Page 87 of The Wedding Ranch
She scrambled to get her legs up under her, and turned to sit in the seat. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. This is so not like me.”
He kept laughing. “I’ve never driven a getaway car before.”
As mortified as she was, she had to laugh too.
“You were seriously married to that guy?”
“I was.”
“Well, those two are a piece of work. They deserve each other. They have been a huge pain for the twins. Bridezilla and that little dog, and your ex, well, he is about the biggest blowhard I’ve ever met.”
“That’s him.”
“You deserve better.”
“Thank you.” She took in a big breath. “Cody’s wedding was so beautiful, and we had such a wonderful night. The thought of Craig and that woman getting married there, experiencing that, it gnawed at me.”
“It shouldn’t.”
“I just couldn’t let it go. I had to see for myself, and I was so relieved that although it was way nicer than my wedding to Craig, it was nothing like the night we were there.”
His eyes were soft, his voice kind. “I think that had more to do with the company than the venue.”
Her mouth grew cottony. She touched her lips. “It was a night I’ll never forget.”
“Me either.”
“Then why can’t I let this go? I don’t want to be with Craig. I’m very happy. So why did I do that?”
“You’re asking the wrong person. I’ve been trying to figure out how to move on for years. The past is what we know. The future… it’s uncharted territory.”
“It is.” She pressed her fingers to her face. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Well, no one knows but you and me. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“You’re dressed real pretty. Let’s turn this around. A do-over. I just picked you up for an afternoon date.”
“A date?”Is he kidding?“A real date?”
He nodded.
She took in the fine interior of the vehicle. “Thisisa really nice car.”
“A ’34 Ford five-window coupe. It belonged to my great-grandfather. He bought it new. When he died he handed it down to my grandfather. My dad was never the car guy I was, so when my grandfather died no one was surprised when he left it to me. Pop-Pop and I would tinker on this thing for hours.” He lovingly patted the steering wheel. “I always feel close to him when I’m driving this.”
“That’s so special.”
“I was supposed to drive the bride and groom away today.”
“What? Oh my gosh. You’ve got to get back.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “They don’t deserve to enjoy it. I texted Ross. He is over the two of them, too. He said he’ll play dumb and blame the vendor.”
“Leave them stranded?”
“They won’t be stranded. There are a hundred cars in thatlot. Besides I was just driving them around the block to where the jackass groom parked his car so they could drive themselves to the airport. He was too cheap to book the whole excursion.”
