Chapter 1 — Fifteen Minutes Before Forever
Chapter 1 — Fifteen Minutes Before Forever
By the time I realized my groom was gone, three hundred guests were already sitting under crystal chandeliers, waiting to watch me marry a man who had vanished.
Everything was perfect.
The roses.
The music.
The dress.
Everything except Maverick.
At 1:45 p.m., my wedding coordinator, Linda, stepped into the bridal suite with a smile so fake it made my stomach drop.
“Amy,” she said carefully, “we have a small problem.”
My mother stood. “What problem?”
Linda looked at me.
“The groom is running late.”
“From where?” I asked.
She didn’t answer fast enough.
That pause told me everything.
I called Maverick.
No answer.
I texted him.
Where are you?
Nothing.
At 2:00 p.m., Linda came back.
This time, she wasn’t smiling.
“We can’t reach him,” she whispered. “Or his best man.”
My hands went cold.
Then I looked around the room.
“Where’s Penelope?”
My best friend.
My maid of honor.
The woman who had promised to stand beside me.
My cousin Emma went pale.
“She left twenty minutes ago,” she said. “I thought she was checking the flowers.”
Penelope’s lavender clutch was gone.
Her phone charger was gone.
I called her.
Straight to voicemail.
My groom and my best friend had disappeared together on my wedding day.
That wasn’t bad luck.
That was betrayal.
“The hotel,” I said suddenly.
Linda blinked. “What?”
“Maverick booked a room here last night. For getting ready.”
I grabbed my dress with both hands and walked toward the door.
My mother followed. “Amy, wait.”
But I was already moving.
Down the hallway.
Past the portraits.
Past the guests whispering near the ballroom doors.
I didn’t care who saw me.
I only cared about one number.
Room 237.
When I reached the second floor, I saw something on the carpet outside the door.
A lavender ribbon.
Penelope had worn it in her hair that morning.
My chest tightened.
I raised my hand and knocked.
No answer.
Then I heard it.
A woman crying inside.
May you like
And a man whispering,
“Don’t open the door.”
