Page 94 of How to Break My Heart 1

“We’ll talk tomorrow. I just want to go home.”

Aston grabs his keys without arguing, then glances at me one more time. His eyes bore into me, and all the flags waving at me to be careful with my heart, slowly come down.

I hate that even after last night, I want him.

And that whole bareback conversation began to eat away at me. Aston Beaumont is not in love with me, far from it. Just because he had a moment of weakness, it doesn’t mean anything. The guy isn’t capable of love, and to be honest, maybe I’m not either.

Yet my heart is anything but in agreement.

The weight inside my chest reminds me of what is missing in my life.

Who is missing from my life.

No matter how hard I try to fall asleep, all I hear is his voice, see his face, and feel his touch all over my body.

It’s too late…

I have fallen for the one man I promised myself I would never fall foragain.

CHAPTER 24

Eva

What do you mean there are no chickens?”

Maddy is yelling into the phone so loud that customers inside my café pause their conversations to gawk at her. My hand reaches out to pull the phone away so I can take over this conversation before it gets out of control.

“What’s happening with the chickens?” I ask, pressing my hand to my forehead.

“We don’t have any,” Sal, the lodge’s head chef, informs me. “A bird flu has knocked the poor buggers out, so we can’t get them in time for the wedding.”

“Right…” I breathe, then follow with, “What other animal can we sacrifice for this wedding?”

Sal lists a few options, none of them satisfying Maddy when I say them out loud. It isn’t that all the chickens have magically fallen off the face of the earth, but Sal and his team can’t secure supply for the event.

Since Maddy left my apartment last week, she’s been on edge. The shoes I’d picked up from Manhattan were too tight, but given that they were custom-made, she has to grin and bear it on her wedding day because it’s too late to do anything else. I joked about wearing flip-flops, but it didn’t go down well.

On top of this, the minister performing the ceremony has come down with shingles, so there was a last-minute call around to have someone replace him.

All those problems are somewhat resolved, yet something is still bothering her. The night Myles came to my apartment, Maddy simply said they had an argument about his mother. I assumed it was over table settings or something but decided not to push Maddy to open up about it.

Instead of talking about it, she snaps at everyone, which is getting tiresome. I also assumed she got her period, but I don’t want to rile the bridezilla and mention we are definitely no longer in sync. Therefore, the period sisters’ ship has sailed.

“Sal, let me get back to you in fifteen minutes.” I end the call, glancing at Billie, who looks just as worried about Maddy. Between the two of us, we’ve been trying to talk Maddy off the ledge all week.

Maddy has taken an Oreo cheesecake donut from the glass display, munching on it with a frantic look in her eyes. It’s her third donut in a row, but neither of us dares tell her to take it easy.

“Why don’t we do the beef and fish? There’s also the vegetarian option for those who want neither,” I suggest softly.

“Georgina insisted on chicken. She doesn’t eat anything but chicken.” Maddy raises her voice again.

“Maddy, there is no other choice here. I’m sorry, but as your maid of honor, I need to put my foot down. Georgina will need to eat something else.” Taking a deep breath, I follow with, “We can get her a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Then she can’t complain she ain’t got no chicken.”

Billie laughs, but Maddy narrows her eyes with an exaggerated sigh. I keep my smile at bay, though the image of Georgina eating a bucket of chicken at the wedding is hilarious. This is going to be an exhausting day, and it hasn’t even reached lunchtime yet.

“I’m the one who has to deal with her, Eva. For the rest of my life,” she enunciates, refusing to lighten up. “This wedding needs to be perfect. It’s almost like you don’t care because it’s not that important to you.”

“The weddingwillbe perfect and I’m doing my best here,” I emphasize, trying to ignore her jab. “It’ll be perfect, just with beef.”