Page 66 of Going All In

* * *

Addie insisted on a girls’ table for dinner, and for reasons that remain unclear to me, Judy went along with it. So now I’m sitting at a table with Robert, my sister-in-law Chris who flat out refused to join the girls’ table with “all their gossip,” as she put it, and my Uncle Steve. And I’m staring across the room at Holly. She has her head thrown back, laughing at something one of my sisters said.

Maybe I should have involved myself in the planning a bit. Then I’d be sitting next to her instead of hearing about Uncle Steve’s knee replacement.

“Maddox, will you be coming for Christmas? We’ll have dinner on Christmas Day before we leave on our honeymoon.” Robert’s voice breaks through my reverie.

I force my attention back to our table. “Sure. At your house or my mom’s?”

Robert takes a sip of his beer and puts the glass on the table. “I’m moving into your mom’s house. I more or less live there already, and it makes sense. There’s more space, extra bedrooms. We’ll put my old place on the market in January.”

“Makes sense,” I say. “I’m going to hit the men’s room, then grab a drink at the bar. Would anyone like anything?”

* * *

By the time I make it to the bar, everyone has finished dinner. People are milling around, socializing. I look for Holly, but I don’t see her. I order another lager.

I carry it while I make small talk, keeping my eyes peeled for Holly. Whereisshe?

By the time I make it to my mother, I still haven’t seen Holly. It’s been at least twenty minutes since I came back from the restroom. Should I be worried?

“Hi, Mom. Beautiful dinner.” I give her a hug. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, of course. I can’t wait for tomorrow. It will be so beautiful. Do you like the Christmas theme?” She gestures around, like I haven’t been surrounded by the decorations for the last two hours.

“I love it, Mom. I’d expect nothing less from a Christmas lover like you. I’ll bet Holly likes it, too. She loves Christmas.” She and my mom have a lot in common, actually. I can picture them becoming great friends. “Actually, have you seen her?”

A hint of a smile tugs at my mom’s lips. “She’s here, of course. Why?”

I shrug, going for nonchalant. “Just curious. I saw her earlier, but I haven’t seen her in a bit. Wondering if she left already.”

Mom’s eyes sharpen as she looks around the room. “Let me check the ladies’ room.”

I pull out my phone and call Holly while she checks, but it goes to voicemail.

She returns a few minutes later. “She’s not in there. Did you call her?”

I nod. “No answer.”

Mom is starting to look frantic. Fuck, I don’t want to ruin her rehearsal dinner, but I’m getting worried too.

“Robert?” she calls, motioning to Holly’s dad. “We can’t find Holly. Have you seen her?”

He does the same thing my mom did, looking around, as though Holly might be in this small room and both of us somehow missed her. “Huh. No, I haven’t. I was talking to her a bit ago. She was going to the ladies’ room, but I haven’t seen her since.”

“She’s not in there now.” My mom wrings her hands.

Wait.

I look at Robert. “Did you talk to her about moving in with my mom? About selling your house?”

He nods. “Yeah, I did. Why?”

I’m already grabbing my jacket from the coat rack and sliding my arms into the sleeves. “I know where she is.”

* * *

“Holly?”

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