Page 58 of Matched with Her Runaway Groom

Even though I feel the same way, a prickle of my defenses rise and I say, “I don’t think that’s fair to her. She makes mistakes, but don’t we all?”

He glances down, his fingers twisting a spoon back and forth. “Yes, I’ve definitely made my share of mistakes. And I hope at one point you’ll be able to forgive me.”

His pointed look makes me squirm in my seat. “I’ve forgiven you to a degree, Landon. But getting that full measure of trust back isn’t as easy to fix.”

“Understandable.” The server brings a basket of chips and queso, a much needed interruption.

As we eat the appetizer and then our meal, I turn over in my head what Landon’s connection was to my sister other than the few times we had family gatherings.

But that’s in the past. Or is it?

Here I am, sitting with him for a meal, us chatting a lot like we used to. And we just shared a mind-blowing kiss. Maybe it’s because I haven’t kissed anyone else or just because it’s been a while, but it was one for the books.

Is it possible to completely forgive someone whose actions affected my life severely for the past year? He’s expressed his regrets several times, but I haven’t figured out if it’s just words yet or not.

I need to keep going, enjoying this time. My mind gets in the way too often. If anything, this can be a fun few days before we head back to real life. I can give Landon a chance. I just hope my heart can take it if things don’t turn out how I want them to.

CHAPTER24

Rachelle

“Idon’t think I’ve seen you smile this much since, well, since you and Landon were engaged. Did something happen last night?” Tiffany asks.

We’re sitting side by side on the bus on our way to tour a bunch of waterfalls. Landon’s boss asked for the employees to sit toward the front so they could go over something for a meeting. He was sad he couldn’t sit by me, but then he doesn’t have to meet later. And I can relax instead of over-analyze every slight movement. Yeah, I’m that girl.

“We enjoyed our time walking along the beach,” I say, trying to keep my smile under wraps. But it’s hard to do when I could barely sleep last night. All the good dreams came to me, and I’m holding on tight to the memory of them. Maybe my luck is changing and I can actually have a happily ever after.

“He kissed you, didn’t he?” Tiffany says, her voice drawing several eyes in our direction. Landon’s are among that group and I can see him grinning before he sends me a wink.

“Keep your voice down,” I say, sending Tiffany the glare of death.

She bounces up and down in her seat and squeals. “I love it.” She turns to Dani, who’s sitting across the aisle from us. “We’re the best matchmakers ever.”

“For sure. Because watching the two of them try to get things to work on their own is like fitting a square peg into a round hole.”

I frown. “That’s actually impossible.”

“Not with enough determination. I mean, detonation.” Dani grins and I laugh at the remark from the first dinner on the cruise ship.

“I think you need to come live in our house when you graduate. We’ve got room.” There’s an extra room upstairs and I would love to add Dani to the mix of roommates. She and Kenzie together would be like their own traveling comedy troupe.

Dani nods. “I’ll hold you to that. As long as no one has slob as their best character trait.”

“I’m like a level one slob,” Tiffany says, giggling, “but I don’t live there anymore. So you should be in the clear.”

The bus goes through some twists and turns before stopping in what looks like a makeshift parking lot.

The driver stands and turns toward us. “We get off here. You’ll head to a shed with all the equipment needed for this tour. Helmets must be worn at all times, especially when going down the waterfalls.”

“Going down the waterfalls?” I whisper the words, glancing between Dani and Tiffany as the thought sinks in. I reflect on every movie scene where the characters are about to go over the large falls crashing into the water several hundred feet below.

Dani gives me a pained smile and nods. “I’m sure they won’t be huge waterfalls. At least I hope not.”

We file off the bus and Landon waits by the door, wrapping his arm around me as soon as I step off the bus.

“How was your meeting?” I ask, turning my head against his chest to see his face.

“It was good. More words of wisdom than actual business practices, but I guess I can still use those, right?”

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