Page 47 of An Alaskan Wedding (Alaskan Grooms 1)

Grace. Lovable, beautiful Gracie. Loving her hadn’t been a choice. It had swept over him like a force of nature. From the very first moment they met, his heart had no longer been his own.

The last words he’d hurled at her had been full of judgment and anger. He’d been unyielding.

What had he done? He agonized. If he searched the world over, he would never find another woman like her. In a matter of weeks she’d worn down his defenses and nestled herself inside his hollow heart. She’d given him more happiness than he thought he’d ever experience in this lifetime. All those long, lonely nights when he’d stared out at the desolate sky, he’d asked the Lord to bring him a life partner. He’d prayed for someone to come along who could lift the fog away and make him care again. Someone who would make him cherish everything in his orbit.

Hadn’t he received everything he’d prayed for when Gracie had crashed into his life?

Lord, give me the courage to face my fears. For so long I’ve been afraid to put my heart out there, at the risk of being made a fool of by love. I can’t not love Gra

cie. She’s everything I never thought I needed. But I do need her. Desperately. More than anything, I want to get to Grace, so I can tell her what’s in my heart. Because the thought of losing her scares me more than anything in this world.

“Honor’s right! I need to go get her. Before she leaves Alaska,” Boone said, nodding his head in his sister’s direction. Tears were freely running down her face. Upon hearing his words she laid her palm against her chest.

“That’s the spirit, Boone!” Jasper cried out. “Hallelujah!”

Hazel began clapping wildly. “Oh, Boone. Go sweep her off her feet.”

“Are you ready to fly me to Anchorage?” Boone asked Declan.

“I was born ready,” Declan drawled with a cocky nod of his head. He jumped up from his seat.

Boone rolled his eyes. Everyone within earshot let out a groan.

“Let’s do this,” Boone said as a burst of adrenaline roared through him. With Declan by his side he strode toward the exit, full of hope and anticipation and a small dose of fear.

“Boone,” Cameron called out after him.

Boone turned around and met his brother’s steady gaze. “Go get her and bring her back. Okay?”

He nodded at Cameron. “I’m prepared to do whatever it takes for a happily-ever-after.” As he turned on his heel and left the Moose Café with his best friend right behind him, he could only pray that it wasn’t too late.

* * *

Sitting in the Red Rooster coffee shop at the Anchorage airport felt like watching paint dry. Due to her last-minute ticket purchase, she now had to endure a six-hour layover. Only three hours had passed, yet it felt like forty. She’d sat down in the airport restaurant for a late breakfast, but every time she glanced at the menu her thoughts drifted back to Love. And the Moose Café. And all the people she’d disappointed. Especially Boone. All she could think about was the shattered look on his face when Dwight had exposed the truth. She’d never be able to get past the terrible way things had ended between them. It was far worse than being dumped at the altar. Because she loved Boone in a way she’d never loved anyone before in her life. And most likely never would again.

Somehow, Boone had plundered her heart like a swashbuckling pirate. He’d swooped in, knocked down all her defenses and stolen it right out from under her. With his generosity, sense of humor and kindness, he’d knocked down all her defenses. She loved him with a fierceness and a devotion she’d never imagined possible. And now, she would have to live with the fact that the man she loved couldn’t stand the sight of her. And as much as she adored New York City, it was hard to wrap her head around going home when she’d already decided days ago that her future was in Love.

She’d slunk out of Love like a thief in the night. The thought of facing Jasper and Cameron and Hazel again had almost done her in. She didn’t even want to think about seeing Boone again. It would gut her to have to listen once again to his recriminations. Saying goodbye to a sobbing Sophie had almost convinced her to stick around and plead her case to the man she loved. In the end, a part of her knew Boone deserved better than to have to deal with the fallout from all her lies.

Nothing about you is real. Pain ricocheted through her chest as Boone’s devastating words ran through her mind. Not a single word he’d uttered had been untrue. She deserved his scorn, even though it destroyed her to know that he would always remember her as a liar and a fraud. And he would never know how much she loved him.

It no longer mattered. A quick glance at her watch told her it was time to head toward the security line so she could make her way toward the passengers’ lounge.

“Gracie!” The sound of her name being called out in a deep, urgent tone had her questioning her sanity. She looked up and found the last person she ever would have expected to see standing in front of her. Boone was there, intensity hovering over him like a cloud.

Confusion swirled around her. “Boone. What are you doing here?”

“I came for you, Gracie.”

“For me?” Her voice came out sounding like a squeak.

He nodded his head. “Yes. For you.”

Boone didn’t look so steady at the moment despite the strong sentiment he’d voiced.

“You’re...green,” she said, noticing his face had an olive cast to it.

He squinted at her. “I’m what?”

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