Page 47 of Ten Christmases Without You
Emmy waved back, her heart thumping.
He turned back to his date and said something just as the waitress returned with their cocktails.
“So, what are we feeling like?” the waitress asked.
Like this wedding might not be as fun as I’d imagined.
“I’ll have the baked brie,” Madison said.
Oh. The order...“I’ll have the same.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Emmy went for pure comfort when she dressed for breakfast. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she’d worn her softest tracksuit and sneakers.
“Why did you let me drink last night?” she asked Madison. “I’ve got a raging headache.” She yawned as they took a seat in the open-air lobby-style restaurant. The scent of sausage and buttery bread helped her to come alive a little more.
“You didn’t drinkthatmuch.”
“I hardly slept, and today I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.”
“You barely ate anything last night. That was probably the issue.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
Madison set her phone on the table to keep their spot, and they went up to the hotel’s buffet-style breakfast bar. She handed Emmy a plate.
“You didn’t let me ask about it all night, but I’m dying to know, what are you going to say to Charlie when you see him today at the wedding?”
“Probably ‘Hi.’”
Madison rolled her eyes. “I know that. But don’t you want a game plan for how to handle yourself when you see him again?”
“Why would I need a game plan when seeing him this year is the same as last year and the year before that?”
“It isn’t the same. This year, he’s got a date. You’ll want to look glamorous and confident.”
Emmy lumped a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto her plate. “If he has a date, then I don’t need to worry about being glamorous and confident. I’m not trying to impress anyone.”
Her sister sighed impatiently. “You want him to wish he were withyouinstead of her. Do I have to teach you everything about how to be alluring?”
She barely heard her sister. Most certainly, Charlie and his date were staying in this hotel. Were they sharing a room? She gritted her teeth. Charlie had every right to do whatever he wanted to do. She had no ties to him. So why was she flustered about seeing him last night? She knew why. The question loomed at the back of her mind, and she wouldn’t let it cross her consciousness, but it pushed its way through. Deep down, she wondered: Why hadn’t he asked her to be his date? She’d brought her sister as her plus one—not a date. He knew she’d be there. But he hadn’t asked her.
She squeezed her eyes shut to keep her headache at bay and then pinched a couple pieces of bacon with the silver tongs on the bar. One by one, she placed three pieces of cantaloupe next to her eggs, being meticulous about not letting them touch. Then, she went over to the pastry corner, across from the food bar, and got herself a croissant and a little cream cheese Danish. She turned all her focus to her food, trying to clear her head as she filled a mug with steaming black coffee and then watched the beige swirl when she added milk. She slowly dumped sugar into the mug. Then, she got a glass of juice.
“You’re quietly introspective.” Madison eyed her as she ripped open a tea packet and dropped a tea bag into a mug of hot water.
Emmy shrugged. “Just my headache.”
She followed Madison back to their table. On her way, she kept her eye on the elevator across the lobby. Why, she had no idea. The last thing she wanted to see was Charlie’s date swooshing in, locked onto his bicep, her eyes dancing as he said something witty the way he had last night.
Madison rummaged in her purse and pulled out an envelope of ibuprofen. “Here. You look like you’re dying right now.”
Emmy ripped it open and downed the pills with a swig of juice.
“I want you to kick that headache,” Madison said, picking up her mug. “With the wedding not until this evening and a free day together, I have plans.”
Emmy set her napkin in her lap. “What are your plans?”
