Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“Now?” I said, my voice cracking. “I have to say all that here?”
“Why wait? Are you going to let her sit there being sad and miserable all night?”
Standing at the back of the tent, I spotted Maddie sitting with my dad, the Morettis, and a few other wedding guests. She did indeed look miserable. But the thought of having to confess my feelings for her in front of a hundred people was terrifying. “Couldn’t I just apologize for being an idiot last night and say all the big scary stuff later?”
Moretti made clucking noises.
“No.” Bianca laughed and gave me a push. “Go get her, cowboy. Then meet us up front for the toast.”
With my heart knocking hard in my chest and my legs shaking, I walked over to Maddie’s table. Servers were handing out glasses of champagne, but while everyone she sat with had drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces, Maddie sat in stiff silence, her face stony and her hands in her lap. The moment she saw me, she rose to her feet.
The look in her eyes—part fear, part determination, as if she was summoning the bravery to stand up to me—punctured my heart.
“Hey,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”
“Actually, I don’t have time to talk. My ride is almost here.”
I shook my head in confusion. “Your ride?”
“Yes. I called for a car. I’m leaving.” She glanced at the table and lowered her voice. “I was just waiting for you to be done with pictures, because I didn’t want to leave your dad alone.”
“But you can’t leave now.”
“I’m sorry, Beckett. I have to.” Her eyes filled as she glanced to one side. “Please don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”
“But—”
Maddie turned to the table. “I’m afraid I have to head out,” she said to the group. “I’m not feeling very well. But it was nice seeing you, and I hope you all enjoy the evening.” Leaning down, she kissed my father on the cheek, then straightened and rushed past me.
I took off after her, catching her arm at the back of the tent.
“Let me go, Beckett,” she begged. “I have to get home.”
Her words set off an alarm bell in my head. “Home where?”
“I’m going to drive back to Ohio tonight. I already told Elliott to pack up.”
My heart seized up. “No. You can’t leave like this.”
She looked at her phone. “My ride is already here.”
“Cancel it.”
“No.” Huge tears dripped from her thick black lashes. “I don’t belong here.”
I was about to argue with her when Bianca’s voice came over the sound system asking the wedding party to report to the head table for the toast.
“Fuck,” I said quietly.
“Go,” she said desperately, tugging her arm from my grasp. “Please.”
But I couldn’t bear to watch her walk away from me again. I’d watched it happen at eighteen under the maple tree, and again seven years ago in New York. I refused to let it happen again.
“Don’t. Move.” I squeezed her hand. “Please.”
Before she could reply, I turned around and bolted for the head table, where I grabbed the microphone from a stunned Bianca’s hand. “I have to say something before I give the toast,” I said to everyone at the head table. “Is it okay?”
“Of course it’s okay,” Cole said, because he was that kind of friend.
Cheyenne met my panicked eyes and smiled. “Do it.”
Griffin and Blair and Moretti were there too, their jaws hanging open in shock.
I faced the crowd and spoke into the mic. “Uh, hi everyone.”
“Beckett.” Cole pulled out a chair and shoved me toward it. “Get up there so she can see you.”
Without thinking twice, I climbed on the chair and spotted Maddie exactly where I’d left her, eyes wide with shock.
“Good evening. Can I have your attention please?”
I waited for a moment while the guests grew quieter and my heartbeat louder.
“My name is Beckett Weaver, and I’m honored to be giving the toast tonight for Cole and Cheyenne. Those of you that know me, which is most of you—this is a small town”—I paused when laughter rippled through the crowd—“You know I’m not a big talker. So getting up here like this is pretty scary. But sometimes you have to face your fears, because the reward is worth the risk.”
I looked at Maddie again. Her face had gone pale.
“Life can be hard,” I said, gaining confidence. “There are setbacks and struggles. Losses and heartache. Sometimes it seems like nothing is within our control, and it’s tempting to live in a constant state of fear—always on guard, always looking for the next storm on the horizon, always ready to run back inside and protect yourself from the rain.” I paused and took a breath, my eyes still focused on Maddie. “But that’s no way to live. And it’s no way to love.”