“Oh, my.”
“Please!”Nicholas struggles to pull his pants up and walk at the same time.He loses his balance and trips.His hip rams the pastor’s desk.A metal cup of pens spills, clattering into a mess on the floor.
Shaking my head, I slam the door as reality sinks in.
Nicholas has been cheating on me.He never really wanted me.Never really cared about me.If he cared at all, he never would have done something like this.He’s made a mockery of me and the year I devoted to him.
“Maddie?You okay?”Hannah asks with a concerned frown.
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.The walls feel like they are closing in.I can’t breathe.Picking up the hem of my wedding dress, I race past my besties.I need to leave.Now.
Unthinking, I run—straight into the sanctuary—and pop into public view right up front, near the altar.The pastor tilts his head and opens his mouth to ask a question.Closes it again.
Hannah and Emily burst into the room, nearly running into me.The added chaos draws the music director’s attention.He looks confused, but the pianist and string quartet immediately break into a boisterous rendition ofHere Comes The Bride.
What a surreal nightmare.
I can’t just stand here, at the front of the church.And I can’t go back the way I came.The entire congregation is staring.I can’t breathe.The dress I adored constricts my chest.Or maybe it’s just me and the dawning horror of my reality.The lies I swallowed hook, line, and sinker while ignoring the red flags.
God, the image of those two together, my soon-to-be husband and his best man, is literally burning scars into my retinas.
Out.I need to get out, and there’s only one way to go.
Dropping my bridal bouquet, I race past the altar and sprint down the aisle, past the guests, past my dad waiting to walk me down the aisle, toward the exit.My besties are right behind me.Our heels rapidly click over the hardwood floor.
Bright sunlight blinds me as we barrel through the outer doors.I don’t hesitate.I run to the waiting black, stretch limousine decorated with ‘Just Married’ on the bumper.I climb into the back seat, Emily and Hannah piling in behind me in an explosion of lace, cursing and perfume.The driver glances over his shoulder from the front seat.“What the hell?You girls all right?”
“We’re leaving and need you to drive.”Hannah stops and looks at me with a raised brow.“Where are we going?”
Emily leans forward, taking charge.“Get us to the Bucking Bronco on the double.”
I’m fine with that.Emily’s family owns the place and I have no idea what else to do.I should be upset, right?Crying or sobbing or cursing at him?Something?I just feel numb, and if I’m being totally honest, free.I almost made the biggest mistake of my life for a man who never really loved me.
Wedding attendees spill out of the church, waving at the car to stop as the limousine pulls away.I ignore each and every one of them.They don’t know what Nicholas did.They think I’m jilting him.They think I have cold feet.They think I’m just a silly, vapid, runaway bride.
I press a hand over my aching heart.My long held, cherished dream of the perfect marriage to the perfect man, and a perfect house with a handful of perfect children, crashes and burns in epic fashion.
Now what?
One
B.I.L.L.: This is what happens when I leave the commander unsupervised.
Stargazer Village, Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Sunday 9:00 am
What happened last night?Where am I?
Clutching my forehead, I know a hangover when I feel one.
Why am I naked?
This isn’t my bed.So, whose bed is it, and why am I in it?
My head is thick and foggy, pulsing with pain.Nausea swims around my gut like a giant Koi fish trapped in a desktop fishbowl.I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep anything down.Too much tequila.Way too damn much tequila last night.
I turn my head to the side and freeze.
The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen opens one brilliant blue eye, grins and reaches for me.“Madison.”
