Page 85 of The Trouble with Runaway Brides

She stares at me for a beat before she laughs.

“I’m not joking. It’s bigger than our little love shack and all I need is you, babe.” I tug her into me. “Let’s get what you need. I can hire movers to pack you up and bring the rest over later.”

She raises her eyebrows. “We’re going to do it ourselves. Blake is on his way over with boxes and tape.”

Blake and Geoff returned the day after Kenzie’s wedding was supposed to happen because Geoff had an in-office meeting he had to attend.

“Oh. You know I have business to get to.” I take my hands off her.

She grabs my shirt, pulling me back to her. “No, you don’t. This is real life. Real-life people move themselves.”

“But… you don’t have to anymore.”

She blows out a breath. “We need to have a conversation.”

“What?”

She cradles my face with her hands and tips my head down toward her. It’s a bad sign when she’s not rising up on her tiptoes to kiss me. “I want to pay my share. I’m not going to be some freeloader living off you. And when we get married, I’ll sign a prenup.”

I shake my head.

“Yes, Lance. You are not going to marry me without me signing a prenup. That’s just stupid.”

“What’s mine is yours. If you divorce me, then you get half the money. But we all know you’re never going to divorce me.” I laugh and she shoves me away, walking into her kitchen.

“I’m not going to, but what if I lose my mind or get brainwashed into a cult or some weird crap?” She pulls dishes out of her cupboard.

Is she serious about this whole packing thing?

“No prenup. Now let’s christen your bedroom.” I take her hand and drag her toward the bedroom, but her buzzer goes off.

“My sore pussy is saved by the buzzer.” She frees herself from me and heads to the intercom.

It’s Blake, so she presses the button to let him up. A few minutes later, Blake knocks on the door and walks in with Geoff right behind him.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Blake says. “Congratulations.” He hugs Kenzie, and Geoff wraps his arms around them.

They each shake my hand, then we sit around talking shit for too long. Blake helps me with trying to convince Kenzie that she should let movers pack her up. I think she’s wavering a bit. Who wants to pack up their apartment if they don’t have to?

“We need to record a new podcast. Listeners are leaving messages about the wedding being called off.”

She looks over me and I hold up my hands. Then she turns to Blake. “Tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.” Blake stands. “And hey, if you two move to Lake Starlight, let us know?”

“I can’t move, silly. You live here, and we’re partners.” She’s putting on a brave face, but I know as well as she does that she could make it work. She really wants to be back in Lake Starlight.

“You have access to a private jet now. You can fly in once a week and record, or they have this new thing called technology. We don’t actually have to be in the same room to record anymore.”

Kenzie rolls her eyes. “Har har.”

“The real reason I’m asking is it turns out Geoff loves small towns,” Blake says.

“What, are you going to move in with my mom?” Kenzie laughs.

Geoff honestly looks offended. “She’s one hell of a mahjong player.”

Kenzie wraps her arms around my stomach. “We’ll let you know, but we’re here. This is where Lance’s job is.”

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