Her gaze flickered, just for a second, back to Eva. Still watching, unable to fix this for her. She was letting her choose. Only then did Maddy understand that that was what Eva was doing upstairs, why she wouldn’t answer Maddy’s questions about whatshewanted.
She was giving her what no one had. Space to decide.
Maddy’s mind raced.Think. There had to be a way out of this that didn’t involve detonating her entire life in front of everyone she knew.
A delay. Another interruption. Anything!
But the wind wasn’t coming. The ceiling was intact. The universe, it seemed, had done its part. This one was on her.
Maddy inhaled. The words sat there, right behind her teeth.I do.She could just say it. Didn’t she have to? When you got here, you had to say it. This wasn’tLove Is Blind. The altarwasn’t the time for decisions. The choices had been made. She must say it. Say the legally binding words.
Or…
She hesitated. And kept hesitating. Andkepthesitating. And the room, slowly, began to notice.
Forty-Six
Eva had planned hundreds of weddings.
She knew the rhythm of them, the invisible structure. She knew when people would cry, when they would laugh, when the nervous energy would peak, and when it would settle.
She knew this moment. The big question. And she knew there was often a pause, just to acknowledge the weight of the moment.
But this pause was different. This was someone not answering.
Eva told herself it was nothing. Of course Maddy would hesitate. The day she’d had? But she’d still go through with it. She’d still choose Adam. There were a million reasons she should and only one that she shouldn’t. Given those odds, Eva couldn’t dare to hope.
But the pause stretched. And stretched…
A ripple moved through the room. It was subtle: guests shifting, leaning in, wanting an end to the tension. For the predictability of ‘I do.’ For everything to make sense.
Eva kept breathing in and out like someone who wasn’t panicking. Who wasn’t wishing.She’ll say it. She’s going to say it.
But Maddy still wasn’t saying anything.
The bouquet in her hands had gone rigid, her knuckles pale against the broken stems.
Still, Eva wasn’t really hoping. She didn’t dare.
The silence went on. And it was worse than any disaster the day had thrown at them so far. The ceiling had come in. The wind had been loud. The doors had slammed. The arch had literally left the premises.
But the quiet was something else.
Eva swallowed. She shouldn’t be thinking this. She shouldn’t be standing here hoping for disaster.
But hope was breaking through.
You’re exactly what I need.
This wasn’t just about a kiss. It was about the course of Maddy’s life. Not just about the choices she had, but the ability to make them at all.
Could Maddy do this? Could she find the strength to say no? And could Eva find the strength to watch it all come crashing down? Could she let the plan fail?
Yes.
She was tired of holding it all up. She wanted the chaos. She wanted Maddy.
Maddy, who still wasn’t saying anything either way.
