Page 18 of The Trouble with Runaway Brides

He holds up both his hands. “I’m just saying.”

Jenny is quick to interrupt. “My parents have been married happily for forty years.”

“Wow! That’s a great accomplishment.” Blake smiles and hits the button for the “woo-hoo” sound effect that’s usually reserved for when we find a place that’s great for finding love.

“My dad and I walked, and when we reached the end of the aisle, my dad raised my veil and kissed my cheek before he signaled with his hand that he was giving me over to him, but when I walked forward, I just continued and didn’t stop. I don’t know exactly what came over me—panic, fear, being overwhelmed? The murmurs started, then my mom shouted my name, my fiancé called out for me, but I never turned around. I stepped into the wet sand, right into the water, and kept going until it got so deep that I had to swim.”

“That can’t have been easy in a wedding gown,” I say with a chuckle, and Jenny smiles.

“I don’t even really remember it, honestly. The waves kept coming at me and bringing me closer to shore, but I kept thinking, ‘I need to escape and make it all disappear.’ Ultimately, I ended up on the shore about half a mile down.”

“Oh, darling,” Blake says.

“Yeah, not my finest moment.”

I hold up my hand to stop her. “Should we call in the husband now or wait? What do you think, listeners? Did she end up with her childhood sweetheart, the mystery man from the bar, or someone completely different? We’ll reveal all after this word from our sponsors.”

Blake takes care of all the buttons and Jenny shivers as if she’s cold.

“Do you need a sweater or something?” I ask.

“No. No. It’s just embarrassing telling that story. I mean…” She shrugs.

“You’re happy now, right?”

She rests her hand on her pregnant belly. “Very much.”

I follow the movement of her hand circling her stomach and smile. “Then that’s all that matters. Love can conquer all, huh?”

She nods. “We like to think so.”

“Okay. Well, this isn’t live, so it’s not like we have a real word from our sponsors going. Do you want anything before I bring in Pete?”

She shakes her head and picks up her water cup. “No, this is good.”

“Okay. Blake, send in Pete, please.”

Blake stands and opens his door, then the door to the room Jenny and I are in opens. Her face lights up and her cheeks redden when her husband takes the chair next to her.

Pete puts his hand on hers and squeezes. “You did amazing.”

“Thanks.”

He’s in jeans and a plaid long-sleeve shirt with a sweater-vest. Definitely doesn’t scream Iowa, but I learned a long time ago, after living in Alaska, never to stereotype a state. “Hi, Pete, I’m Kenzie and that’s Blake.”

“Nice to meet you both.” He puts on the headset resting on the table in front of him.

“You guys ready?” I ask.

They both nod.

“All right, listeners, now’s the part where we get to the happy ever after.”

Blake presses the button for the drum roll sound effect.

“I’d like to introduce all of you to Pete Twerdles. Nice to meet you, Pete. Thanks for coming on and for supporting Jenny’s desire to write in.”

“Well, we got a free trip to New York, so it’s worth it.”

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