Page 79 of How to Break My Heart 1

The morning is relatively quiet, only adding to my somber mood. I have managed to clean the kitchen, do inventory, and order more supplies. After my conversation with Aston about expanding, I found myself scrolling through leasing options in the city out of boredom. The prices were over-the-top, so I backed away before I spiraled for no reason. I’d have to sell a hell of a lot of donuts to even come out in the black.

At just after ten, Maddy bursts through the door with tears streaking her flushed cheeks.

“Maddy, what’s wrong?” I rush to her side, motioning for her to sit.

She stares at her hands, trying to control her tears. I bring her in for a tight embrace in an effort to comfort her. Slowly, she pulls away, reaching inside her purse for a tissue.

“This wedding is stressing me out,” she frets in a shaky voice, then continues, “Georgina just informed me some family friends of theirs will be in the country and would like to come to the wedding. Not only that, my father invited some business associates, too. This was supposed to be a small, intimate wedding. When did this become a circus? And no one is listening to me. Just because money is not an issue doesn’t mean I want a big wedding.”

I rest my hand on hers. “Just breathe, okay? I can contact the caterer to increase the head count and make a note of it on the seating chart. It can still be what you want despite the additional head count. We can make it work. Is that the only thing bothering you, though?”

Maddy shakes her head. “I have all this work to finish before I officially go on leave next week. There’s a ton of stuff to do, not to mention Georgina is driving me up the wall. She’s already picking out nursery patterns for the kids I’ll supposedly be having soon. Owls… apparently owls are cute.”

With a heavy nod, I listen to her repeat the conversation Georgina threw upon her this morning. It’s obvious that with all the stress of the wedding, Maddy isn’t thinking straight and is trying to please everyone.

“Give me the list. I’ll take care of it. As for the whole baby thing, I can’t help you there, but I’m sure Myles can have a word with his mother.”

“But you’re busy here. With Billie gone, I don’t want to burden you,” Maddy whispers before biting her nails to curb the stress.

I pull her hand away from her mouth as I always do to break the bad habit, then tell her, “Don’t worry about me. Billie is back tomorrow. Chloe can cover for me this afternoon. She’ll be here in fifteen minutes. Tell me what you need.”

“It’s too much, don’t worry about it,” Maddy sulks.

“Maddy, it’s fine. Trust me.”

She sighs heavily. “There is a store in Manhattan that has the jewelry I need to pick up for the wedding and another store for the shoes. Mom suggested I try my entire outfit on, but I just don’t have time to go to the city. The stylist wants to do a test run for my hair and makeup. How hard is it to get my hair in a bun?”

I can’t argue this one. It’s not hard to get Maddy’s hair in a bun. I’ve done it several times for her.

“It’s fine, I can do it.”

“Are you sure?” Her eyes plead with an inner soft glow. “You have so much going on here.”

“I’ll drive there now and back tonight. Billie works the morning, so I can sleep in if I’m tired.” I reach out to squeeze her hand. “Can you chill now, please?”

Maddy sinks into the chair with a slack expression. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. It feels like you’re the only one who actually cares about me.”

“Okay, now you’re being a bit dramatic.” I stop myself from rolling my eyes. “So many people care about you and love you.”

“Oh yeah? It doesn’t feel like it.”

“C’mon, Myles, for starters. I mean, he has agreed to do the whole sickness-and-health-till-death-do-us-part thing,” I joke, smiling softly, only to falter momentarily. “And, um… your brother.”

She shrugs. “Hasn’t felt like it lately. He’s been in a mood.”

It piques my interest. I pretend to be fixing the condiment box in the middle of the table when I say, “Oh yeah? That sucks. I haven’t spoken to him. I guess he’s busy with work.”

“Well, he should be helping you.”

“Honestly, Maddy. It’s fine.”

“Do you want me to talk to him?” she questions, tilting her head to wait for my answer. “I don’t know what Dad is dragging him to these days, but he promised me he would help you.”

The last thing I want is for Aston to feel obligated to spend time with me.

“Look, I better get ready to drive to the city.” I push my chair out, standing up. “Send me all the details. I’ll drop the jewelry and shoes off tomorrow. Now go home and sort out your work stuff. Deal?”

“Deal.” She smiles.