Page 9 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

His dark brows rose. “How do you know my name?” A moment passed, and the surprise eased from his handsome face. “You saw it on the cup at the coffee shop, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t. But I am here to meet with a Logan. My name is Brooke.” She went to hold out her hand to him, hesitated, and then lowered her arm.

“A meeting?”

“Yes. It appears we’re going to be working together.”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything, as though she’d actually stunned him. In fact, his mouth moved, but no words came out. She struggled not to smile. She didn’t want him to misconstrue her amusement as her being happy about spending time with him. Nothing could be further from the truth.

He shook his head. “I’m not working with you.”

Clara was counting on Brooke to make this all work. If he was to quit, there would be no chance of getting the chapel renovated in time for Clara and Andrew’s wedding.

Buzz-buzz.

The man held up a finger as he reached for his phone. He pressed it to his ear and walked to the other end of the chapel. “Wait. I can’t hear you.”

As he moved away, she couldn’t make out what he was saying, other than a couple of grunts. Not that she was trying to eavesdrop, but the chapel wasn’t that big, and his voice did echo.

She retrieved her phone from her purse and once more checked her email. To her surprise and relief, nothing new had come in since she’d last perused it. Clara had promised that work would be light until after her whirlwind wedding, and she’d been true to her word.

But it was more than just the wedding. This year Clara was not only planning to get married but also to break ground to build the Perky Pink Wedding World. It would be like a wedding village that would have little shops off to the side of the wedding chapel from dresses to wedding cakes and a few stops in between. It was going to be amazing.

The man ended his call and started for the exit.

He’s leaving? Now. They hadn’t even talked.

She rushed after him and came to a stop in front of him. “Where are you going?”

“I have to go.” His tone was terse.

She wasn’t about to let herself be intimidated by his bad mood. “Going where? We have to discuss the renovation.”

“Something came up.” He stepped around her and kept going with long, quick strides.

She pressed her hands into her sides. “When are you coming back?”

“Tomorrow.”

Slack-jawed she watched him walk out the door. Didn’t he realize the short amount of time they had to fix up the chapel? Obviously not or he wouldn’t be leaving before he even got started working. Clara made a mistake by hiring this guy. A big mistake. And now it was Brooke’s problem.

Chapter Three

“Daddy, play with me.”

Early the next morning Logan paused from where he was draping drop cloths over the benches in the wedding chapel. With his daughter in tow, they’d been up and out of the house by six-thirty. On a normal workday, he made a point of starting work at seven, allowing him to finish up early.

Lucky for him Mabel, who watched over the chapel, had noticed him pull into the parking lot. She’d made her way to his pickup.

From what he’d gleaned from his brief conversation with Mabel, she didn’t have any children to hand the chapel down to. She’d gotten to know Clara when the chapel was rented for weddings. Over time, they’d grown close. And now Mabel had sold the chapel to Clara and her fiancé.

Mabel also told him that she’d spoken to Clara the prior evening and was asked to provide him with a spare key to the chapel. After Mabel was on her way, he proceeded to get Kaylie settled in the chapel with her toys around her. He’d set to work scraping paint and figuring out what pieces of trim work would need to be replaced.

He paused to glance at his daughter, who was playing with her building blocks in the front of the chapel. He’d been keeping a close eye on her. “I can’t I have work to do.”

“Please.” She pleaded with her eyes.

All he wanted to do in that moment was to make her happy. “What are you making?”

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