CHAPTER 20
Clad in a robe over her pajamas, Molly checked her cell phone. “Twelve hours from now you’re supposed to be saying your vows.”
“I know.” Ginny didn’t miss the words supposed to be in Molly’s announcement.
She’d thought having Molly spend the night at her place the night before the wedding would keep her calm.
It hadn’t worked out that way. This adult sleepover for her and her maid of honor had done nothing but stress Ginny out.
Molly obsessively monitored the time and announced it as regularly as Big Ben. Ginny was ready to steal Molly’s phone and hide it so she’d at least have to go to the kitchen to look at the time on the microwave if she wanted to announce it.
Ginny stifled a sigh. Molly meant well. She knew that. But Ginny didn’t have the strength to deal with both the complete lack of communication from Thom since he’d left and her maid of honor repeatedly reminding her about how close the wedding was while her groom was still missing.
She should have spent tonight alone. All she wanted to do was go to bed—not that she’d be able to sleep. Not until she knew Thom was safely back from the cabin and at his parents’ house.
Molly drew in a breath. “And remember we’re going to have to get to the church early to take pictures. That’s in exactly eleven hours.”
“I know,” Ginny repeated.
Pictures. She was going to look like crap in the photos, with big dark circles under her eyes that even every product on the shelves in Sephora wouldn’t be able to camouflage.
It figured that the one tradition Ginny hadn’t fought her mother on, the one she’d given in to whole heartedly, was hiring a professional photographer for their special day.
Now she only hoped there’d be a groom to stand next to her in the photos.
Molly continued to watch Ginny too intensely for her to be able to relax. “Aren’t you worried you haven’t heard from him? That he’s not back yet?” Molly asked.
“No. I’m sure they just lost track of time.” Ginny waved away her friends concern, delivering the lie with as much conviction as she could muster.
The truth was she had passed worry quite a while ago. It had hit her right after mild concern and just before the heart pounding panic she was experiencing now. The tight knot formed again in her belly and this time spread, moving up into her chest.
She tried to talk herself down from the ledge one more time, like she’d been doing for most of the evening. If they’d left after dinner at seven or even eight they wouldn’t get home until after ten or eleven. But by now they should have good enough cell phone signal to call her . . . if their phones weren’t all dead.
Of course! That had to be it. They were men. Men never remembered details like packing a charger. And it would have to be a car charger too since Thom had joked before he left how they’d be roughing it because the cabin had no electricity.
So they could easily be on the way back right now and just not able to call or text because all of their batteries were dead.
Maybe he was already back at his parents’ house and hadn’t texted or called because it was so late and he didn’t want to wake her on the night before the wedding.
She felt moderately better with her new excuse for the lack of communications. Good enough to take a sip of the herbal tea Molly had made for her—her friend’s attempt at calming her, when just not bringing up the subject that had upset her in the first place would have worked much better than the Sleepy Time Tea.
Ginny glanced up to find Molly watching her with that look again. The look that said her best friend thought she was being delusional.
Molly would see. In the morning, when Thom showed up at the church right on time and explained how he’d forgotten his charger, Ginny’s faith in him would be proven justified.
He would apologize. She would forgive him. They’d get married and then they’d pose for pictures together, and she didn’t intend to look like death warmed over because she hadn’t slept.
She quickly did the math. She could take a sleeping pill right now and still get eight hours sleep even if she woke up early to get ready. Perfect.
“Siri. Set an alarm for six-thirty in the morning,” Ginny said into her cell phone as she walked toward the bathroom.
“Alarm set for six-thirty a.m.,” the feminine computerized voice replied.
“Thank you.” Even though Siri was an AI assistant, it felt rude to not express any gratitude.
She came out of the bathroom with a bottle of over-the-counter sleeping pills and headed toward where she’d left her tea on the table.
Molly frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Taking something so I can go to sleep.”
“But what if you’re groggy in the morning or what if you don’t wake up in time?”
“That’s what you and Siri are here for, to make sure I wake up. And if I don’t take something I won’t get to sleep and then I’ll definitely be groggy tomorrow so I’m willing to take my chances.”
Herbal tea wasn’t going to cut it tonight. Not with all the stress surrounding this wedding.
Enough listening to everyone else about what was best for her. Ginny knew what she needed, and short of having Thom in bed next to her tonight, the sleeping pill and a solid eight hours would be the next best thing.
Before Molly tried to talk her out of it, she popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed it with a big gulp of minty lukewarm tea.
Done. Nothing to do now except try to have sweet dreams and then wake up and get married.
Easy. No problem at all . . .