Page 22 of A Runaway Bride For Christmas
Loud banging makes us jump apart. I stare at Hans wide-eyed, and he sighs as he swings his legs over the bed.
“This better be good.”
It’s part of his job to look after tourists on the mountain, so I don’t begrudge him as he shrugs into his sweatpants and throws a hoodie on.
The knocking gets more insistent, and then I hear a voice that chills my blood.
“I know you’re in there, Allie.”
Mom.
My blood runs cold, and I can’t move. The fantasy of the last few days comes crashing down as reality bangs on the door.
“It’s Mom,” I whisper.
Hans knows a little about my demanding mother, but not the entire truth.
“Allie!” she calls.
“Shit.”
I scramble out of bed and pull on Hans’s oversized flannel shirt and a pair of his boxers.
“You want me to send her away?”
I love that he’s protecting me, but even a six foot something hairy Viking is no match for my mother.
“No, it’s okay. I have to face her sometime.”
Hans grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze as he opens the front door. Mom’s face is red, and it gets redder as she takes in my messy appearance and Hans’s clothes. It’s obvious what we’ve been up to.
“How did you know I was here?” I ask.
“I had someone trace the number from your father’s phone.”
My mouth drops open. I can’t believe Dad would betray me like that.
“Oh relax,” Mom says. “Your father wouldn’t give you up. I had to take his phone while he was sleeping.”
Of course she did. My mother knows no boundaries.
Her eyes drop to my hand clasped in Hans’s, and she lets out a long breath.
“Does anyone else know this is where you’ve been staying?”
She hasn’t even acknowledged Hans, and that makes me cross.
“No.” I keep his hand firmly in mine.
“Good,” she says. “Then the Carmichaels don’t know.”
I frown at her, not sure that it matters now what Ryan’s family thinks. “I’m sorry, Mom. We’ll find another way.”
She holds up a hand to cut me off.
“You were nervous. I shouldn’t have organized such a big wedding.”
I open my mouth to speak, to say that it wasn’t just nerves, that I don’t love Ryan, and now that I know what love is, I can’t contemplate a marriage without it. But Mom doesn’t let me get a word in.
