Page 17 of Rule Breakers Fall Hardest

I point a finger at her. “Facts.”

I ignoreDaire as he tries to flag me down outside of my class. I’m not in the mood to deal with him. I’m blaming it on my period, but honestly, just looking at his face makes me angry on a good day.

I cut down the hall on my right, taking a shortcut with the hope of losing my husband-to-be in the process.

Unfortunately, there’s one person in the world more stubborn than I am, and I’m marrying him.

I’m not the praying kind, but if I were, I’d be begging for all the strength and patience in the world right now. I’ll need it to get through this impending marriage.

“Rosie!”

Ugh.

I come to a stop, and when he catches up, I cock my head to the side. “Yes? I have another class to get to.”

“Did you not see me waiting for you?” He swings one arm around, gesturing behind us. “I need to talk to you.”

“About what?” I stick my hands on my hips. “I really do have to get to class.”

I have time, but not for him and his infuriatingly good-looking face.

He grips my wrist so I can’t run away again. Smart man. His touch is firm but warm. “We need to get our marriage license,” he whispers, looking around to make sure we’re out of earshot of the students coming and going. “I want to go today.”

“Today?” That simple sentence has my heart rate accelerating so violently I think I might pass out.

I knew this was coming, and soon, but now? Perhaps, subconsciously, I had an inkling, and that’s why my natural reaction was to run when I noticed him.

“Yes, today. We need the license before we can have the ceremony.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat, panic threatening to suffocate me.

Is this what a panic attack feels like?

“Rosie?” There’s true concern in his voice.

I suck in a sharp, shallow breath. “Mhm?”

“Are you okay?”

“Just having a smidge of a panic attack.” I take another breath, this one a little deeper. I no longer even remotely resemble the girl who wroteMrs. Rosie Hendricksover and over again in my notebooks when I was a teenager, like I could somehow will it into existing.

I guess I did.Huh. Just not in the way I wanted.

His blue eyes widen. “You’re not backing out on me, are you?”

“No, I… this is a big deal, okay?” I push my hair out of my eyes and focus on taking another breath. “All of this… the proposal, getting married at the courthouse, looks nothing like what I always wished for, you know?”

I’ve been doing my best to delude myself into thinking this whole thing isn’t happening, but here he is, confronting me with solid evidence. We’re doing this thing. Thisthingbeing marriage.

He rubs slow, soothing circles against the pulse point on the inside of my wrist with his thumb. “I can’t keep apologizing to you.”

“I know.” I lower my head and study the shiny tiles beneath my boots.

He exhales heavily and squeezes a little tighter. “I need you, Rosie. But if you need to walk away from this, I’ll…” He looks away, jaw pulsing. “I’ll understand.”

It’s the first time since the fiasco in my dorm that he’s voiced his reluctant agreement that I can say no.

It would be easy too.

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