Page 6 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

As she attempted to wipe his pant leg, he jerked back. “What are you doing?”

“I’m helping.”

“I don’t need your help.” His voice vibrated with agitation.

Her arm hesitated in midair. Then she changed tactics. She reached for the now-empty cup on the floor, and then used the napkins to sop up the spilled coffee.

The man was busy wiping the coffee from the top of his boots. A low rumbling emanated from him as he attempted to dry his faded jeans that now had a brown stain. Her gaze flickered to him. “Here.” She held out the extra napkins. “I’ll get you more.”

“Just go.” His voice was deep with a note of agitation.

At that moment one of the workers rolled over a mop and bucket. Brooke straightened. She wasn’t sure what else to do. She felt bad about the mess, but it wasn’t all her fault. He’d let go of the cup at the same time she did, but he didn’t appear willing to admit to his part in the accident.

When the man straightened, his gaze settled on her. His dark eyes acted like a shield—keeping outsiders at bay. It made her all the more curious about him. She wanted to learn the secrets he had lurking just beneath the surface. What had caused him to wear that frown like body armor?

The slap of the wet mop on the tile floor startled her back to reality. She gave herself a mental shake. What was wrong with her? Why in the world would she be interested in such a grouchy man, no matter how good-looking he was?

Seeing as there was nothing more for her to do there, she turned on her coffee-stained heels and left. She refused to dwell on that stubborn man.

It wasn’t until she reached her car that she realized she’d walked out of the coffee shop without anything to drink. She sighed. There was absolutely no way she was going back. Not a chance.

She drove to the office, where their new receptionist, Heather Wise, was working at the front desk. They exchanged good mornings, and then Brooke made her way to the single-serve coffee machine and filled it with water. It definitely wouldn’t be as good as Lacy’s java, but it would do.

As she waited for her coffee to brew, her thoughts returned to the man with the deep voice. He was very easy on the eyes. Too bad he wasn’t friendly. Not that any of it mattered. It was the first time she’d seen him there and most likely the last time too.

Chapter Two

It was supposed to be a relaxing morning.

Logan Montgomery had been able to sleep in because his meeting wasn’t until nine. He’d dropped his daughter off at preschool. Everything had been going smoothly until he’d stopped for coffee…

He inwardly groaned as his thoughts strayed to the annoying woman from the coffee shop. First, she tried to steal his coffee. And then she had the nerve to try to yank the cup from him and ended up spilling the coffee all over him. He hadn’t let on to her, but the hot beverage really had hurt.

Sure, she might be good-looking—some might even consider her to be beautiful. And the way her long lashes framed her emerald green eyes was quite captivating. Not that he was interested or anything. As a single dad, his life was quite full without re-entering the dating scene. Not that he would ever entertain asking the woman from the coffeehouse out on a date. He could only imagine what a disaster that would be.

He pulled his pickup into the parking lot of the Seabreeze Wedding Chapel. He slowed down, giving himself a chance to take in the little chapel. He loved the spacious property.

There was a classic charm to the weathered building, but it could definitely use a fresh coat of white paint. As well as a new roof. He’d already reached out to some subcontractors to tackle those items.

The more he looked at the weathered building, the more he regretted agreeing to the accelerated timeline for the renovations. The owner wanted the entire building, both inside and out, to have a facelift in a matter of weeks. Eight weeks to be exact.

He’d been more focused on the bonus he’d been offered if he could complete the project by the end of May. It would mean he could pay his back bills and not have to work quite as much. He would be able to spend more quality time with his little girl, and that was everything.

So, if temporarily working every single day as he bounced between his firefighter duties and running his own contractor business for the next several weeks would make life better for his four-year-old daughter, Kaylie, as well as himself, then he would do it. He hoped that nothing unexpected came up during the renovation. Although, he’d been in this business long enough to know that the unexpected was to be expected with any job. Maybe if he was lucky the problems that did creep up wouldn’t be big.

He got out of his truck. A gust of wind rushed past him. It was much windier out here on the coast.

He glanced around. Clara had mentioned that someone would be there to meet him and let him inside the building. There wasn’t another vehicle in the lot. Hopefully, they hadn’t forgotten about their meeting as he didn’t have any keys to the building and he wanted to get started right away.

He might as well inspect the outside of the building—again. It’d been a while since he was here. And though he had made detailed notes, he wanted to refresh his memory.

He grabbed a pen and notebook as well as his coffee. With a push, the door of his truck creaked shut. In long strides, he approached the chapel.

The most stunning aspect of the chapel was its location. It stood at the top of a bluff that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. He could definitely understand the reason they wanted to fix up the place.

He walked slowly around the building. He noted all the things that had to be done. He would compare this list to the prior one to see what he’d overlooked. This job was too important not to get the details right.

And quite honestly, he loved the architecture of the chapel. It had a uniqueness all its own, with its wall of windows facing the ocean. Even the sides of the building had a large number of tall windows.

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