Page 24 of The Billionaire's Runaway Bride

“How are you, Lauren?” she gushes. “I’ve been so worried about you and hoping you’d reach out.”

“Of course, I would. I wanted to leave my parents and him. Never you.”

She sighs.

“I wound up in a small mountain town.” While I trust Aubrey, I’m scared to speak actual names. Once they’re out there, who knows how I could be traced. “A woman at a B&B took me in and gave me a groundskeeping job with room and board.”

She giggles. “Groundskeeping? I can’t picture it.”

I flex my arms, feeling the burn. “Me neither. But I could picture myself as Mrs. Jeremy Klein even less.”

“Me too. Me too. You’re safe? Happy?”

I smile. I really am. “Yes. If annoyed at times.”

“Without money?”

“Oh, no. I’m getting paid. Marian, the owner of the B&B, is more than generous.”

“Then what?”

I sigh, thinking back to the memory of Caleb climbing up that rock, soaking wet with his eyes on me.

“One of the guests, Caleb. He’s a certain A-word.”

“An asshole?”

Attractive.

“No. Annoying.”

“Eh. Screw him.”

Not helping, Aubrey. Because I could see myself going weak and considering sleeping with the infuriating man.

“You’ve already met a lifetime quota of annoying assholes, girl. Have you looked up what they’re saying online since you got this burner phone?”

I giggle. “It’s not a burner phone. I’m not in the freaking Witness Protection Program. It’s just a new phone that I’ll keep private from them.”

“Well, I’ll give you the TL, DR. Your parents and Jeremy were furious.”

I cringe. “Did they take it out on you?”

“Oh, no. I escaped too. I faked that sudden illness thing until one of your cousins got so worried they called an ambulance.”

“Aubrey, that’s awful! What if someone needed that ambulance?”

“Then they would’ve had it. I told the paramedics to drop me off outside the vineyard and then I tracked my car to the bus station. Simple. Anyway, I heard they were livid and hurried to make up a story.”

I smirk at the tabletop and drum my fingers. “This should be interesting.”

“They’re telling everyone the wedding isn’t canceled, but postponed. They want to save face, so it doesn’t look like you jilted Jeremy. Jilted Jeremy. What an alliteration.” She giggles, then sobers right back up. “They’re making excuses to save their reputations.”

“Can’t he get a hint?” I snap.

“Clearly not. They’re saying you became ill and have some disease or sickness, and that’s why you’re lying low for a while.”

“Unbelievable.”

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