Page 7 of The Trouble with Runaway Brides

If I have my wedding in Lake Starlight, at Lance’s dad’s hotel, I’m probably going to see quite a bit of Lance. And if I’m honest with myself, part of the attraction of having it in Alaska is that I’d be able to reconnect with Brinley.

“Did you hear back from your dad?” I ask, changing the subject.

“I messaged our venue coordinator, and surprisingly, we’re open. So, if you really do want your wedding there, I’ll send you her info.”

“Great. Let me talk to Will.”

For the rest of the ride, our heads are buried in our phones.

The cab drops me off first and we do the whole “do we hug or not” thing, but ultimately I do hug him. “Thanks for everything.”

“Sure,” he says. “Bye, Kenzie.”

His bye comes across like he really means, Bye, I never want to see you again. Maybe the wedding in Lake Starlight is a bad idea, but now that it’s in my head, I can’t stop thinking of how much more romantic it will be without the press breathing down our necks. Even if I’m not marrying the man I always imagined I would be there.

Three

Lance

Kenzie and I have the most awkward hug imaginable before she exits the cab. One of those hugs where you purposely keep all your private areas at a distance and pat the other person’s back.

Then a guy yells to her from the sidewalk, “About time!”

She steps out of the cab and my gaze follows her to where she hugs a guy much differently, but still not in a loving way. He’s not her fiancé, Will. It’s Blake, her podcast partner, which I only know because they now have billboards on buses and bus benches. It’s always a real treat to see the woman who broke your heart passing you in traffic.

They laugh and Blake opens the door to the building, but after she’s inside, his eyes find mine. I nod and he smirks, shaking his head and following her inside.

I’m not more than two minutes away when my phone buzzes with a text from a number I no longer keep in my phone but one I memorized a long time ago.

Unknown Number: Sorry, I should have asked if you’re okay with me having the wedding in Lake Starlight…

Me: It’s fine.

Unknown Number: Are you sure?

Me: Yes. Going into a meeting now.

Unknown Number: Okay. Thanks again.

I don’t respond because I don’t want to keep this line of communication open. I’ve done my part and will set her up with the right person at Glacier Point to arrange her wedding, and now I’m out.

But as the taxi drives me to my office, my mind can’t help but wander back to years ago when things were so different.

I was just over fifteen when I started seeing girls differently. I was a late bloomer, or maybe I was so immersed in academics and becoming class president that I never bothered to notice them in that way. But one night, my mom was having a birthday party for my dad and Brinley brought Kenzie along. They’d been best friends since elementary school and up until then, I’d only ever thought of Kenzie as Brinley’s friend. She was wearing a jean skirt and a tank top with red and yellow flowers. I’m not even sure exactly why, but my body buzzed and reacted immediately the minute I saw her.

“Stop drooling, man.” Easton elbowed me as we stood in line to get food.

My mom had had the food brought in from the Glacier Point restaurant, as always, because she rarely had time to cook. Her business had taken off once my grandfather put all her essential oil products in their hotels, so she was always busy.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I scooped up some of the pasta salad and put it on my plate.

“You have a thing for Kenzie,” he whispered in a typical Easton whisper, which meant five people around us looked at me.

“No, I don’t, and stop talking.”

He grabbed two burgers and a hot dog on top of the heaping spoons of pasta salad already on his plate. Then he caught me staring. “What? I’m a growing boy.”

We went outside, away from Kenzie and Brinley, because they were playing with our younger cousins in the family room, letting their parents eat before they would.

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