To Have and to Hold Read Online Free PDF Page A

still laughing.
    Madison laughed, too. “What are you talking about, Fee ?” she said, teasing her friend using Egg’s new nickname for her.
    Fiona blushed. “I don’t act that way around Egg, do I?” she asked self-consciously.
    Madison threw her arm around Fiona’s shoulder. “Nah, I was only kidding,” she said.
    “How embarrassing,” Fiona said. “My dad told me that I act different whenever Egg comes over to hang with Chet. Do you think that’s true?”
    “Your dad said that?” Madison said.
    “Is that weird?” Fiona said with a shrug. “Daddy’s always asking me and Chet stuff about our friends—especially guy friends. He quizzes me all the time. I think he worries too much.”
    “Yeah, my dad worries a lot, too,” Madison said.
    “How’s your dad doing with the wedding?” Fiona replied. “Freaked out?”
    Madison nodded. “Well, Dad’s always a little freaked out,” she said jokingly. “But I’m having dinner with him and Stephanie tonight.”
    “That will be fun,” Fiona said. “Right?”
    Madison shrugged. “Yeah, like going to the dentist.”
    Fiona giggled. “Quit stressing about the wedding,” she said. “We promise we’ll help you get through it.”
    Madison gave Fiona a big hug. They walked over to a throng of partygoers setting up for karaoke. Drew stood on a chair telling people where to go and what to do. Elaine helped out by handing out song lists to the crowd.
    Madison ended up doing a karaoke song with Aimee, Fiona, and Elaine. They sang “Summer Nights” from Grease along with Drew, Egg, Chet, and Dan. Hart sat that one out, claiming a sudden attack of laryngitis.
    Mrs. Gillespie didn’t come back to pick the girls up until after five. Madison worried that she wouldn’t have time to get home and get dressed for her dinner with Dad and Stephanie.
    But she had plenty of time.
    She even had extra time, to open a new file.
Pairs

    Rude Awakening:
Usually it’s the bride and groom who get nervous before a wedding. How come I’m the one getting cold feet?
    All the times Dad and Stephanie hung out with me before getting engaged, I was okay with it. But sooner than soon the two of them will be hitched forever and I’m NOT okay with that. Why is everyone pairing off around me? I’m not a third wheel. I’m more like a flat tire.
    That’s even how I felt today at Drew’s pool party. Fiona paired off with Egg. Aimee paired off with Ben. Even Drew paired off with that girl Elaine. (P.S. where did she come from? Didn’t Aimee say that Drew liked me?)
    The only good thing about the party was that I didn’t have to see Poison Ivy. She’s always hanging all over Hart. And even though he claims they’re only friends, it seems like more to me! She acts like he belongs to her. Ugh.
    In a world of pairs, I’m living solo.

Chapter 4
    M ADISON CLUTCHED HER DINNER napkin tightly under the table.
    Dad was sitting on the banquette, holding Stephanie’s shoulder. Her brown hair shimmered in the candlelight.
    It was dinner for two. Except that Madison was there, too.
    Stephanie turned and bent down to reach her bag. She pulled out a small, wrapped package.
    “It’s for you,” she said, sliding it across the white tablecloth toward Madison.
    “Me?” Madison asked, taking the package in her hands. She peeled off one corner of tape and lifted out a small, dark-green, leather-bound book.
    “I had it monogrammed,” Stephanie said. She pointed to the front cover. There, in the corner, were Madison’s initials in beautiful script: MFF.
    “What’s it for?” Madison asked, still a little bewildered about the gift. She looked down at the title: Love Poems for the Ages.
    “What’s it for? Is that all you have to say, Maddie?” Dad asked.
    “Oh,” Madison said. “I’m sorry. Thank you, Stephanie.”
    “It’s actually a special gift for the wedding,” Stephanie explained. “You’ll see that one of the pages has been marked. That’s a sonnet your father and I picked