Blindly, I took a step back, unable to answer. Unable to think. Unable to breathe.
Did she really think that of me? Either then or now?
I took another step back and knocked over a chair. The sound had Jessie rushing over to see if I was okay.
But I wasn’t.
“Don’t come to the spa day tomorrow,” she said quietly.
I barely heard her. I couldn’t get past the ugly accusations she’d made against me. And the ugly opinion she’d had of me all this time.
Avoiding Jessie’s outstretched hand, I dashed past him, heading toward the pool. I skirted around them, running as hard as I could into the night.
Several voices called my name behind me.
None of them were Gina’s.
24
Maddie
“Maddie!”
I didn’t respond to the loud whisper calling my name. I was crying too hard as I clung to the same chaise lounge chair I’d tried to sleep on my first night here. Then, I’d been mad and frustrated with the lack of beds. Now, I was heartbroken.
What Gina said about how I’d been in high school was the worst thing she could have said. But what hurt me even more is that it was clear she believed it. She thought I was trying to ruin her happiness back then, and she thought the same thing now.
The worst part is that there wasn’t much I could say in my defense. I had been staying with three men. At the beginning of the week, it was because I’d felt like I had no choice. But since then, it had been because I wanted to.
And apparently, that was a horrible thing. Everyone at the rehearsal dinner had seemed to think so.
“Maddie!” The voice was much nearer, and then Jessie sat down next to me. “Over here,” he called to someone else. He took off his jacket and put it on top of me.
Then Brock showed up. “Thank God,” he said, reaching down to brush my hair away from my face.
“We were worried,” Jessie said. “And we want to help.”
“You can’t.” My voice was muffled. “They only told the truth.”
“Those two?” Jessie said in surprise.
“They did everything except pin Jimmy Hoffa’s murder on you,” Brock said.
Jessie patted my arm. “They lied about the rollaway bed, and that they’d tried to make friends with you. Hell, they’re the ones who ran you off in the first place. Which was lucky for us, but truly shitty of them.”
“You can’t let women like that get you down,” Brock said.
“She’s not,” Jessie said. “She didn’t break down until she talked to her sister.”
“What did Gina say?” Brock wanted to know.
But Jessie didn’t answer, perhaps not feeling that he had the right to share that. If so, he was wrong about that. He and Brock and Kincade meant everything to me. I didn’t want to keep any secrets from them. But I was glad that I wouldn’t have to listen to a recap of that awful conversation.
“Let’s get you home,” Brock said.
I nodded. “I want to go home.” For the first time all week, it was the truth. And it wasn’t because I wanted to get away from them, it was because I wanted to get away from this whole island.
“He meant our cabin,” Jessie said.
“God, I can’t go there—someone will see me. That’s what started this whole mess.”
“We want you there,” Jessie said. “We need you there.”
“And we have a plan,” Brock added.
A few minutes later, we were walking along the empty beach. The stars were out above us, and if it weren’t for how miserable I felt, it would’ve been quite lovely. The waves were gentle as they washed up on the shore, and the temperature was mild. It seemed like an odd time to take a moonlit stroll, but perhaps the guys were trying to cheer me up.
Then Brock led us up to the tree line. “Did you bring the bug spray?”
“Shit,” Jessie said. “I forgot.”
“Then give me your jacket. I’ll cover her with it and you can go around.
“Around where? Around what?” Everything was confusing at the moment.
“That’s the back of our cabin through our trees there. Can you see it?” Brock asked.
I squinted in the dark and thought that I could make out a large shape that must be the hot tub.
Brock picked me up and held me in his arms like a child while Jessie covered me with his jacket. “Keep your eyes closed, sweetheart,” he said.
“Why? Are there spiders?” I pictured huge, Brock-size spiders with massive webs between the trees.
Jessie exchanged glances with Brock. “I just don’t want any twigs to scratch your pretty face.” I nodded, pretending I believed him. Then I pulled his jacket over my head and tucked my hair under, hoping that any spiders along our path would steer clear of a man as large as Brock.
He moved through the underbrush at a fast pace. The only sound he made was once when he swore under his breath. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what that was about.