Page 131 of Runaway Bride and Prejudice

Fabulous.Now I’ve made my sisters cry. Even the one who guards her tears like a dragon keeps its gold.

I lean back, drag my hands through my hair, and then press the heels of my hands into my eyes until I see stars. “You know I would’ve wanted you there. It literally was the most impulsive decision I’ve ever made.”

The thing is … I would make the same decision again.

Only if I could do so in a world where Amelia wouldn’t regret it.

“An impulsive decision about something sobig,” Callie says, like she’s disappointed in me.

“Why?” Grey asks. More likepleads.

I close my eyes, remembering. Not just Amelia’s bright eyes and wide smile as she told me she had an idea and started dragging me toward the reception on the beach.

I remember her face at the zoo when she told me I was more than just a casual, fun guy and the way she laughed when she kicked off a platform to zoom over ponds full of gators.

The way she told me I’m more than just a casual, fun guy. More than the surface everyone sees.

I recall her eyes fluttering closed as I kissed her. How her body folded so perfectly against mine.

Then I remember the note and how it felt when I realized what she wrote.

“It happened so fast.”

“So fast you couldn’t even call us,” Callie says, and Lex shushes her. “I mean, we talked to you, what—the day before?”

“I don’t mean just the wedding happened fast. I mean that with Mills—Amelia—I felt everything fast. I …fellfast.”

“You fell,” Lex says, sniffling again. “Like, in love?”

“No, dummy. Into a pit of snakes. Yes, inlove.”

This is the first time I’ve admitted this out loud to someone other than Amelia. It feels just as true as when I said it to her, under the stars and twinkle lights, reciting the classic wedding vows before the officiant pronounced us man and wife. I said it again and again that night, and I remember how it felt saying those words to her when I’d never said them to a woman before.

My stomach sours.

“I never thought this day would come,” Callie says, pressing a hand to her heart. She definitely has tears in her eyes, though she hasn’t yet allowed one to fall.

Grey beams. “I could tell on the phone when we talked to you.”

“Why wasn’t I on this call?” Callie complains.

“You were busy,” Lex says. Then to me: “You really do love her?”

I nod, trying to unclench my jaw. “It’s not like it only happened in those four days. There was the night we met, when I wanted to ask her out on a real date—until I saw her dad. I kept thinking about her, though it was like a back of mind thing. Until Coach invited us to her wedding.” Even now, my lip curls. “I’ve been a mess ever since. It’s impacted my mood, my game, and myothergame.”

I say the last part mostly to get a reaction, and sure enough, a pillow flies by my head.

“No one calls itgameanymore,” Lex says. “It’s gross.”

“And demeaning,” Callie adds.

“I was kidding.” Mostly.

“It’s rizz now,” says Greyson. “Not game.”

“Then it affected my rizz.”

“Or lack thereof?” Grey suggests with a smile.

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