Page 30 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

He moved to the doorway and peered outside, hoping to see Brooke. There was no sight of her anywhere. Disappointment assailed him again.

He was starting to realize that both Henry and Dylan might be right. He was more interested in Brooke than he wanted to admit. Maybe what he needed to do was go out with her. He highly doubted they’d be compatible. One date and he’d get her out of his system.

The only problem was he didn’t have her number. He would have thought after more than two weeks, he would have gotten it, but he hadn’t.

“What’s wrong?” Clara asked.

He glanced over at her. “Wrong?”

“Yes, you have a frown on your face.” Clara’s eyes lit up. “Were you hoping I was Brooke?”

“Uh…” What was he supposed to say to that? His instinct was to deny it, but that wouldn’t help him with his goal. “Maybe. You wouldn’t be willing to give me her number, would you?”

Clara’s smile broadened. “I thought you’d never ask.” She reached for her phone and moved her fingers over the screen. “I sent it to you. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear from you.”

He wanted to ask if she was serious, but he didn’t have the nerve. She might have just been polite. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t hurry. I just want to look around.”

He stepped into the parking lot. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to say. After all, for all he knew she could be seeing someone. He should have asked her when they’d had their picnic lunch, but he’d been so nervous that he’d totally forgotten.

He placed the call before he talked himself out of it. The phone rang once before he heard Brooke’s sweet voice on the other end.

“Hi.” He swallowed hard. “It’s Logan.”

“Oh, hi.”

In that moment his mind drew a total blank. His mouth grew dry, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. All the while his heart was pounding against his ribs. He wasn’t sure what to say.

“Did Clara make it over there?” Brooke’s cheerful voice reminded him of her sunny smiles.

“Um… Yes. She just got here.”

“I see. Did you have a question for me?” It was like she read his mind.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” He hesitated.

After a moment of silence, she said, “What is it?”

“I was wondering if you’d want to have dinner on Friday evening?”

There was a distinct pause. “Dinner? Sure.”

And then he had an attack of nerves. “Kaylie will be excited to see you again. I have her this week. Will that be a problem?” He’d gone from not knowing what to say to rambling. “I could see if my mother could take her.”

“It’s no problem. Where should we meet?”

They worked out the details. After he disconnected the call, he hung his head. A family dinner wasn’t what he’d had in mind. And yet he’d panicked when it came to asking her out on a real, one-on-one date.

He didn’t know why he’d had such a reaction. She was far from the first woman he’d asked out. And yet there was something about this invitation that was different than the rest—something that gave him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach—not a bad feeling but one he wasn’t used to.

At least now he’d get to see her again. It was going to be a long forty-eight plus hours until their date. Just wait until he told Kaylie; she’d be so excited.

Tonight was their date.

Friday evening, Brooke had changed her clothes multiple times. There was now a pile of discarded clothes heaped on her bed. With them dining at his house, she knew she should wear something casual, but she didn’t want him to think she didn’t take his invitation seriously.

She tried jeans and shorts, T-shirts and blouses. None of the outfits seemed right. At last, she settled for a light-blue cotton skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. She paired it with a white ruffled sleeveless blouse. On her feet she chose a pair of yellow and blue flowered canvas tennis shoes. It was a cute outfit without being too serious.

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