Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
CHAPTER FIVE
June 19
Madison closed the lid on her suitcase with a dejected sigh and glanced at her phone charging on the cradle in the middle of her nightstand. Eleven days, and still no calls or replies from Matt. Just silence.
She needed to face the fact that he’d played her, just like every other man she’d ever given a few hours and her body to. As usual, she’d put herself out there, only to get burned. But her flippant summation didn’t feel like the whole story. Matt had seemed so different. For thirty-six hours, he’d been her sustenance, her air, her everything. He had affected her in ways she had never fathomed, in places that no man had truly touched. He couldn’t be gone, just…poof, could he? After she had clearly stirred more than his body, too, she didn’t understand.
What had gone wrong?
Her mobile rang, jerking her from her maudlin thoughts. The initial skipping of her heart with hope that Matt was finally calling died when she saw Haisley’s name on her display.
“Hey, girl.” She tried to sound chipper and just couldn’t manage it.
“Aww, still moping?”
Mourning was a better word, but Haisley didn’t understand. She probably never would. For her, men came and went. She didn’t get attached. Her heart didn’t trip up or hit an emotional snag. Guys were universally attracted to the audacious redhead with the loud personality. In her shadow, Madison always felt quiet and far less interesting.
She sidestepped the question. “What are you up to?”
“Gracelyn and I are heading to Highrise’s for a few drinks. Come with us. You passed last Saturday night and you’ll be gone on this trip with your dad for the next couple of weeks. I’ve hardly seen you, and I’m having Madison withdrawals. What’s a girl without her bestie?”
Tears filled her eyes. “As sweet as that speech was, guilt-trip and all—”
“You noticed that, huh?”
Madison scoffed. “Please. You’ve been my best friend since first grade. I know you. But Dad is insisting we get on the road at five a.m. He wants to tour Graceland and hopefully make it to Knoxville by nightfall.”
“Five a.m.? Doesn’t he know the leaves are barely rustling at five a.m., much less people?”
Despite her sadness, she had to laugh. “He’s up. That’s all that matters to him.”
“It’s barbaric, if you ask me.” Haisley sighed. “So nothing from Matt? Where did you two leave things?”
At the question, pain stabbed through her chest. She’d known the moment he opened his eyes that final morning that something troubled him. When she’d asked if he was okay, he’d dismissed her, hiding behind his coffee cup and his worry about her being late for work.
“We left the suite around six thirty. He kissed me in the parking lot.” Like he would die without her. Like he never wanted to leave her side. He’d clung and stared at her as if she meant the whole world to him. “He told me that he’d be hella busy while Trees was on his honeymoon, but he swore he would call. The next day, he texted, saying he had to help his dad back home, but that’s been almost two weeks ago. Since then, nothing. I’ve tried a couple of times, but…” She shrugged. “I really shouldn’t be surprised. Men always ghost me.”
And despite the fact so many guys took what they wanted and walked away, Matt had shocked her. Because even if something had been bothering him, he hadn’t seemed like all the others. They had connected on a level she’d never experienced.
“You deserve a guy who loves you for you, and I don’t know if he’s it.” Haisley sighed. “I ran into Nash last night.”
The tall groomsman from the wedding? “Were you at Highrise or another club?”
She laughed. “The grocery store. Apparently, he’s decided to stay in town and was buying food to fill his new bachelor pad. We chatted in the frozen aisle.”
“He’s still trying, even though you turned him down at the wedding?”
“Yep, and trying hard. But he corroborated that Matt headed back to Wyoming to help his dad the day after you parted. He also told me Matt came back to town on Tuesday.”
There was a reason Haisley hadn’t led with that morsel, and Madison didn’t want false hope. “Four days ago, and he still hasn’t called.”
“Nash says Matt helped him move into a rental on Wednesday. He also says your cowboy hasn’t been the same that weekend with you.”
“Well, if he’s madly in love with me, he’s doing a damn fine job hiding it. I need to put him behind me. Find my mojo and my self-confidence and kick off my summer vacation with this trip. I’ll enjoy some time with my dad, visit my uncle, see the sights, then come back. I’ll have forgotten Matt Montgomery exists.”
Madison was determined to do just that…but he lingered in her memories and in her heart. As she and her father drove from Lafayette, she mentally pored over every moment she’d spent with Matt, trying to decide where things had gone wrong. But nothing made sense. They had been immersed in each other and perfectly in sync until the final handful of hours.