Page 68 of The Runaway Bride's Vow

She stopped a reasonable distance from him and clasped her hands in front of her. Her fingertips brushed over the diamond ring. It was time for her to return it. Her heart sank at the thought.

Before she lost her courage, she slipped the ring from her finger. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She blinked them away. She reached for his hand. She pressed the ring into his palm and closed his fingers over it.

There she’d done it, and she felt as though the chasm between them had widened even further, if that was even possible. Still, it was the right thing to do. Now her finger felt bare, and the pain in her heart felt raw.

Refusing to let this be where things ended for them, she tilted her chin upward until their gazes met. Oh my! He’s so handsome. And she had missed him so much. If she had any doubts about what she wanted for the future, they were gone now.

Her heart pounded so loudly it echoed in her ears. She couldn’t remember ever being this nervous. She could only think of one thing to say—the most important thing.

“I’m sorry,” they said in unison.

She was caught off guard by his words. “You are?” When he nodded, she said, “But why? You didn’t do anything wrong. It was all on me. I made a mess of everything.”

Some people hustled past them, bumping into her. She stumbled into Logan, who reached out, drawing her into his arms. His touch caused her heart to pitter-patter. When she looked up at him, he stared deep into her eyes.

She desperately wanted to lift up on her tiptoes and press her lips to his, but she used all her willpower to resist the temptation. They weren’t there yet. And she didn’t know if they would ever get to that place. Him being sorry was one thing—wanting to give them another chance was a different story.

She stepped back out of his arms. She swallowed hard. “Want to get some coffee?”

He nodded before stepping to the side and pulling open the door for her. She loved that he did little things like open the door for her and getting her chair for her. They were little things, but they meant a lot.

She had so many things she wanted to ask him, but as they stood in line for coffee, she realized the moment wasn’t the right one for such an important conversation. She had to wait just a little longer.

Instead she asked, “How’s Kaylie? Did you tell her that I missed her?”

“She’s good. She’s anxious to start school in the fall. And yes, I gave her your message. She misses you too and is anxious to see you.”

It teetered on the tip of her tongue to ask if this meant she could see her, but she resisted. She wasn’t ready for what he might say. Because if he said it wouldn’t be possible, she would know that her hopes for their future were over, and it was time to move on. The only problem was that she couldn’t see her future without him in it.

They both ordered their usual coffee: grande, black with cream and sugar. Brooke made her way over to an isolated table. He followed her.

She sat with her back to the window. When he sat across from her, she said, “I really am sorry that I handled everything so badly. I never meant to hurt you or Kaylie or any of our friends.”

His gaze searched hers. “Why didn’t you talk to me before you ran?”

She shrugged as she searched for the right words. “I had what I guess you would call a panic attack. I wasn’t thinking clearly. By the time I calmed down, I was almost at the state line.”

He was quiet for a moment. “What about before that? Before the wedding?”

“I wanted to talk to you but…” Her gaze lowered. “You were so excited about the wedding. You seemed so anxious to have it so quickly. And honestly, it was so flattering. I never had someone so excited about their relationship with me. And after being dumped at the altar, I guess I just let myself get swept up in the excitement.”

“But when it came time to make it all official, you couldn’t go through with it.” He leaned back in his chair.

She leaned forward. “Yes. But it’s not what you’re thinking. It didn’t have anything to do with how much I love you. That never changed. I just had a lot of baggage that I hadn’t dealt with from my past. And I really needed to do that before we said I do.”

“You’re talking about your family.”

She nodded. “I really need them to be a part of my wedding and my life.”

“From the sounds of your emails, things went well with your family.”

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes as she thought of the way she’d been able to mend things with her parents and sister. “It really did. I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with them, but I’m sorry it happened the way it did. I should have gone back sooner. I shouldn’t have put it off for so long.”

He took a drink of his coffee before his gaze rose to meet hers. “Are you moving back to Iowa permanently?”

She wasn’t sure how he’d jumped to that conclusion. “No. My life is here.” She stopped herself before she said she wanted to stay right here with him. “I have no intention of moving away.” It was time to get the hard part out in the open. “Why did you want to see me?”

“I’m not good at writing like you. I thought if we met in person, we could figure out where we stood.”

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