Page 27 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

As the quiet stretched on between them, she asked, “Is your food good?”

He turned his head until his gaze met hers. “Why are you trying so hard to be nice to me?”

Heat immediately flared in her cheeks. “I… I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know, with helping to watch Kaylie and now sharing this nice lunch. Why go to all the bother? I haven’t exactly been friendly.”

Most people would have just said thank you but not Logan. She had no idea what he expected her to say. And so she decided to tell him the truth. “Because I need us to work together so you can finish this project on time.”

His gaze narrowed. “But you don’t own the chapel, do you?” When she shook her head, he asked, “Then why is it so important to you?”

“My boss and her fiancé bought the chapel from Mabel. I’m hoping to impress Clara so that she’ll promote me.”

“And what would this promotion look like?”

It appeared it was his turn to ask her a nosey question. She was surprised to find that she didn’t mind answering him—not after he’d opened up to her. “I want to be able to plan weddings on my own from the beginning to the end. Right now, I’m an assistant planner. Clara hired me and gave me a chance as soon as I moved here. She didn’t have to do that, but she’s really kind and enjoys helping others. By me overseeing this project while she’s out of town, it’s also a way for me to pay her back.”

He nodded in understanding. “What made you decide to move to San Francisco? It’s a long way from Iowa.”

“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.” Again, the words slipped out before she could stop them.

“You moved a thousand miles from home on the spur of the moment?” There was a note of incredulousness in his voice.

She couldn’t blame him. It didn’t sound good the way she’d stated it. “Okay. It wasn’t quite the spur of the moment. I always dreamed of living near the ocean. When I was a kid, my friends would have posters of famous people hung on their walls while I had prints of beaches.”

“So this was a planned trip.”

She shook her head. What was the point in trying to hide it? It wasn’t like she was ashamed of being dumped at the altar. Okay, maybe she was to some extent. In the end, she’d decided that Josh had done her a favor because she never could have spent the rest of her life with someone she didn’t love with all of her heart. She hoped someday her family would accept it.

Her stomach shivered with nerves as she thought of revealing her past to him. What would he think of her? Could it be any worse than what he thought of her after their first meeting?

Probably not. It would most likely just confirm his worst suspicions. She inwardly groaned.

“It surely can’t be that bad.” Logan’s voice drew her from her thoughts.

She glanced at him to find him staring at her with a puzzled look on his face, as though he were trying to read her thoughts. “You wouldn’t even be able to guess what triggered my sudden move.”

“Let’s see.” His lips pursed, and his forehead scrunched up as he gave it some thought. “You had a fight with your boyfriend.”

She shook her head. “Close but not right.”

He arched a brow. “How close was I?”

“I left on my wedding day.”

His brows rose high on his forehead. “You mean you ended things before the wedding and just happened to leave town on what would have been your wedding day?”

She shook her head. Ugh! It didn’t matter how she phrased it, this was going to sound bad. What was he going to think of her being dumped at the altar? That it was her fault? That there was something wrong with her?

In the past year, she’d tried to bury her past by not talking about it and pretending it never happened. Having to admit it out loud would drive home the fact that she couldn’t keep outrunning her past. She needed to fix things with her family. But something like that couldn’t be done over the phone—especially since her father wouldn’t even talk to her. If they were this embarrassed of her, and she was the one who got dumped, what would they have done if she’d been the one to call off the wedding?

She shoved aside the troublesome thought. It wasn’t like she wanted to leave San Francisco right now, because she was in charge of things until Clara returned.

“Brooke, what is it?” He studied her.

It felt as though his observant eyes could see straight through her—see all of her secrets. She glanced away and swallowed hard. “It ended at the church when we were standing in front of the minister.”

“Wait. Are you saying you’re a runaway bride?”

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