“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Please, whatever she tells you, just know I’m going to make it right.”
I don’t give my best friend a chance to reply before hanging up. Frantic, I try to find an earlier flight out, but nothing will get me back to Minneapolis sooner than our original flight. I drive to the airport, anyway. Just in case.
I refuse to lose my wife because of a stuck elevator and horrible timing.
I told Mira that I would never give up on her or let her go. That I’d fight for her. For us. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Whatever it takes, Mira will wear my rings and never want to take them off again.
forty-three
MIRA
My phone burnsa hole in my pocket as I deboard the plane, dodging impatient travelers and harried flight attendants. I’ll have to turn off airplane mode to let Maddy know I’ve arrived, but the thought has me breaking out in hives.
Did Griffin text or call me while I was in the air, or was he too busy doingotherthings to notice I’m gone? Which would be worse? I’m so consumed by my worries that I don’t even notice the dark-haired, hulking figure until his hands grip my shoulders and he says my name. Twice.
“Maddy?” I didn’t expect him to park the car and meet me at the gate. And I certainly didn’t expect to be pulled into a tight, protective hug in front of hundreds of passengers. It’s all I can do to hold in a sob as I bury my face in my brother’s broad chest.
I may not have a dad, but I have an older brother who loves the hell out of me, and sometimes I wonder if that’s almost better. And then I wonder if telling him the truth will ruin everything.
“Hey, Mi-Mi.” His voice is gruff, almost as clogged with emotion as mine, and it’s nearly my undoing. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
Maddox doesn’t ask me what happened; he just grabs my suitcase from me and leads me out of the airport with a brotherly arm slung over my shoulder. His silent support gives me the strength to walk out with my head held high, even as a few tears slip past my defenses and down my cheeks.
Once we’re situated in his car, he turns to me, his face set in a protective-brother scowl I know isforme and notbecauseof me, and asks, “Do you want to talk about it now or at home?”
“When we get to your place. I don’t think I have it in me to tell this story twice.” My voice wavers but doesn’t break. Small victories.
With a nod, Maddox pulls out of the parking lot, silently maneuvering through airport traffic as he gets us onto the highway. His eyes dart to me every so often, but he never gives in to his curiosity to push for information. I’m grateful. I have no clue what I’m going to tell him and Isla. How in the hell do you break it to your brother that you got drunkenly married to his best friend, kept it a secret for months, and now you think said husband may be cheating on you?
It’s going to destroy Maddy. And probably his friendship with Griffin.
That makes me feel like shit. Even though, if Griffin is cheating, it shouldn’t. But I know how much his friendship means to Maddox. They’ve been close since college, they play on the same pro team, hell, they’re on the same line. Not only could my admission blow up years of friendship, but it could have a devastating effect on the team itself.
All too soon, we’re parking and making our way up to Maddox and Isla’s apartment, and my worry turns to acid in my gut. I hold on to my purse strap like it’s a lifeline because it’s theonly thing keeping my hands from trembling. Sweat beads along my back, and I have a flash of worry that I may puke again.
But then I’m walking into their place, and Isla pulls me into a tight, sisterly hug. I don’t puke, but I lose the battle with my tears. Great, heaving sobs shake my body as I break apart right there in the entryway.
“Oh, Mira.” Isla’s voice bleeds concern as she hugs me. I catch her exchanging a worried glance with my brother before he herds us both into the living room, where I collapse into the embrace of their very comfortable couch.
“I need you to tell me what happened,” Maddox says roughly.
Swallowing, I give myself a few moments to calm down before I look up at my brother and attempt to extract a promise I know he won’t want to give. “First, I need you to promise that you won’t do anything stupid.”
He grunts, eyes narrowing and lips pursing.
“I’m serious, Maddy. You can’t go off and start a fight with Griffin. I know you’ll want to, but I’m telling you right now, you can’t. Promise me.”
My brother’s brown eyes flare. “I’m not promising shit like that, Mi-Mi. If he hurt you, he’s going to pay. Whether that’s with fists or something else, that’s between me and him.”
“It’s not, though. It’s betweenmeand him.”
That has Maddox’s eyes narrowing on me. “What, exactly, is between you and him?”
When Isla gives my hand a squeeze, I shoot her a grateful, tremulous smile before sucking in a fortifying breath and saying the words I thought I’d be sharing under very different circumstances in a few short days. “I didn’t plan any of this.”
“Plan what, Mira?”
