Page 46 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

“Why did you need to see us?” Dylan asked.

Logan glanced at Brooke to see if she wanted to be the one to tell them. She gave a slight nod at him to go ahead. She didn’t have to twist his arm. He was anxious to tell anyone and everyone the most exciting news.

“We’re getting married.”

His words were met with big smiles and a chorus of congratulations as Brooke held up her left hand, showing off her diamond ring. There were handshakes, hugs, and a few tears of joy. Together, they retold the story of the proposal because their friends wanted every little detail.

When they finished reliving that special moment, Brooke got a serious expression on her face. “I just have one big regret.”

His heart clenched in his chest. He hoped she didn’t have any second thoughts about agreeing to marry him. He wanted to ask her what she meant, but the words clogged the back of his throat.

“What’s that?” Selena asked.

“That I didn’t get to eat the diamond cupcake.” Brooke smiled as a huge sigh of relief rolled over the crowd. “I don’t even know what happened to the cupcake. Everything became a blur after he’d proposed.”

“If that’s all you’re worried about,” Selena said, “I’ll bake you a whole batch.”

Brooke’s eyes lit up. “I’m going to hold you to that offer.”

“I’d like to offer my services,” Clara said, “to plan the big day.” After they’d both thanked her, Clare asked, “Do you have a date in mind?”

“As soon as possible,” he said. When people raised an eyebrow, he sighed. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I’m just excited to marry this beautiful woman.” He glanced over at Brooke, who hadn’t said anything. “What do you think?”

“I… I don’t know. I hadn’t really given it any thought yet.”

When he glanced over at Clara, he saw she was busy on her phone. He didn’t see where it was going to take a lot of planning. He’d marry Brooke at city hall if she’d agree. But he assumed she would want something more special.

Clara lifted her head. “I’ve had a cancellation. You could get married in a month. But I totally understand if that’s rushing things.”

“I don’t know,” Brooke said. “That’s so soon. And there’s so much to do.”

His gaze met Brooke’s. “We can make it work if we want it bad enough, right?”

Brooke was silent for a moment before she nodded.

“I’d marry you tomorrow, if you’d agree. But I know that you’ll want to do something special. What do you think? Does next month work for you?”

She’d agreed.

Brooke had looked deep into his eyes and saw the honest excitement he had for their wedding. How could she put a pin in the plans? Would he understand her need to wait a little?

And then there was the part when he said: We can make it work, if we want it bad enough. If she was to say that she wanted more time—maybe even a lot more time, would he take that to mean she didn’t want to marry him bad enough? Would he think she didn’t love him with her whole heart? Because nothing could be farther from the truth.

She had been touched by Logan’s excitement over their pending nuptials. It wasn’t what she’d envisioned, but she’d waited more than a year to marry Josh and look how that had turned out. Obviously waiting didn’t guarantee a happy ending.

And now Kaylie was excited about being the flower girl. How could she tell them no—that she wanted to wait? And what was her reason for waiting? She didn’t have an answer. Without a plausible reason to delay the wedding, she worried that Logan might think she was unsure about their relationship. She choked down the hesitancy to rush things along and pasted on a smile.

The next day, she stood in Wedding Dreams Boutique owned by Liza Howard. There were so many dresses to choose from. This time she wouldn’t get a hand-me-down dress. The thought made her smile. This time she could get a dress that was new and fit her figure.

Even though Selena and Clara were there with her, it felt like someone was missing. Was it Kaylie, who was in preschool? No. And then she realized it was her mother and sister who were missing. The thought dampened her excitement.

She’d called her mother and sister the day before to tell them about the wedding. Both of them were reserved. She told herself it was just the shock of such a quick wedding. She couldn’t blame them. She was the bride and it surprised her.

To her greatest disappointment, they wouldn’t be able to make it to the wedding. They each had excuses of why they couldn’t make the trip, but all Brooke heard was that they didn’t think she’d go through with this wedding either. The thought weighed on her.

“Brooke?” Liza frowned at her. “Did you hear me?”

She hadn’t heard a word. “Sorry. What did you say?”

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