Page 2 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"Okay, Lauren, we have to move."

Before he could pull me to my feet, another explosion sent huge chunks of ceiling down on top of us. He grabbed pieces of plaster and wood and threw them to the side, then tried to get me up, but I couldn't put any weight on my foot.

"I can't," I said, crying with pain and fear. "I can't walk. Go. Get help."

His jaw tightened, and his eyes grew darker with determination. "There's no time for that."

"I can't walk."

"Then I better carry you."

"You can't carry me down eight flights of stairs."

He smiled. "Challenge accepted."

"What? Are you crazy?"

"Maybe so. But I feel like being a hero tonight."

He grabbed under my arms and pulled me up until I was standing on one foot. Then he lifted me up and over his shoulder as if I was as light as a feather, and I was definitely not that light.

As he moved toward the stairs, I hung on for dear life, terrified he would drop me, that we would both fall, or another explosion would block our way. Hanging almost upside down made my head hurt even more, and I got so dizzy I couldn't help but close my eyes, praying that this man would somehow be able to save both our lives.

Finally, a rush of cold air washed over me, followed by my rescuer yelling for help.

A pair of firefighters grabbed me and carried me to a waiting ambulance. As they laid me on a gurney, I looked around for the man who had saved me. I wanted to thank him for not leaving me, like so many people had in the past. But he was gone, and I didn't even know his name.

ChapterOne

Six months later…

His name was Andrew James Chadwick. And tomorrow I would be his wife. I would be Mrs. Andrew James Chadwick…No more single and solitary Lauren Gray.

I could hardly believe how much my life had changed since the fire, since I'd met Andrew, since I'd fallen in love with my rescuer. Now, we were getting married at the very resort I'd been writing marketing copy for six months earlier. Ironically, I was about to become the bride in the ad I'd created, the one I'd thought was impossibly perfect. I still couldn't quite believe it.

Nor could I believe that the Carrington Hospitality Group had decided to use my wedding as the launch for not only the marketing of our new resort on Catalina, the Carrington Coastal Retreat, but also the physical grand opening, which would happen on Wednesday, five days from now.

I'd not only met the man of my dreams; I was also getting the wedding of my dreams, thanks to the generosity of my employer, a family-run enterprise currently led by Victor Carrington, who had inherited the company from his father. Victor's son Bennett was a vice president in the company, although that seemed to be more of a title than an actual job. But both Bennett and Victor had signed off on using me and Andrew as the wedding couple in the campaign, and Victor, in particular, had moved a significant amount of money into the team budget to make everything first-class.

In charge of the actual wedding events was Jeanette Bilson a forty-something whirlwind of energy, sophistication, and determination. She'd spent ten years directing weddings for Hilton, and she was determined that my wedding events would be absolutely perfect. Because the wedding and resort marketing were tied together, Jeanette worked closely with my boss, Megan Farris, who was the senior director of marketing for the Carrington Hospitality Group. That meant I not only had to impress as the bride; I also had to do my job and represent my employer to the best of my ability.

Megan and Jeanette had their heads together now, standing by the bar in the five-star restaurant known as Bella Mar, which was the site of my rehearsal dinner. The restaurant was stunning, with floor-to-ceiling windows, elegant lamps on the tables, and discreetly placed sconces on the walls, adding soft light to the beautiful ocean-inspired art. While Andrew and I had invited twenty of our friends and family to the rehearsal dinner and the wedding tomorrow, the rest of the group at tonight's event included resort employees and media. That had added another fifty people to the guest list, most of whom I didn't know.

But that didn't matter. The only person I needed to know in this room was the tall, blond, very attractive man who was laughing with his two groomsmen at the far end of the bar. Andrew was so handsome. My gut clenched every time I saw him. I could hardly believe he was going to be my husband. I'd never dated anyone so good-looking, open, and outgoing. He was always the life of the party, and because I was with him, I'd become a lot more popular, too.

If someone had told me six months ago, I’d be standing here about to marry the man who had saved my life, I would have laughed and said they were crazy. Or maybe I would have cried because I'd been really sad before Andrew had rescued me. He hadn't just saved me from the fire; he'd saved me from my lonely, grief-ridden, workaholic life.

"He's just a man, Lauren," Harper said, coming up behind me. "Not a knight in shining armor."

I smiled at the knowing and cynical glint in my friend's hazel eyes. I'd met the tall, thin, very blonde, and very sarcastic Harper Miles on my first day of work at the Carrington Group a year and a half ago. While I was tasked with writing ad copy and developing art for marketing campaigns, Harper was an assistant director of guest experience, working with individual hotel managers to make sure there was consistency throughout the brand. Harper would be working with the on-site manager of guest experience at this new resort starting on Monday, but this weekend, she was one of my two bridesmaids.

My other bridesmaid, Jamie Trent, was also a coworker, but she was in the accounting department. Jamie and Harper had been friends long before they met me, but they'd included me in their lunches and after-work drinks, something I'd appreciated even more before I met Andrew.

"Seriously, Lauren, you're practically drooling," Harper added, rolling her eyes.

"Because I'm in love, and Andrew will always be my knight in shining armor. How could he not be? He saved my life."

"I know. I know." Harper gave a weary wave of her hand. "But that was months ago. What about when he leaves shoes on the bed or cuts his toenails while sitting on the couch watching football and drinking beer?" Harper challenged.

---