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“No, of course not! Just having an emotional moment with my soon to be cousin,” Maddie said in a bright voice that almost sounded real.
Carlie nodded, her expression almost…disappointed. “Good. That’s good,” she murmured slowly.
“I’ll see you out there, okay?” Maddie said, nicely telling her to get lost.
Thankfully Carlie got the message. “See you soon,” she responded as she walked out the door and I closed it behind her.
“Why didn’t you tell her?” I asked. “I thought you guys were best friends.”
Maddie’s fake smile had dropped and she sighed. “I guess at one point we were, but over the years it’s felt more like she wasa thousand pound leech, hanging onto me for dear life so she can hang around NHL hotties. It just seemed like what I was supposed to do, having her be my maid of honor…since she’s my oldest friend.”
Before I could dwell on that information further, there was another knock at the door.
“I guess it’s time to get out there and start hoping Harley shows up to the ceremony,” she tried to joke as the knock sounded on the door again.
“Maddie, let me in, sweetheart,” Harley said, and Maddie’s eyes widened comically as she stared at me.
“What do I do?” she mouthed frantically.
“I’m going to let him in,” I whispered, because I knew my cousin…he was so in love with Maddie. There was no doubt in my mind, they were going to be alright. If they weren’t, I would officially be convinced that true love did not exist.
Harley stepped through the open door, his eyes filled with so much love and adoration as he stared at Maddie, I immediately began to tear up.
"Hey, baby," he murmured, his voice soft with emotion. "You ran away before I could say anything."
A hiccuped sob fell from Maddie’s mouth, and I knew I should leave and let them have this moment alone, but I was frozen in place.
"I just wanted to tell you," he began, his voice trembling with emotion as he stared at her as if his life depended on it. "That I've never been happier in my entire life than when you told me you were having my baby. All these years, all I've ever wanted was…you. And now, with this baby on the way, it feels like all my dreams are finally coming true."
Maddie seemed unable to form words at the moment, just staring at him as if she’d never been more shocked.
I couldn’t believe she’d thought he would reject her.
Her tears fell like raindrops, and he took a step towards her, his own tears streaming down his cheeks. “Can—can I hold you?” he asked.
She nodded as she started crying harder.
I felt a lump form in my throat as I stood there, watching as he hurried over and wrapped her in his arms.
This was what love looked like—a bond so deep and profound that you couldn’t imagine your life without that person, that you didn’t know where their happiness began and yours ended.
I watched them embrace, their tears mingling with their laughter and joy…and that longing twinged inside me once again.
Seeing them made me want to jump headfirst into something with Walker. Rip out my soul and give it to him, just for a chance at a love like that.
I left the room, closing the door behind me, a sense of peace floating over me for the first time this weekend that maybe…what I was dreaming of wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities.
Maybe happily ever afters could exist after all.
Marco had officially announced the concert was happening tomorrow. He’d texted me as soon as the news went out.
I was standing at the reception when the whispers began—evidently, it was going viral online already. And evidently, guests weren’t abiding by the no phones rule.
Shocking.
That had been Marco and Jolette’s plan, to create a commotion, so I hoped they were happy.
Or at least as happy as miserable people like them could ever be.
