Free Beautiful Code by Sadie Hayes Page B

notice. They’ll be too busy admiring how perfect you look.”
    “Not about getting things right,” Shandi said slowly. “I mean, about the whole thing. About whether I’m doing the right thing. But I guess it’s too late.” She tried to laugh.
    Patty felt her heart clinch. Did “about the whole thing” mean “about Chad”?
    “No!” Patty exclaimed. “I mean, I feel like it must be totally normal to have doubts right before the big moment, but seriously, Shandi, you shouldn’t. Chad is unbelievable. Totally unbelievable. He’s smart and funny and gorgeous and…you are going to have an amazing life together.”
    “You’re the lucky one, Patty.” Shandi neither agreed nor disagreed with what Patty had just said. “You’ve got your whole life in front of you. Can do whatever you want, nothing to tie you down. And you’ve got the personality and courage to do it, you know? Even if I still had your freedom, I’m not sure I’d have your courage to take advantage of it.”
    “You’re twenty-two!” Patty laughed. “You’re not exactly old! And you’ve got everything in front of you, plus you’ve got a partner to do it all with!”
    Shandi gave her a thanks-but-you-couldn’t-possibly-understand smile. It wasn’t condescending, just…sad.
    The photographer coughed softly from the corner. Both sisters had forgotten she was there.
    “Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but your mother wants to take a few private pictures with the bride.”
    “Of course!” Shandi quickly snapped herself back into wedding mode, her eyes shining brightly in fully confident, self-absorbed, happy-bride fashion.
    “Thanks so much for your help, Patty,” she chirped as she followed the photographer out to meet their mother.

CHAPTER 16:
    You Can’t Win All The Time
     
    A dam punched the elevator button furiously. “Come on!” he yelled at the button. Now was the chance to be a hero, and he wasn’t going to miss it. The doors finally opened and he rode the elevator to the lobby, dashing to the front desk.
    “Where’s the Hawkins-Bronson wedding?” he belted.
    “It’s in the Hibiscus Grove, down the street. The next shuttle should be leaving in about five minutes.”
    Adam didn’t have five minutes. He rushed outside and stopped under the porte-cochère desperate for a solution. The doorman was helping a woman out of a red Porsche Carrera while her husband stood with the bags waiting for the valet. Adam rushed to the valet stand and grabbed a blank ticket. He ripped the ticket in half and gave the bottom portion to the man, who looked at Adam’s khaki shorts and flip-flops suspiciously.
    “Our valet had an emergency phone call,” Adam said calmly. “I’m an office intern, and they asked me to stand in until he’s back.”
    Adam glanced nervously over the man’s shoulder, spotting the real valet coming back. But, the man seemed satisfied and handed Adam the key. Adam grabbed it, skipped quickly to the driver’s side, and sped off toward the Hibiscus Grove, his adrenaline pumping with the $160,000 accelerator under his foot.
    He left the car outside the small villa nestled next to the Hibiscus Grove and dashed through the door onto the terrace. Elegantly dressed, beautiful people were milling around, sipping champagne, all smiles for the half-dozen photographers swarming the crowd. Adam’s eyes darted around, looking for T. J. Where was he?
    He ran to one wall of the terrace. If he stood on it, he could get a better view of the crowd. He climbed up and peered out, his heart racing with adrenaline. “T. J., where are you?” he muttered under his breath.
    He scanned the crowd. But his eyes darted back to the corner. Did he just see what he thought he saw? Who was that standing under the palm tree? It couldn’t be…
    Adam’s heart sank. No, it didn’t sink; it collapsed, crashed, plummeted to the center of the earth. All the blood in his head rushed to support it and he felt like he was going to faint. Lisa—