I ignore the thought.
Maddie isn’t going to flush me. I’ll convince her that what went down with Wendy happened when I was a different person. But now I’m the Jamison who’s in love with Maddie. She makes me want to be a better person, a man who’s worthy of being by her side for the long haul.
I’m so ready to get started on winning her back that time crawls by. Minutes seem to stretch on for hours, the silence broken only by the faint lap of the waves on the shore of the lake and the chirp of insects as the sun sets and twilight falls.
By the time the members of the wedding party finally begin to emerge from the restaurant and make their way up the long, narrow walk to the parking lot, the air has gone soft blue and the outdoor lights are flickering to life.
The other groomsmen amble out first, all men from the station I know will have heard the story of my beating by now—a fact that makes me slouch lower in my seat, hoping to avoid being spotted. Next come the bridesmaids and the mother and father of the bride, carrying Noelle’s infant car seat with the baby asleep inside it between them.
Finally, Jake swings out through the door, walking next to Dad, their heads dipped toward each other as they talk, seemingly in the midst of some deep conversation.
I know Jake and Naomi plan to spend the night before their wedding apart—Naomi and the baby are going to stay with her parents, and Jake at his house—so I’m not surprised to see Jake getting into Dad’s truck and pulling away. I am surprised, however, to see Naomi walking out of the restaurant alone a few minutes later, wearing a rose-colored dress that floats around her legs and reminds me so much of something Maddie might wear it makes my chest ache.
I sit up straighter, waiting for Maddie to appear behind her, but the seconds tick by—Naomi getting closer and closer to where her car is parked—and there’s still no sign of Maddie. I know I haven’t missed her. That means she’s either still inside, or she didn’t come to the rehearsal dinner.
If she didn’t come to the rehearsal dinner that means she’s still seriously upset.
And I can think of only one person who might be able to tell me what’s going on.
I pull Naomi’s contact info up on my phone and hit the green button. It’s the first time I’ve called her since she gave me her new cell number months ago, but if she’s surprised to hear from me, she doesn’t show it.
She simply tugs her phone from her purse, glances at the screen, taps it, and puts the phone to her ear. “Hey, Jamison. How are you?”
“Not great,” I say, feeling weird that I can see her without her knowing about it. “I’m actually parked in the restaurant lot right now. Do you think we could talk?”
“Sure.” She turns in a circle, her eyes skimming over where I sit without stopping. “I don’t see your car.”
“I’m in Lucy’s car, the beige Spark.” I step out, ending the call when our eyes connect.
She starts across the lot toward me, significantly less bounce in her step than when she first emerged from the restaurant. But at least she doesn’t seem angry with me for showing up after being uninvited.
“Hey,” she says as she stops in front of me and sets her bulky purse on the hood of Lucy’s car. “How are you holding up? Your poor face looks like shit.”
“Thanks.” I start to smile but think better of it. My lip is healing quickly, but I don’t want to risk splitting it again. “Had to have a few stitches, but I’m doing okay. I came here looking for Maddie. Do you have any idea where she is?”
“Looking for Maddie…” She trails off with a slow shake of her head and a sigh. “Of course you did. Because you and Maddie…” She thunks her forehead with her palm. “Duh. I am such a freaking idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” I say. “We were trying to keep things a secret until after the wedding. Maddie didn’t want to steal the spotlight.”
She shakes her head again. “Well, it’s certainly a surprise. I had no idea, not even when she called to say she was going to miss the rehearsal dinner.”
“She missed it?” I brace a hand on the roof of the car. “Why? Is she okay?”
“I think so,” Naomi says. “She sounded like normal Maddie, but said she needed to spend her birthday sorting out some old baggage. Relationship baggage. She had a good talk with a friend of hers and it stirred up some things. It seemed like she was finally confronting all of her feelings about the divorce, so I told her to take her time.” She shrugs. “I mean, she knows how to walk down an aisle. I was more concerned about getting my dad and the flower girls into the church for a practice run than the bridesmaids, anyway.”