Page 21 of My Mismatched Valentine

“No. Not exactly.”

The information overload is too much. “You need to leave.”

“Maggie—”

“Now.” Karl hisses, but I’m not sure if he’s teaming up with me or mad at me for chasing off his new friend. That hiss echoes the feeling inside my aching soul. My heart is cracking in two, wondering where the hell those walls are now when I need them most. “I’m not marrying you, Dustin. In fact, I don’t ever want to see you again.”

CHAPTER 15

Dustin

“Did you order the roses?” Glamma asks, pacing the kitchen and opening cupboards and drawers as if there’s anything in them she can work with. It’s been hours since Maggie kicked me out and refused to take any of my calls. The clock is ticking for the fate ofWilde Luxury Log Cabins, but I couldn’t care less.

Maggie is what matters.

I’d happily walk away from the billions and move into her cozy cabin, though I may have to work harder to get back into Karl’s good graces than Maggie’s.

“I orderedallthe roses.” I scrub a hand through my hair, not caring that I look like hell. Maggie’s little cabin should be flooded with every rose the state of Alaska had left for Valentine’s Day. But as I watch the sun rising high in the sky, reminding me how quickly the day is passing, I know it won’t be enough. She made it abundantly clear, from the very beginning, that she wouldn’t tolerate lying. At the time, it didn’t seem to count as lying. I thought she’d be amused by my persistence.

I was wrong.

“She’ll come around, Dustin.”

“How do you know?”

Glamma stops her pacing to lean over the island and reach for my hand. “Because she loves you. She just needs time to process why you acted like a buffoon.” She gives my hand an extra squeeze. “I just don’t know that there’ll be a wedding today.”

“I don’t care when the wedding is. Today. Tomorrow. Ten years from now.” I pop up from my barstool. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing, Glamma.”

“That’s the spirit!” She claps enthusiastically. “Now, let’s make a plan to win her back.”

CHAPTER 16

Maggie

“Where’s your lighter, sweetie?” Grandma Olive asks, opening and closing every drawer in my kitchen twice because there are only three drawers. “I need to light this candle. It’ll clear the blockage you’re experiencing. That last full moon did a number on you. And here I’d hoped it would bless you with good fortune as it did your brother.”

I’m too worn out to argue with Grandma Olive and her full moon theories. Hell, maybe she’s right. “It’s in the cupboard above the sink.”

“Ah, perfect.” Grandma Olive sets to lighting the candle as Karl weaves in and out of her ankles. She is, hands down, his favorite human. I’m currently in third place, behind Dustin. Maybe even further down the line since I kicked his buddy out forever. Karl may never forgive me for that one.

“Come, Maggie. Sit next to the flame. It’ll soothe your aching heart.” I don’t have the strength to question her odd methods. Maybe there’s something to these witchy herb-filled candles and I’m just too logical to understand how it works. “He loves you, you know. Dustin.”

Karl lets out a sad meow that instantly sets me to tears again.

“Let it all out. The candle is working.”

“Helied,” I manage between heaving sobs.

“What did he lie about, dear?” Grandma Olive asks, her question curious and gentle. She rubs circles into my back, soothing me through the worst of the tears.

After several minutes, I feel myself start to calm. The tears begin to slow.

Then the knocks at the door start. One after another. Several bouquets of roses—reds, pinks, and whites, are carried into my tiny cabin. I have to scoop Karl up and toss him into the bedroom—he sneers and hisses his disapproval immediately—to keep him from either escaping out the revolving front door or giving into the temptation to eat said roses.

“There’re so many!” Grandma Olive exclaims. “Aren’t they lovely?”

I can’t seem to join in her excitement. “Are they done yet?”

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