Page 36 of Kiss the Bride

She stared at her fingers. “What was that?”

“What was what?” He peered down at her, confusion tightening the skin around his eyes.

“Nothing. I must’ve jammed my finger.” He hadn’t felt the same thing she had. She pretended to examine her hand. The move bought her enough time to shake off her disappointment.

“You okay? Where would you like these?”

“What? Oh, yeah.” Her hand fell to her side, and she peered up at the man who stood, his arms filled with boxes and envelopes. “Anywhere.” She pointed to a bare spot on a nearby workbench. “Sorry for the mess. It’s not usually like this. Well, it is, but not this bad. Things have kind of gotten out of control the last couple of weeks. But I’ll get …” She trailed off when Ryan stood rooted to the spot, a silly grin stretched across his face.

“Have you forgotten we grew up together? You’ve always been a little on the disorganized side.”

“Hey! I resent that.” She propped her hands on her hips. “This may look like a mess, but I know exactly where everything is.”

“Don’t get your feathers in a bunch,” he said over his retreating shoulder. “I’ve always considered it part of your charm.”

At that, she straightened. “You think I’m charming?” she asked, hating the doubt that laced her tone.

“Yeah, of course. Everybody does, don’t they?”

She sighed. And here she’d thought he might, just might, consider her special. Wrong again, Heart. So why had he shown up in her office? “Did you need something? Besides to concede you’ve lost our bet?”

“You wish,” he said, giving her that smile that always made her stomach flutter. Unfortunately, his lips quickly straightened. When they did, concern etched its way across his brow. “Seriously, though. You got a minute? I’d like to get your advice on something.”

“Funny you should say that. I was hoping to pick your brain about a couple of things that happened today.” Motioning him into the chair he’d so nicely emptied, she shoved things aside on her desk until she had room to sit on the corner.

“Ladies first?” Ryan asked.

She grinned, loving the way his lips quirked as if he knew she’d argue. She wouldn’t disappoint him. “I went first last time. It’s your turn.”

Her abdomen tightened as Ryan filled her in on his discussion with Daniel at Tux or Tails. When he finished, she felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.

“He can’t be serious.” Daniel’s idea was so preposterous, she didn’t quite know where to begin. “He loves Brianna. He wouldn’t walk out on the wedding, would he?”

“I’m pretty sure he’d have the decency to call things off before the big day.” Ryan held up a hand, halting her mid-protest. “I know—it doesn’t make sense. But you have to admire his willingness to sacrifice his happiness for hers.”

“Yeah, but …” She cupped her head in her hands and groaned out loud. “How can he possibly think she’d be better off without him? Men can be so dumb.” She gave Ryan her most direct stare.

“You say that like you’ve never done something you regretted later.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that one. I’ve made my share of mistakes,” she admitted. “To be honest, Daniel’s not the only one poised on the brink of doing the wrong thing. Brianna’s thinking along the same lines, but for different reasons. She thinks Daniel deserves someone stronger, someone more suited to becoming the wife of a Marine.”

Ryan’s lips pulled down at the corners. “She doesn’t resent his commitment, does she?”

“No. Just the opposite.” She rushed to clarify before he got the wrong idea. “Brianna thinks Daniel practically walks on water. She’s honored he’s chosen to serve his country. But she doesn’t want to drag him down. Right now, the only way she can see to prevent that is by refusing to marry him.”

“Hmm.” Ryan cupped his chin in his hand. “It sounds like they both have the best of intentions, but they’ve drawn the same wrong conclusion.”

“If we don’t stop them, the situation is only going to get worse, not better.” She didn’t doubt that for a second.

“You’re right. The last thing they need to do is to walk away from love.”

Evelyn sighed. How had their Wedding-in-a-Week couple gotten so confused? Love meant finding your soul mate and building a life with them. Making a home. Raising a family. She wanted that. Didn’t everyone?

She paused for a quick peek at Ryan. There’d been a time when she’d thought he might be her Mr. Right. He checked all the boxes—smart, driven, independent, caring. He laughed at her lame jokes. He even thought her worst flaws were charming. It also didn’t hurt that looking at him made her heart race. Like she had a dozen times over the years, she wondered why they’d drifted apart instead of growing closer. If things had been different between them, who knew—maybe they’d be planning their own Heart’s Landing wedding instead of helping Brianna and Daniel with theirs.

“So how are we going to do that?”

Ryan’s voice hauled her back to the problem at hand. She slouched forward. “I have no idea.”

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