Page 116 of Runaway Bride and Prejudice

Van:It’s not true

Logan:Define the “it” in that text.

Alec:Van? You still here?

Eli:Yo Van

Wyatt:I think it’s safe to say he left the group text

Felix: This does not bode well …

Eli:Anyone want to tell me what bode means?

Logan:It means get a dictionary and also that Van and the rest of us are all in trouble.

Alec:Maybe it also means we should have shut up and tried to TALK to him instead of giving him a hard time.

Nathan:Sounds like a job for the captain …

CHAPTER 23

Amelia

Daythree of my new job is thankfully and wonderfully boring. Parker checks in and tells me to go through the Google folder she made and work independently. She also wants me to write up the interview from yesterday, which means the guys did not tell her how it ended. I don’t have the heart to tell her the only thing I walked away knowing is the three guys’ dating statuses.

I’ll figure something out.

I spend the morning going through the various documents and spreadsheets all related to content strategy, Appies branding, and more. Parker is efficient and thorough, and it gets me excited about the work. I create my own document of ideas and sketch out a few outlines for longer posts, then do a little research on sports teams who have great captions on their social media posts to get a feel for length, voice, and even the balance between white space and blocks of text.

It’s almost enough to distract me from thinking about Van.

Specifically—Van in the stairwell.

Van’s mouth on mine.

Him saying he only marriedme.

And … the disappointed, hurt expression on his face when he walked away.

That look has haunted me like my own personal Casper for the last twenty-four hours.

I can’t put off dealing with this or I might explode. Van and I need to have an adult conversation. Preferably in public, so we don’t end up kissing again. Then again, being seen in public with a figure as public as Van might not be the best idea.

The problem bigger than location for the conversation is what to say.I’m sorry for leaving like I didis a start. But after that … I got nothing.

Because I still don’t know what I want.

An annulment, for sure.

But then what? I don’t want to just walk away completely.

Do we date like normal people? Pretend we didn’t exchange the classic vows on the beach as well as other, less eloquent whispered ones in the middle of that night?

I also can’t shake the thought of my dad’s response. His approval matters to me. And with the stress of playoffs coupled with the Drew and Becky and Uncle Bobby debacle, I’m not sure he could handle one more thing.

“Oh, Amelia!” Parker singsongs my name as she steps into my office. I don’t like the smile on her face.

“Afternoon,” I say.

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