Page 86 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
The flash of guilt on his face only made her feel worse.
She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. She couldn’t stomach whatever excuse he’d no doubt come up with. Instead, she turned and bolted out the front door before he had the chance.
27
Time seemed to stop when Nash caught Emma’s gaze.
Those blue eyes. So wounded.
His heart was in his throat and his gut twisted into knots as time came to a crashing halt.
The look on her face nearly killed him.
How much had she heard?
What conclusions was she jumping to?
And then she was gone, and time kicked into motion again. He tried to follow her out but got caught in a crush of rehearsal dinner guests who were making their way to the back room for toasts.
“Sorry about that, son,” Patrick said from behind him. “I didn’t know she was standing right there.”
Anger flooded his veins, fast and fierce. Anger with himself, mostly, but he had plenty to spare. “Even if you didn’t know she was there, how could you say such a thing?”
His cousin Boone stopped beside them, wariness written in his features. “You guys okay?”
Nash clamped his mouth shut. He got Boone’s point. They were surrounded by people. And at his sister’s rehearsal dinner. Now was not the time for a fight.
He leaned toward his father, lowering his voice to a fierce whisper. “I’m going to go find Emma and make sure she’s all right, but you…” He gave his head a shake. “You raised me to be a better man than that. Do you honestly think I would date a woman just to seal a business deal?”
His father’s eyes widened. He looked stricken but Nash didn’t wait for his response. He was angry with his father, yes, but he could barely stand himself right now.
He shouldn’t have let it get so far with his dad. He should have told him to steer clear of Emma no matter how much it might have angered him. He’d handled this all wrong, and now Emma was hurt.
Which was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid in the first place.
He ran into Casey as he tried to fight against the tide. “I’m sorry I’m going to miss the toasts—”
“Are you kidding me?” Her eyes were wide with disbelief. “I saw the way Emma rushed out of here. What happened?”
Nash couldn’t look his sister in the eye, instead scrubbing a hand over his face and clenching his jaw.
“Nash Donahue.” Casey’s brows came down. “I don’t know what you said or did to make her so upset, but you’d better go fix it.” She jabbed a finger toward the door. “Now.”
He was already shifting to squeeze past her. He didn’t need to be told twice. His heart was thudding rapidly in his chest at the memory of the look in her eyes. So hurt.
And all because of him.
Once on Main Street, he glanced up and down, frantically searching. He spotted plenty of familiar faces coming out of the stores and bars further down the block, but no sign of Emma.
He headed to the truck, not that she had the keys to drive herself but maybe she’d wait there for him.
But no. She wasn’t waiting there.
He ran down the street in one direction only to stop and turn, racing down the way he’d just come. Where would she go? He glanced into stores along the way, catching curious looks but no sign of his Emma.
Finally, when he reached the little park that fell between the library and the candy store, he spotted her. She was sitting in the gazebo, her elbows on her knees, her heels dangling from her fingers, and her head down like she was fascinated by the sight of her toes.
His heart crashed to the ground. She looked so sad. So...defeated. He swallowed down a surge of guilt and fear. “Emma.”
