regret clawing at my chest. “We were planning this small wedding, and by the end, I lost sight of the day. It’s like a whole future was planned for us, but neither one of us had a say in it.
And it made me question if we were even getting married for us. ”
Myles keeps his expression blank, but then I see his shoulders relax. “I really did want to marry you, you know. But I guess we did lose sight of the whole point. My mother can be a pain in the ass,” he says with a hint of a smile, and I can’t help but chuckle in agreement.
“I’m sorry, Myles. I should have told you how I felt,” I confess, trying to relay my regret.
“And what about now, with Elliot?” His question hangs between us, straight to the point, since the topic of Elliot is heavy on his mind.
I instinctively step back, creating distance between us. “You have Lara, and what I do with Elliot isn’t any of your concern,” I warn him, but keep my voice low.
Myles reaches out to grab my hand again. “Maddy, stop!”
I shake my head, but when I scan the space and see Elliot at the bar with his back toward me, I know it’s time to walk away.
“Don’t, Myles. Don’t make what happened between us even worse.”
“Make it worse? You left me at the altar. I think that will suffice,” Myles is quick to remind me.
The callous reminder of my actions strikes a raw nerve. Once again, I glance over at Elliot, then over to Lara.
“Have a nice night, Myles. Don’t forget, Lara is waiting over there for you.”
Before we left the wedding, Myles pulled me aside again and asked if we could meet up to talk.
With Elliot’s gaze fixed on us, I told him we’d talk later.
It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either.
It was me, caught in the middle, torn between the man I almost married and the man who’s standing beside me now, unsure of what I owe to my past or what I’m allowed to feel for my future.
As we approach Cinnamon Springs, the first twinkling lights appear through the trees, flickering against the deepening evening sky.
Elliot stayed silent the whole drive back, with his hands steady on the wheel, but his mind clearly miles away.
Mine wasn’t much better. The memory of our last kiss kept replaying, unbidden and far too vivid.
We were supposed to be keeping up a fake arrangement, nothing more, yet that kiss felt anything but fake.
It felt real enough to unsettle everything I thought I knew.
And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
“Should we talk about tonight?” I finally ask, the moment he turns onto my street.
“We’ve been in this car for nearly an hour, and you choose to bring this up now?” he asks with evident annoyance.
“I needed time to process,” I admit, carefully selecting my words.
He stops in the parking spot in front of the apartment block, but keeps the engine idling.
“What exactly were you processing, Madelina? The fact that your ex-fiancé is still in love with you and wants to get back together?”
His words strike me like a sudden blast of cold wind, scattering my thoughts for a moment.
“Myles never said he wanted to get back together with me,” I tell him, an edge of frustration lingering in my voice.
“He didn’t have to say it, Madelina.”
I quickly shift the topic. “That’s not what I wanted to discuss. I wanted to talk about, well, our kiss.”
Elliot’s fingers clutch the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he sinks into thought. Then, in a sudden motion, he unbuckles his seat belt. “I need to head back. It’s getting late,” he states, his words cold, like a brutal wind before an impending storm.
Beside the car is his motorcycle. I’d forgotten he rode it over to my place.
“Okay,” I say, careful not to make this any more uncomfortable. It’s clear Elliot wants to get out of here, and nothing I say will change his mind.
“I think it’s best if we just stay friends. Tonight was all pretend, right?” His words are heavy with resolution.
After an emotional clusterfuck of a day, I am too drained to even argue with him. Between Myles and Elliot, with their ever-shifting moods thanks to their relentless egos, I am this close to switching teams.
“Whatever you want, Elliot.” I step out of the car, the warm air greeting me as he hands me the keys with a solemn expression.
“Good night, Madelina.”
As I turn away, the weight of today hangs heavily on my shoulders. It wasn’t supposed to end like this, but after everything that has been said and done, being alone is probably for the best.
And that seems to be precisely what Elliot wants.
“It’s so busy today,” Billie mentions, sounding out of breath as she shuffles past me carrying a tray of passionfruit-glazed donuts.
The vibrant tropical flavors are part of the new summer range, and paired with an iced tea, it’s a combo customers can’t seem to get enough of.
Personally, I’m obsessed with the fall range.
I’m a sucker for pumpkin-spiced anything.
I welcome the chaos as it distracts me from what happened yesterday. The only reason I managed to fall asleep last night was that the wine knocked me right out the moment my head hit the pillow.
Elliot is notably absent today. According to Billie, he’s wrapped up in some “urgent matter.” It annoyed the hell out of me that he chose to tell her instead of me. I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’ve been ghosted by the man who had the audacity to kiss me—twice, for that matter.
“There’s a really cute guy at table seven who asked about you,” Billie chimes, her eyes dancing playfully as she glances over my shoulder.
I subtly glance around the room, eventually allowing my gaze to settle on table seven.
Sure, the man is hot, his dark brown hair framing a strong jawline, but I’m done with this whole dating bullshit.
The last thing I want is to strike up a conversation and pull out all my best flirtatious moves only for it all to be another dead end with a pretty smile.
And for what? Another man caught up in his ego? No, thanks.
“Yeah, he’s okay,” I reply, only to let out a yawn.
Billie raises her hand as if to check my forehead. “Are you unwell? He’s gorgeous, and you’re single.”
“I want a break from men.”
“You want a break from men?” Billie repeats incredulously. “Do I need to call 9-1-1?”
I roll my eyes at her dramatic observation. “No, but it sounds like you should take that cute guy from table seven up on his offer, since you clearly need to get laid.”