Chapter 4

4

Madeline

The fun vibe of Ethan's brother's wedding continues into their reception and helps lift my mood. The champagne I drink helps too. I'm onto my third drink when Ethan stands to give the best man's speech.

Smiling as he casts a glance around the room, he says, "The year was 1999, the class was grade three. Callan was into video games, baseball, camping, and"—he grins—"pulling Jenny Johnson's pigtails. She was not into him pulling them, but as much as she kept rejecting him, he just kept on trying. That is, until the day our new neighbor marched up to him after school one day and announced that she wanted to learn how to ride a bike and that he should be the one to teach her." His gaze meets Olivia's. "He never did pull Jenny's pigtails again after that day. Instead, he taught our bossy neighbor how to ride a bike, how to play baseball, how to pitch a tent, how to catch a fish, and a whole lot of other things I'm sure none of us need to know about." He pauses while everyone laughs. "For those who don't know me, I'm Ethan, Callan's younger brother and one of Olivia's oldest friends, and along with my three other brothers, I've had to sit through twenty-two years of watching these two figure themselves out and realize they were made for each other."

I relax a little more as I listen to Ethan share some stories about Callan and Olivia before reading out the congratulatory messages from friends and family who couldn't be here. I'm struck again by his easy manner and charismatic way of engaging with people.

After he reads the messages, he praises the bridesmaids and then turns to Olivia. "Liv, we've been through a lot together over the last couple of decades. Some down times, but more good times than bad. You've been the sister to me that I never had and while I know Callan is the luckiest and happiest man here tonight, I'm coming in a very close second. You've always been a member of our family but now there's no getting away from us and I am more than glad about that." He pauses for a moment, his affection for Olivia blazing from his eyes. "You look beautiful today, happier than I've ever seen you." He looks at his brother before looking back at her. "And you've made my brother happier than I've ever seen him." He reaches for his glass and raises it in a toast as he looks around the room. "Please join me in raising a glass to the happy couple. To a long life together, filled with the kind of memories that make a fulfilling and wonderful marriage." He gives them one last smile. "May you always be friends as well as lovers."

There are tears in Olivia's eyes as she mouths thank you to Ethan. Callan also appears emotional after his brother's toast. I also feel emotional even though I don't know these people. The speech was touching.

Callan and Olivia share their first dance to the song "At Last" by Etta James and my smile throughout is the most genuine smile I've experienced in months. I may have had a wedding day calamity today, and I may have just discovered that my fiancé has been cheating on me for years, but I will always be a romantic at heart. I write love songs for a living after all. I love getting lost in all the feels of love. Attending this wedding and reception has reminded me that there are beautiful love stories out there.

"That's a smile worth celebrating," Ethan says, leaning in close as the first dance comes to an end and the couple's parents join them on the dancefloor.

Thanks to being Ethan's guest, I'm sitting with him at the bridal table. I've enjoyed the conversation between everyone as they talked about Callan and Olivia's honeymoon plans and reminisced over years of shared memories. Mostly, though, I enjoyed feeling anonymous and not having the spotlight on me.

I look at Ethan who is close enough for his scent to invade my senses. It's spicy, dark, and musky, and I find it quite distracting. "Thank you for inviting me," I say softly. "I think being around people was exactly what I needed today."

"I'm glad. I was a little concerned it may have been hard being here."

I shake my head. "It wasn't hard to be here."

He studies me silently, questions no doubt filling his mind. He doesn't ask them, though. Probably because I wasn't in a question-answering mood earlier.

"I must seem like an awful person to you," I say.

"Why?"

"Because I walked out on my fiancé without telling him."

"You had your reasons."

"I did. But still, it's not a nice thing to do, leaving someone in that way. Especially when I've had my doubts over the wedding for six months."

"Did you know he was cheating on you all that time?"

"No. I only discovered that last night."

"Why'd you wait until today to leave him? I mean, six months is a long time to be having doubts."

"Rocking the boat isn't something I do. I tried to make it work rather than ending the engagement and upsetting a lot of people. But when I found out about his cheating, it didn't hurt in the right way and that was when I knew I couldn't go through with the wedding."

"What do you mean it didn't hurt in the right way?"

"It should have made me feel so much more than just having been taken advantage of." I stop talking, trying to untangle my thoughts so I can explain this to him. "I should have felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and I couldn't breathe. I should have wanted to scream at him and throw things at him. And I should have felt torn over leaving him. I felt none of those things."

His eyes search mine. "What did you feel?"

I struggle to answer him. To admit something I feel ashamed about. "Relief."

He gives me the space to sit with that before saying, "I can see you're wrestling with this and I get that, but I appreciate a person who invites chaos into their life. I don't think you're an awful person. Just a human who's trying to make sense of feelings you're yet to understand."

I frown. "Why do you like someone inviting chaos into their life?"

"If you want change, it's the only thing to do."

Ethan is unlike anyone I've ever met. "I've never thought of it like that."

"Do you want change?"

"God yes."

"Then carry on."

He's given me a lot to think about. For now, though, I'm thinking about Tucker. "I should probably call my fiancé." Ex-fiancé.

"Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do."

"The asshole cheated on you, Maddie. In my book, you don't owe him a damn thing."

He may be right but I was raised a good girl who followed rules and always used my manners. And I'm still that girl, so doing the "right" thing is still important to me. However, today may be the day I begin altering my definition of certain things, beginning with what the right thing is.

I drink the rest of my champagne and follow Ethan's gaze to the dancefloor that's filling up.

When I spot his brother, Bradford, I say, "Your brother is a senator."

Ethan looks at me. "You caught that, huh?"

I did. I also noticed the handful of professional football and hockey players here. If there was ever a wedding to be crashed where privacy would be pretty much guaranteed, I found it. My fear of the paparazzi catching wind of my whereabouts was put to rest when I realized the company I was in.

"I did."

"So, it turns out that hellish traffic today was all your fault."

"You caught that, huh?" He's right. Thanks to a social media leak, people knew Tucker and I were marrying in New York today. We did everything we could to keep the venue a secret, but I know our fans were out in force trying to find us.

His lips twitch. "At the time, no, but Sasha has enlightened me." The bridesmaid who recognized me.

I exhale a breath. I've enjoyed not talking about myself today but I knew that couldn't last forever. "I told you it wasn't the mafia."

Now, he full on smiles. Then, he turns serious and pulls his cell phone from his pocket. "You should call your family and let them know you're okay."

I stare at the phone.

I don't have any family.

I don't even have a friend to call.

I meet his gaze again. "Thank you."

He watches me for another moment before pushing his chair back. "I'm going to find my brother."

After he leaves, I stare at his phone again while all my messy feelings twist and tangle some more. How did I get to this point in my life? I'm a twenty-seven-year-old woman with millions of fans around the world but not one person in my life who would be desperate to hear from me right now.

My heart sits heavy in my chest as I pick up the phone and call Leigh, my assistant. She actually may be desperate to hear from me but not in the way I wish.

When she says, "Dear God, Madeline, do you have any idea of the mess you are in right now?" I sigh. It's time to get back to work.