Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“I don’t think you should wait another day to talk to him. Tell him tonight, after the reception. I know you wanted to wait until the lodge’s ferry was running, so you’d have a way to escape from the island if it all went to hell. But if you tell him tonight and it doesn’t work out, you can come stay with me in the dorm. You’re not alone here, Daniel. I’ve got your back.”
I gave him a hug and murmured, “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
It was exactly what I needed—a friend who’d be there for me if my confession went as horribly as I feared it would. All the guests on this island were Malcolm’s friends and family. The idea of him and the entire wedding party turning against me when the truth was revealed had been more than I could handle.
But now, I finally felt a sense of resolve. “I’m going to do it. I’ll tell him as soon as the reception is over, because I want him to be able to enjoy his sister’s wedding without my drama. It’s time. Actually, it’s way past time.”
“You’ve got this, and it’s going to be fine,” my new friend assured me. “But just in case it isn’t, let me draw you a map to the dorms. I’ll go find a piece of paper.” I fought back a wave of panic as he got up and went into the suite.
After finally deciding to come clean that evening, all that was left was to get through the next few hours. When Malcolm texted me to ask where I was, I told him I was working with the chef and his crew to make sure the cocktail party went off without a hitch.
What I was actually doing was hiding in the kitchen. And I was clearly in the way, even though I’d tucked myself into a back corner. The staff was working hard to get out tray after tray of perfect little appetizers, followed by a sit-down dinner for two hundred, and they needed every inch of space.
Instead of continuing to make a nuisance of myself, I went outside and wandered around for a while. It was maybe an hour before sunset. Ramon was working a split shift, so he and Paul were spending the next couple of hours together. That just left me, alone on an island that felt strangely deserted, now that everyone was inside enjoying the big event.
I wondered how Malcolm was doing. He’d had the staff move in a second piano for the reception, because he was providing the entertainment during cocktail hour. At dinner, they were going to switch to piping in music through the restaurant’s sound system, which wasn’t as good as a string quartet—and certainly wasn’t as good as Malcolm—but it would have to do. A DJ was taking over after dinner so people could dance, but Joy had decided it was tacky for him to do his thing while people were still eating. Go figure.
Eventually, curiosity drove me to go take a peek at the reception. After putting so much time and effort into it, I had a vested interest in its success, and I wanted to see it for myself. I also wanted to check on Malcolm, because I knew this wasn’t easy for him. He hated performing in front of an audience, and the only reason he was putting himself through that was for Joy’s sake. I hoped she appreciated it. I also hoped she was more relaxed now and having a good time.
I’d planned ahead and given myself a secret way to enter the reception—by propping open a side door with a rolled-up towel, because it locked automatically when it was closed. It led to a small alcove that was normally used as a coat check. A large, three-panel folding screen had been placed in front of the alcove when the space was transformed for the wedding, so I was confident I’d be able to remain undetected as I checked out the event.
I circled around the lodge from the front, since going the other way would involve walking past the restaurant’s huge windows. Then I followed a path along the side of the building and went through a wooden gate marked “employees only.” By this point, those signs had lost all meaning to me.
The outdoor area behind the coat check was one the lodge’s guests were never meant to see. Some of the restaurant’s old, broken furniture and miscellaneous odds and ends were stacked against the tall, wooden fence, waiting to be hauled away. In the center of the space, employees had set up a few faded chairs and a small table with an ashtray, so they could slip outside for a smoke on their breaks. I could only assume all restaurants had something like this. At the place where I’d worked in San Francisco, it was in a back alley next to a dumpster. Compared to that, this break area was super nice.