Page 9 of Escaping with the Mountain Man

“What about Matthew?” Tammie asked. I turned back to my former friend, who definitely had judgy eyes directed at me. “Don’t you think you owe it to him to talk to him?”

“He left.”

The voice behind me seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. When I turned, letting go of Derek’s hand, I saw Makenna from the reception desk. She held a small purple sticky note in her right hand, which she was extending toward me.

“I was asked to give you this message,” she said. “He and his family just checked out.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking her as she walked away. When I turned back to face my mom and friend, a small crowd had gathered behind them.

“What does it say?” my Aunt Millie asked, peering down at the note with amusement.

I held it up for anyone interested to read. “It’s an address,” I replied. “The note says ‘return ring to Colt Jewelers.’”

Aunt Millie shook her head. “Well, I’ll be darned. I knew that boy was after Sadie’s family’s money. Y’all wouldn’t listen to me, though.”

“Hush, Millie,” Mom interjected. “Why don’t we go back to the room and discuss this privately?” She then shifted her gaze to me. “It’s a family matter.”

I shook my head. “I love you, Mom, and I appreciate your concern, but this is my life, and this time I’m standing on my own two feet. If I do get married, it will be to a man who loves me for me. Matthew never loved me, and I never loved him either. Love is the only reason to get married.”

“You’ve got that right,” Aunt Millie said. “Marriage is hard enough. It’ll never survive without love.”

That was why Aunt Millie had always been one of my favorite relatives. She spoke her mind, and like me, she didn’t place a high priority on money. It was nice, sure, but I’d rather be happy in a small town surrounded by people who liked me for me than at the country club every Friday night, surrounded by people who knew nothing about me and couldn’t care less if I lived or died.

Aunt Millie gave me a wink as I reached for Derek’s hand, clasping it tightly. His fingers immediately entwined with mine, giving me another squeeze. He hadn’t said anything since we entered, but just standing here next to me was enough.

It was exactly what I needed, in fact. I had to do this on my own. I had to stand up to my family and anyone else who thought I was wrong for walking out on Matthew at the altar.

Someday, they’d all look back and realize it had been the smartest thing I could have done. But for now, at least Aunt Millie and Derek got it.

“Let’s go get my belongings from my room,” I told him.

I looked over at Tammie. As my maid of honor, she was in charge of making sure I had everything I needed. I had one last duty for her before I exited this building.

“Could you grab my purse and phone from the bridal room and leave it at the front desk?” I nodded toward the receptionist. “Makenna will make sure I get it. Leave it with her, and I’ll grab it on my way out.”

I didn’t wait for her answer. Instead, I turned and tugged on my man’s hand, leading him from the room and toward the front desk, where I could get a key to grab my belongings.

EPILOGUE

DEREK

Iwalked through the door Sunday night to find my wife of three years wearing a cheerleading costume. Three years, and my dick still got hard instantly at the sight of her wearing next to nothing.

She’d played dress up before—usually with an especially sexy piece of lingerie. I was used to her surprising me randomly when I came home from my job on my buddy Travis’s construction crew, but this was a random mid-April Sunday night, so I definitely hadn’t been expecting it.

“Summer’s coming,” she said, uncrossing her legs and crossing them again.

She sat on the table, a pair of pompoms on her lap. Was she wearing panties under that skirt? She shifted so quickly, I hadn’t gotten a look.

I tossed my keys onto the table next to the door and whipped off my jacket, letting it fall to the floor. There were more important things than being neat and tidy right now. In fact, dirtying things up was what I had in mind.

“Where’d you get the uniform?” I asked, noting the big M on the front.

“Ashlynn got these for all the wives,” Sadie said, poking out her chest. “We thought we’d wear them this summer at the games.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of everyone checking out my wife, but who was I kidding? Most of the men at those games were happily married.

“Maybe you should do a little cheer for me,” I said, stopping several feet from her. “Show me what you’ve got.”

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