Page 69 of The Wedding Wrecker

"Because I care about you," I said finally.

Something in her expression softened, then closed off. "Right. Like you cared about me in Ireland?"

The words felt like a slap. "Emma?—"

"No, it's fine. I get it." She pushed away from me, wincing slightly. "This is just fun, right? Nothing serious. Nothing worth fighting for."

She started climbing back up the embankment before I could respond, leaving me with an ache in my chest and the lingering warmth of her body against mine. Those words…

Nothing worth fighting for.

It made me realize what I’d done wrong at the taco shop. When she asked me about whether some obstacles were possible to overcome, I’d shut it down almost immediately. My mind was on Katie and how doomed that had been from the start—on all the weddings I’d wrecked because I judged the problems between the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be as terminal. But she hadn’t been talking about Katie, had she?

Damn it, James. You big idiot…

By the time I made it back to the group, she was already in the SUV with Lily. For some unknown reason, Richard took my spot and Emma made no attempt to get him to move, so I was left to ride with Dick and the muscle brothers.

Perfect.

The rest of the wildlife tour passed in a blur. I was too busy replaying Emma's words, trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong. When had "keeping things casual" turned into whatever this was?

And why did watching her pull away feel like losing something vital?

We rolled back into the resort around sundown and even the stuffy Wellington clan was buzzing with energy after the tour. Between mountain views, various animal sightings, and some interesting stories, the tour had been a hit with them. Now, though, everybody was excited to get back into the warm resort, grab a few drinks, dinner, and get back to their rooms.

All I wanted was to clear things up with Emma, though.

I jogged after her, catching her as soon as she broke off from a conversation with her mom.

"Emma, wait."

"I have work to do." But she didn't pull away.

"Let me take you to dinner. A real restaurant this time, not questionable tacos. We can talk about?—"

"About what?" She finally met my gaze. "About how some things aren't meant to be? How obstacles only get worse?" She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Message received, James. Loud and clear."

As much as I wanted to tell her she had it all wrong, something buried deep inside made me freeze. No words came out. All I could do was watch the hurt well in her eyes as she spun and made a disgusted noise before stepping into the elevator.

It was only after the doors closed that I felt the odd sensation of paralysis pass.

What the hell was that?

It was like my own body had betrayed me, like it was too damn scared to let me put my trust in someone again—even justenough to say that maybe some things were worth fighting for after all.

23

EMMA

"Alright, dish," Maggie said through my phone. "And don't skimp on the details just because you're in a weird place right now."

I glanced around the resort's indoor rock climbing area, where I'd wandered after my disastrous conversation with James. The massive room was mostly empty this late, with just a few die-hard climbers covered in chalk and pulling themselves up by chunks of plastic that were the size of small boogers.

I wasn’t sure how the hell they did it.

I'd come here hoping the physical exertion would clear my head, but three attempts at the beginner wall had only left me with sore arms and an overwhelming desire to cry. I’d also failed to summon the courage to fall onto the thick mat from any higher than about two feet in the air.

Total fail.

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