Page 21 of Because You Loved Me

Except her.

Noa slipped the faux fur stole from her shoulders and dropped it on a nearby chair. She was overheating and needed some fresh air, but the only nearby exit was the doorway that would lead to the very event that was giving her the anxiety-induced hot flash.

Instead, she walked slowly down the hallway in the opposite direction and inhaled deeply. Her hand moved to her neck and the rose necklace her grandma had given her.

A reminder of the love you deserve,she’d said.

But what did that even mean?

Noa had no idea what kind of love she deserved. Was it different from the love she had for Ryan? She’d never evenbeenin love. Let alone any kind of deep, connected love like her grandparents had experienced.

She blew out a breath, straightened her shoulders, and went back to the window. She was running out of time.

Ryan and his father, who was acting as his witness, had just walked up the aisle. That meant that their mothers would go next, and her dad would be waiting for her to walk down the stone steps to her new husband.

Husband.

The word caused her stomach to turn.

Even when she was a little girl, she’d never dreamed about a wedding with the big white dress and the multi-tiered cake—as delicious as it had been. A smile played at her lips as she remembered how Asher had sliced into the beautiful cake, ruining it completely, before feeding it to her.

Her breath quickened and a warm flush that had nothing to do with her nerves about the wedding washed over her.

Again, her fingers went to the necklace.

Right then, Ryan looked up to the window and locked eyes with her. He grinned broadly and winked.

The smile fell from her face, and she spun away from the window.

She loved Ryan. She could have a good life with him.

The love you deserve.

She shook her head in an effort to get Grandma Rose’s voice out of her head. She squeezed her eyes shut but instantly snapped them open again when Asher’s face and the memory of his lips on hers flooded her senses.

“Dammit.”

She needed air.

Now.

Without another look back, Noa lifted her skirts and moved as quickly as she could down the giant wooden staircase into the bustle of the busy lobby. She stood for a moment and looked around, unsure of what to do next.

“Congratulations.”

“You look beautiful.”

“Look at the bride.”

Voices were all around her. Noa could feel eyes on her, watching and wondering why a bride was in the lobby by herself when the wedding was set up out back.

Air.

She’d be able to think straight once she got some fresh air. With her skirts still gathered in her arms, she moved quickly to the front doors, where the bellman held them open for her with a curious glance.

The moment the cold December air hit her flushed skin, she sucked in a sharp breath. But it wasn’t enough.

“Miss? Are you all right?” The bellboy’s brows knitted together. “Can I get you anything? I think the wedding is?—”

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