smiled at her. “Honey, you need to do what is right for you.” she yawned.
Madison stood up. “Come on, bedtime. You are getting married in the morning.”
“I’m going to be Mrs. Carter Sinclair tomorrow at this time.”
“Yes, you are and it’s a beautiful thing.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The morning of the wedding had arrived. Madison slept in Alicia’s guest room. She eventually turn off her phone since Mike and Hunter were texting her non-stop. She managed to get Alicia up and ready for the salon. Her friends arrived shortly afterwards and helped Madison finish decorating the patio as the caterers showed up. The tent rental company was finishing construction on the tent along the beach as the florists arrived. It was a never ending cycle of vendors as everyone tried to work in the same areas of their house.
Madison rounded the corner to grab her purse from the living room when she ran into Hunter. “Good morning, Maddy.”
“Hey, I was just leaving. I need to get Alicia to the salon. Are you taking Carter to lunch?”
He nodded. “Did you need help with anything?”
She laughed. “Yeah, take your pick.”
He looked down at her. “Madison, take a deep breath. No matter what happens today, they are going to get married. The food can suck and the flowers can wilt but at the end of the day, they will be husband and wife, ok?”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“How can I help you out?” he asked.
“Will you be around for awhile?”
He nodded. “Sure, did you want me to oversee everything?”
She nodded. “Yes please, just until we get back.”
He smiled. “Sure, have fun.”
Madison walked away, found all the girls and headed into town. Once they arrived at the salon, the girls headed towards the nail table first. Madison grabbed her purse and realized that she never turned her phone back on. As the lady worked on her left hand, she scrolled through all the messages that Mike left for her last night.
Madison - please call me - Mike
Please just tell me that you are ok - Mike
I know I acted like an asshole but I’m worried about you - Mike
God Maddy, I’m losing my mind that you never came home last night - Mike
There were about twenty more messages like that. She noticed the last one was left this morning.
I won’t be attending the wedding this afternoon unless I hear from you. I’m assuming that you are still processing everything - Mike
As the lady finished her nails, Madison walked over to Alicia who was already getting her hair done. “Hey, I just need to step outside for a second, ok?”
Alicia laughed. “Maddy, you don’t need to keep checking in with me, ok? I have all my girls around me today. I’m flying high!”
She laughed as she walked outside. She dialed Mike’s number and listened to it ring.
“Madison?”
“Hey.”
“I have been so worried about you. Why didn’t you just text me back and let me know you were alive. You never came home last night.”
“I’m sorry. I went to Alicia’s and crashed there. I turned off my phone so no one would bug me.”
He was silent momentarily. “Did you still want me to come today?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, I will be at their house around three.”
“I’m sorry, Mike. I’m sorry that I’m the cause of this.”
He sighed. “I’m the one who needs to apologize, Madison. I acted inappropriately last night. It wasn’t the time or place to confront him.”
She paused as she looked into the salon. Alicia was laughing and smiling with her friends. She wondered if she would ever be that carefree and loving her life.
“Madison, are you still there?”
“Yeah sorry, lost myself for a moment, I will see you later.”
They hung up and Madison walked back into salon. As everyone finished up, she stopped to look into the mirror one more time. She loved the way the stylist curled her hair, small strands outlined her face. The
Carey Heywood
Boroughs Publishing Group
Jack Hodgins
Mike Evans
Mira Lyn Kelly
Trish Morey
Mignon G. Eberhart
Mary Eason
Alissa Callen
Chris Ryan