Page 28 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

Those words coming from his lips made it all sound so much worse than it had in her mind. She told herself it was fine that he knew about her past. She wasn’t ashamed of it. But she wasn’t proud of it either.

The heat pulsed up her neck and set her cheeks ablaze. “I… I never thought of it that way.”

The silence dragged on between them. She had no idea what he was thinking about her. She told herself it shouldn’t matter. All she needed him to do was his job and finish the chapel on time.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was so soft the words were nearly carried away in the breeze.

She questioned whether she’d heard those words at all. When she chanced a glance at him, he was looking at her with pity. The breath caught in her throat.

She swallowed hard. “Why are you sorry?”

He shrugged. “It couldn’t have been an easy decision for you.”

Really? She was caught off guard by his words—by his sympathy, but she had to correct him. “You don’t understand. It wasn’t me that called off the wedding.”

“Oh.”

She shrugged. “Even though it was the worst timing, it was for the best.”

“You didn’t love him?”

“Not like I should have if I was going to give up all of my dreams to spend the rest of my life with him.”

Logan nodded. “It’s good the wedding was called off. Otherwise, you might have ended up divorced like me.”

“I can’t even imagine how painful that must be.” When she got married, she wanted it to last forever. “Josh, my ex, knew all along what he wanted—a farm of his own, a devoted wife, and a couple of kids.”

“And you didn’t want that?”

“My life had been planned out for me practically from the time we started dating in high school. It was assumed that I would marry a farmer just like the other women in my family.”

“And you wanted something different?”

“I’d always dreamed of trying a different life—one near the ocean. My mother would tell me it was fine to daydream when I was young, but there came a time when I had to grow up and face reality. Josh was my reality, she told me. He was a good guy—at least I thought so at the time.”

“So, if he hadn’t called off the wedding, would you have gone through with it?”

She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I guess I would have. It’s what was expected, and even though I’d had some pretty cold feet, I didn’t have an alternate plan for my life.”

“Are you happy now?”

She nodded and smiled. “Very much so. I love working with Clara. I’ve learned so much about the wedding business.”

“Is this the future you wanted?”

She hesitated. Was this it? Did she have everything she wanted? She still had the feeling there was something missing, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it might be.

Not wanting to sound like someone who was unsure about everything, she said, “Yes. I love my job. I hope to keep it for a long time. And that’s why we need to make sure to get the renovations done on time.”

He wadded up his napkin and tossed it into the bag. “Then I better get going. Mabel is expecting me and then I need to get back to work.”

Oh no. She hadn’t meant to rush off. “Don’t go. Not yet.” Feeling flustered, she reached for the bag of food and peered inside. “There’s some more to eat. You didn’t eat your fruit cup.”

He shook his head. “Thank you but I’m full. I really appreciate all of this. It was so much better than my bologna sandwich.” He glanced down at the blanket. “Can I help you clean up?”

There wasn’t much to do. “I’ve got it.”

Before Brooke could say more, his phone rang. He withdrew it from his pocket and checked the caller ID. “It’s one of my suppliers. I really need to get this.” He got to his feet. “Thanks again for lunch.”

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