Page 47 of Matched with Her Runaway Groom

Landon tilts his head back and lets out a long laugh. “Definitely not.”

“She talked about you at paintball like you’re a piece of candy. And were you not mentally present at dinner the other night? She was hanging all over you.” I raise an eyebrow, hoping to keep up a steel fortress but secretly wishing he’ll deny it.

“Rachelle, Savannah is on my team at work. Her father is my direct boss. I have to be nice to her or else work will be he—I mean, not good.”

I take a step back, leaning against my door. There’s a small sound from the other side and I give the wood a good kick to signal to my betrayal of a cousin that I know she’s trying to listen in. A small squeal confirms it.

I walk toward the deck and Landon falls into step next to me. There is so much in this moment and I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to resist whatever will happen, either way. But if I can figure out what went wrong between us, there might still be hope for my future.

No more house of a thousand bunnies.

It isn’t until we get near the railing of the deck that I see Landon has changed into sweats as well. Did he follow me back to the cabin and change?

“Tiffany’s pregnant,” I blurt out. The moment the words are out, I slap my hand over my mouth, knowing I shouldn’t have revealed her secrets to him. I should be talking about my own issues but this is easier.

“Really? That’s great. Is she doing okay?” Landon has one hand stuffed into the pocket of his sweats and he looks so casual and adorable.

Must resist the urge to hug him.

I shrug, figuring I might as well go along with the conversation and ask forgiveness from Tiffany later. “I think so. Part of me thinks she’s missing her husband. She burst out crying and I’m just hoping it’s the hormones. I mean, we have several days left on this trip. There’s no way she’s going home unless she learns to row a boat.”

Landon chuckles and I glance up at him, the moonlight casting a shadow on his face. I still know just about every curve and mark on his face, but this is what I’ve missed most. His ability to laugh and smile during just about anything.

And then my memory reminds me he is the villain, the enemy in my dreams and the fire that’s helped me get through a lot of things in the past year. The one who probably couldn’t have broken up with me face-to-face because it would hurt too much.

“Why did you break up with me?” Again, my mouth is taking over my life, but this time I’m not disappointed. I need to know what happened.

He leans against the railing. When he turns his face to me, I see a mixture of emotions, but none of them are clear. “Rachelle, to be honest, I’ve come up with a million scenarios for how this talk would happen. Ultimately, I’m an idiot. I should’ve faced you before running off.” He turns his face out to the dark ocean and shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have left in the first place. You’re too good for me. I didn’t deserve you. I just kept hoping I’d somehow get that feeling like I measured up, but every time I thought about it, I realized I could never give you the life you deserve.”

Anger burns in my chest. “That’s it? Your feelings got in the way?”

Landon stands, turning his body to face me. “No, yes, I mean—” He pauses as he runs a hand along his neck. “You’re amazing. And I just didn’t measure up to the Stewarts.”

It’s like a fire has broken loose in my chest. “You mean my parents? You were worried about my parents?”

“In a way—”

“We talked about everything, Landon. I told you every secret, every fear I ever had, and you were worried about the impression my parents had of you? I don’t answer to them anymore, and frankly, I’m a little ticked that you would give up the life we planned because of what they think. They hate their own life and have to micromanage everyone else’s.” As the words ring through the air, I realize how true that is.

My mother has always wanted to be thin and trendy, so she projected it onto me, did everything to make it so. The constant diets and barrage of insults when I would even look at something with over two grams of sugar makes more sense now.

“There’s more to it than that, Rachelle. I promise, I never meant to hurt you, and I don’t want to hurt you now.”

I nod. “Good. Then thank you for the clarification. I hope you enjoy your trip and can figure out what you’re looking for when we dock back in Boston.”

I turn on my heel, making a beeline for anywhere but near him. I can’t let him see me cry, not when I’ve already shed enough tears to fill the ocean because of him. What a jerk.

CHAPTER20

Landon

Ididn’t think it was possible to screw things up worse, but that conversation proves I haven’t practiced enough of what I need to say to Rachelle.

“What’s wrong, Landon? You look as though you lost your best mate.” Roman walks up and slaps me on the shoulder, taking a place next to me.

“I just thought I’d hold up this railing for a bit,” I say, trying to keep thoughts of Rachelle from causing the emotions to surge. “Where’s Isabella?”

“She needed some time to read a book. Something about how I kept interrupting her during the best part and I should come find something to do out here.”

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