Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
She looked over and caught me staring. “Are you looking at my sunburned face?”
I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck. “No.”
“Is your neck still bothering you?”
“It’s just a little stiff.”
“Here, let me.” She got out of her chair, set her wine glass on the table, and stood behind me. “You did all that work for me today. I owe you.”
“You don’t,” I said, but then I groaned with pleasure as her fingers began kneading my sore muscles. “But it does feel good.”
My sister laughed. “In other words, he doesn’t want you to feel obligated, but he also doesn’t want you to stop.”
Maddie laughed and worked at a kink with her thumb. “What’s going on here? You’ve got a giant knot.”
I couldn’t even talk, her hands felt so fucking good on me.
“So Cole’s wedding is coming up,” Mallory said. “Beck, have you written your speech yet?”
“Could you not call it a speech? It’s just a toast.”
She laughed. “What’s the difference?”
“A speech goes on for like ten minutes. I’m going to talk for ten seconds.”
“Beckett Weaver, you better do right by your friend,” Mallory chided. “Are you going to Cole’s wedding, Maddie?”
“I’d like to,” she replied hesitantly. “It sort of depends.”
“Are you busy next Saturday night, Mal?” I asked. “I meant to ask you.”
“I’m not, in fact. And I’d be glad to come down and stay with Dad and Elliott. I’ll bring Daisy, and we can stay over, since it’s a Saturday night. She doesn’t have camp on Sundays.”
“That would be amazing,” Maddie said. “I know Elliott would love that too. Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. I’ll just bunk in with the kids.”
“I might need to ask your advice about where to buy a dress,” said Maddie. “I didn’t really pack anything appropriate for a wedding.”
“I’m sure whatever you packed is fine,” I told her, wincing as she increased the pressure.
Maddie laughed. “Spoken like a true man.”
“Ignore him,” Mallory said. “If you want something dressy, like cocktail dressy, your best bet is probably Main Street Bridal.”
“Beck, do you think the wedding is cocktail dressy? Or more like snappy casual?”
“I have no idea what either of those things mean,” I told her. “I’m wearing a suit. It’s blue.”
Mallory laughed. “Are you friendly with Cheyenne, Maddie? Maybe check in with her.”
“Yes, and I will. I need to let her know I’m coming anyway. Oh, and I need to get them a wedding gift.”
“Who’s getting married again?” Mr. Weaver asked.
“Cole and Cheyenne,” I answered. “The invitation is on the fridge. You’re invited too if you’d like to go for a little bit.”
“Cole Mitchell?”
“Yes.”
“Is he old enough to get married?”
I glanced at my father. “He’s thirty-three, Dad. Same as me.”
He tilted his head. “Can that be right?”
Mallory leaned over and patted his arm. “I still picture those guys as kids sometimes too. Seems like we just watched them graduate from high school, doesn’t it?”
“Hey, speaking of graduation,” Maddie said. “Do you by any chance still have that photo of us that was taken after the ceremony? I used to have a copy of it, but it got lost along the way.”
“I don’t think so,” I said quickly. Of course, I knew exactly where my copy of that photo was—buried in a shoebox between the barn and the maple tree where I first kissed her.
“Oh, I remember taking that picture,” said Mallory. “It was so cute. You sure you don’t have it somewhere, Beck?”
“I’m sure.”
Maddie sighed. “It was a cute picture. I wish I still had it.”
“Neither of you has changed a bit since then,” Mallory said. “And I think it’s great that you’re in touch again. You were such good friends.”
Maddie laughed, moving her hands to my shoulders. “The crazy thing is, it almost feels like we never lost touch.”
“Some friendships are just like that,” said Mallory. “You can go a long time without seeing each other and when you’re together again, it’s like no time has passed.”
As Maddie continued to rub one shoulder and then the other, I watched Daisy and Elliott laugh joyously as they twirled on the grass, waving their sparklers in the air against a pink and orange sky. The scent of the lilac bushes bordering the deck mingled with the earthy smell of the barn on the breeze. Everything was bathed in the perfect, hazy golden light of the magic hour as the sun slipped toward the horizon.
I didn’t often wish for the impossible, but in that moment I found myself longing to pull Maddie onto my lap and stop time forever.
I didn’t want Daisy to age. I didn’t want my dad’s mind to deteriorate. I didn’t want Maddie to leave again. I didn’t even want the sun to go down.
I just wanted now, forever.
Later, I walked my sister and niece out to the car while Maddie and Elliott tried to FaceTime her ex. I thought it was better I wasn’t in the house when that happened anyway. I didn’t really want to hear his voice, or worse, see his face.