Page 54 of My Ex-Best Men (Ex Marks the Spot #4)

***Anthony***

I leaned against the makeshift bar with my eyes on the doorway into the smaller ballroom.

Nursing a whiskey wasn’t helping my mood.

Where the fuck was Claire? Something was wrong.

I could feel it in my bones. She hadn’t looked at me once during the ceremony.

She hadn’t looked at any of us. “I have a bad feeling.”

Zane twisted his neck from side to side and then nodded. “She looked upset.”

I drained my whiskey and set the glass down with a heavy thud . “Goddammit. Where is she?”

Will was quiet, lost in his own thoughts. When Zane elbowed him, he actually jumped. “What?”

“Any clue about Claire?”

I frowned at the pinched look on Will’s face, concerned about the cause of it. “Did something happen?”

He scrubbed his hands down his face and stared down at his shoes. “With Claire? No. I didn’t get to spend any time with her today. Did you see how she flinched when I tried to touch her?”

“Fuck. I’m going to call her.” I dialed her number and then swore when her phone went straight to voicemail.

Looking around the room for someone who might know where she disappeared to, my gaze clashed with Madeline’s.

She was on the other side of the room, watching us with a smirk on her face.

“What are the chances that Madeline has an idea about where Claire is?”

Will’s gaze jerked up and he frowned. It was the harshest look he’d given Madeline since I’d met him.

I swore louder and grabbed his shoulder. “Something happened. Spit it the fuck out, Will.”

He shoved me away and then held up his hands. “Shit. Sorry. I’m… I think I’ve been avoiding seeing the truth right under my nose for a while.”

“Start talking, man.” Zane looked around and then swore. “Actually. I have to go perform a song for Jake and Sophia before they leave. Fuck me. I don’t feel like doing the dog and pony show right now. If one of you figures out where Claire went, come find me.”

I watched him leave and then turned on Will. “Come on. You and I are going to go somewhere else so you can tell me why the sinking feeling in my stomach has your name all over it.”

He scowled at me but followed me out of the ballroom and into a small hallway the staff used.

“Madeline. I don’t even know where to start to unpack that.

She let me think her grandma died. She asked me to comfort her and I did because I’m not an asshole and because I thought we were fucking friends. ”

“Any of us could’ve told you that she’s a manipulative bitch.” I shrugged at his surprised expression. “It takes a lot for me to call a woman that but…she is. What did she do?”

“She was just…clinging. And when I tried to sit down to create some space between us she just plopped down on my lap.” He shuddered. “She wasn’t even fucking crying. The motions were all there but her eyes were dry.”

I stilled. “Clinging?”

“All over me. I was uncomfortable but I thought her grandma had died so I didn’t immediately push her away. It was just a hug but it was enough to make me want to shove her away.”

“Was it something that would’ve upset Claire if she’d seen it?” I asked the question as calmly as I could manage but I was feeling pretty volatile.

Will looked horrified, as if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. “You think Claire saw Madeline hugging me like that?”

“I think Claire saw you hugging Madeline like that.” I growled the words and roughly patted the side of his face.

“You and the nice guy bullshit needs to end right here and now. You’ve been so afraid of hurting Madeline’s feelings this whole fucking time that you’ve ignored the way she treats Claire.

She’s rude to Claire. She stakes a claim on you in Claire’s face.

And you let her. So, yeah, I think if Claire saw anything, it was you hugging the woman who treats her like shit. ”

His face paled. “I… I’ve been friends with Madeline for most of my life. She’s been a good friend. She said she was worried that with Claire back, Sophia and I would replace her. It…-”

“She manipulated you. And if you can’t see the way she eye-fucks you, you’re really embodying the whole stupid buff guy trope.”

“Fuck.” Jerking to his full height, Will scowled. “First, we need to find Claire and make sure we’re not just thinking the worst. After all, if she did see that and think the worst, she wouldn’t need to hide from you and Zane. Just me. I’m the only fucking idiot here, apparently.”

“You said it.”

“After we find Claire and fix whatever I might’ve damaged, I find Madeline and end her games.” He looked so furious that I would’ve felt bad for Madeline if she wasn’t so god-awful.

“Do you have Sal’s number? I haven’t seen him since the end of the wedding, either.”

“Yeah, I have it. I’ll call him.” Will pulled out his phone and after a few seconds he frowned. “He’s not answering, either.”

“Call him again.”

Another few seconds passed and then I heard Sal pick up. Will put him on speaker phone and we both leaned in. “Sal? It’s Will. Where are you? Is Claire with you?”

The older man, who I’d liked before those next few moments, let out his own version of a growl. “Yep. And that’s all I’m going to say to you. Now we’re trying to listen to a podcast about women murdering men and your calls keep interrupting it. Take a hint.”

I pressed my palms into my eyes and groaned. “Jesus.”

Will shoved his phone back into his pocket and tugged at his hair. “We know that she’s with Sal. That’s something. Let’s go over to his trailer so I can start begging her to forgive me for being a fucking idiot.”

I hesitated and replayed the short call with Sal. “Were those car noises?”

Will swore. “I think so. The trailer is probably a pointless place to look. He could be driving her anywhere. Let’s go over to the house and see if she grabbed her stuff. If she packed, that narrows the distance they could’ve gotten by now.”

“We’ll go as soon as Zane finishes. If she’s having second thoughts about us, we’ll just have him sing a love song or something.” Still, the sinking feeling in my stomach made me feel like a love song wouldn’t be enough.