Page 4 of Clumsy in Love

“Tess!” Maddie gasped, casting a glance at her younger sister. Juliet had married her high school sweetheart right after graduation, but he died in a car accident before they even turned twenty. “You’re cut off. No more wine for you.”

“It’s okay, Maddie,” Juliet said, holding up a hand. “Teddy died four years ago. We can talk about him.”

“A widow is respectable,” Tess said. “I’m a twenty-five-year-old divorcée.”

“Does a year-long marriage even count?” Faith asked.

“At least Tess made it to the altar!” Holly said.

“Maddie, text your mom and have her bring cake,” Alex said.

“And more wine,” Faith added. “White this time.”

“I’m gonna peek outside,” Holly said.

All five friends tagged along. The bookstore was closed, but still, they tiptoed out of the backroom to the front of the store and tried to hide while peeking out the big window.

Across the street, the town square gazebo, laden in white gauze and laced with flowers, sat empty. Someone had rolled up the gold rug that was supposed to have served as “the aisle.” The white folding chairs, originally lined to face the gazebo, had been rearranged into clusters under the trees. The wind carried faint wisps of music the DJ played. A few people even danced.

Since she and Rick were paying for the wedding themselves, Holly had tried to cut costs and keep the guest list to a minimum. But in a small town, it was hard to exclude anyone without hurting feelings. So even though half the town remained mad about what her dad had done, attendance still topped a hundred. The only two that hadn’t shown? Her parents.

News would spread, and by tomorrow—if not later tonight—all of Green Valley Falls would know what had happened.

“Guess the show must go on,” Alex said.

“Oh.” Faith clapped. “And here comes Mrs. Reed with the cake.”

Maddie and Juliet greeted their mom at the door and relieved her of her load—a tray of cake carried with both hands, a plastic bag of plates and forks hanging off one arm, and a bottle of wine in each pocket.

“Anything else, just ask,” she said. “Everything’s fine out here.”

They hauled it all back to the storage room and indulged. They ate. They drank. They laughed. Now that Maddie lived in California, it had been months since they’d all been together. Her friends since grade school. The best friends a girl could ever have.

“What are you going to do about the honeymoon?” Faith asked.

Holly froze. “I forgot about that. I was so excited to go.”

“Go anyway,” Maddie said. “Don’t need no man to take you.”

Holly thought about it. Rick had wanted to hike up into the backcountry and camp, but as a park ranger, Holly got enough nature at work. Since she was a kid, she’d dreamed of visiting New York City and had convinced Rick to honeymoon there.

Other than college in Durham—which wasn’t much bigger than this town—she’d never been away from Green Valley Falls. She was desperate to spread her wings. See the world. At the very least, get out of New Hampshire.

“Hm. I did book everything,” she said. “The hotel’s in my name, and the flights are nonrefundable.”

She warmed to the notion. Or maybe that was the glow of the alcohol. Either way, the idea of a solo trip grew on her by the second.

“Do it,” Faith said. “The car will be here at nine. Give us a hot minute to wipe off the ‘Just Married’ paint, and you’re good to go.”

“Your bag’s already packed,” Alex agreed.

“And you already have the time off,” Maddie said.

“No reason not to,” Tess added. “You’ve wanted to see NYC since we were kids. Now’s your chance.”

“You don’t think Rick would go, do you?” Juliet asked.

“Doubt it,” Holly said. “He didn’t want to go in the first place. I had to beg him to get him on board.”

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