Page 18 of Matched with Her Runaway Groom

“New car?” Yes, I’m only able to speak in two-word sentences right now.

He nods, maneuvering the car out of the parking lot. “Yeah, I needed one. The other was falling apart. I drive a lot more around the city for work, which has its pluses. I still hate looking for parking, though.”

Which is why I usually leave my car at home when I have to travel throughout Boston.

“Where do I need to go?”

I give him the directions and his eyes go wide. I can’t look at him, because he’s connecting the dots.

“You bought the house we looked at?”

Releasing a long breath of air, I nod. “It was in my price range, so I figured I’d go for it.”

He asks me questions here and there, but I’m not in the mood to be chatty with him. There is still so much between us, and I’m embarrassed that he saw the new underwear I’ll be donning on the cruise.

And then the guilt seeps in. Not enough to make me care, but more like regret. A cruise was something we’d decided to venture on together. But he ruined that by breaking up with me.

He parks in my driveway and gets out, hurrying around to my side. It’s irritating that he’s being so nice when I want to be angry at him until the end of time.

“Thanks,” I say, grabbing all my things from the back seat. “Well, uh, thanks for the ride, and good luck.”

I turn and make a beeline for the door, hoping it isn’t locked so I don’t have to juggle all my things in front of him just to get the key out.

Kenzie opens the door and almost bumps into me. “Oh, hey! Sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

Her eyes flick up and she sees Landon, who’s still standing next to the driver’s side door instead of in his seat and pulling out. A Cheshire cat grin is not what I want to see right now. I walk inside and pull her with me, slamming the door before dropping my bags on the ground. I probably would’ve dropped the detergent too, but I didn’t feel like cleaning up the sticky liquid.

“Okay, I think I’m missing something,” Kenzie says, pointing between me and the door, which I assume is to indicate Landon. “Did you just get a ride home from your ex?”

Blowing out a slow breath, I nod.

“So, you’re getting back together?” Kenzie dances from foot to foot while quietly clapping her hands together as she waits for my response.

I shake my head, harder than I thought. “Not a chance. He was at the grocery store at the same time and offered to take me home.”

I kick off the shoes that have now made indentations along the tops of my feet and savor the softness of the floor mat. It’s not soft at all, but anything is better than teetering around the world.

“Well, I don’t blame you for taking advantage of the ride. And looking at the view inside the car must’ve been worth it.” Kenzie waggles her eyes and if my arms weren’t full, I’d slug her.

I shake my head, taking the detergent into the laundry room. My basket of dirty clothes is piled high and I start a load, shoving in as much as the tub will hold.

Seeing Landon twice in two days has me all out of sorts. But the chances of that happening again are slim. At least for my fragile heart, I hope so.

CHAPTER7

Landon

As much as I love my work and dedicate a lot of thought to it, I can’t focus. Seeing Rachelle so independent makes me grateful she’s as strong as she is. But taking her to the house we’d looked at buying for after our wedding has my emotions all twisted together.

Now I’m heading on a cruise for a week, something I was too chicken to tell her about when she was in my car. She must’ve gone through a lot that day, because the state of her shoes and then the ripping of her bag made me want to reach out and hold her close. Tell her it would be okay.

And the dark red color of underwear keeps creeping into my mind.

But I can’t do that. Hillary’s words still echo in my mind, and I don’t want to jeopardize Rachelle’s happiness.

Clara’s voice brings me back to the present, swaying on the train with my bag at my feet, while trying to finalize all the updated appointments before I lose service.

“Okay, I’ve switched the clients to Ron’s calendar.”

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