Page 61 of The One She Can't Forget

“Wow. This place is gorgeous,” she said with a smile.

“Haven’t you seen it yet?”

With a shake of her head, she confessed, “No, I just saw the pictures online and trusted Bryce that it was as nice as it looked.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “You trusted Bryce’s opinion about something like that? Have you seen his place?”

She laughed at that. “I like his place! Well, except for the kitchen, but we’re working on that. Come on, let’s go find Lily.”

Lily Elliot was one of the older sisters from the Bloom family. She had been managing the event center at the farm for almost fifteen years. I was younger than all of the Bloom sisters though, so I hadn’t spent a lot of time out here, except for the big events like Apple Picking Days or the occasional wedding.

Krystal was right though. Storybook Barn was the perfect place for an elegant country wedding. We stepped inside the barn and let our eyes adjust to the dim light.

“Hey, ladies!” Lily greeted us with a smile. “Come on in. I’ve got us all set up at a table over here.”

We took a seat at the large round table and talked through the schedule for the day of the wedding.

“Will you want our staff to set up our white table linens? Or are you providing your own?”

Krystal had all the answers and I basically just listened, amazed at all the work and planning she had managed to do from a distance.

As we finished up the details, we stood up and took a quick lap around the venue as Lily pointed out some of the things we might need during the event.

“I’m so glad it worked out for you to take that cancellation date,” Lily said. “Bryce has been a good friend to the farm. My sister Andi mentioned that I needed to take good care of you guys.”

Krystal smiled warmly. “He’s pretty great. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Where is Andi these days? Is she still in the Army?”

Lily shook her head. “No, actually she moved back to Virginia a year or two ago and started a security business with her husband. I think Poppy is just glad to have an ally in the area. Harrison being in national politics is a whole new ballgame.”

“Wow,” I said. “And I know Rose is out west. You guys are really spread out these days.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, we are. I’m more than happy to hang out here in my little corner of Indiana, you know? Josh and I have talked about moving, but I think we’ll settle for vacations to see other places. There is something special about life here.

Krystal sighed happily. “I totally agree. I never thought I would be so glad to be back.”

I grinned. “Is that because of my brother or because of Minden?”

She chuckled. “Can’t it be both?”

I loved that she was so in love with Bryce. He’d never admitted how much he missed her after she moved to Hollywood. My memories of their fake-turned-real relationship were still a bit hazy, but I was just grateful it had all worked out. I couldn’t believe I finally got to see my big brother get married.

On the drive home, I felt brave enough to flip the radio back on. I was singing along, watching a car coming from the opposite direction.

From the passenger seat, my phone dinged with a text message. I pulled one hand from the wheel to reach for it.

A flash of pain in my head made me wince and my chest went tight.

As quickly as I could, I pulled to the side of the road, my breathing rapid as I gasped for air that never seemed to quite fill my lungs.

The accident.

I could see it all–the ding of a text and reaching for my phone. My eyes drifted away from the intersection for a millisecond. Jake’s name was on the screen, and then… nothing.

Could it really be that the entire reason I had my accident was that I’d been distracted? By Jake, of course, because there was nothing or no one else that had ever taken me so off course as Jake Barrett with his deep-green eyes and easy smile.

I sat there on the side of the road for nearly ten minutes, trying to catch my breath and attempting to visit the memory over and over again, hoping it would be different. Hoping that I wasn’t right about how the accident had happened and that I hadn’t really been so careless.

I could remember being frustrated that I had to leave the event. I was so eager to reveal to everyone that Jake and I were together by boldly bidding on him at the auction. I’d been in a hurry to get back to our stolen kisses backstage and to see Krystal come back and surprise Bryce.

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