“I need to get out of here. Right now.”
Roman’s eyebrows shoot up. “Getting cold feet?”
“Only because I am standing outside in heels,” I reply.
“Do I need to know what this is about?”
“This mission is on a need-to-know basis.” I look over my shoulder to make sure no one has seen us.
Roman must sense my urgency because he holds out his helmet. I eye it distastefully.
“I can’t believe you came to my wedding on a bike,” I say, instead of taking the helmet. My heart is pounding as my brain slowly catches up to what’s happening. I’ve been left at the altar and I’m about to run away with Roman Maddox of all people.
“At least I wore a suit.” He smooths a hand over his jacket.
“How troublesome that must have been for you,” I say, with a roll of my eyes. Roman plays right wing for the Philadelphia Falcons, the same team as Josh, and is required to wear a suit every game day. Wearing one now is not a new experience.
“The longer you stall, the faster someone finds us,” he says, waving the helmet in my face.
I roll my lips between my teeth, even though my decision is already made. I’ve never been on a motorcycle before, and Roman is exactly the sort of man your mother warns you against getting on a bike with. But I can’t stick around here and wait for my family to find me.
I love them to death and the feeling is mutual on their end. I can’t face them right now. My whole life I’ve been the good kid who’s never embarrassed her parents or done anything wrong. Somehow, I managed to pick a man who was entirely wrong for me. Why couldn’t Josh fucking realize he didn’t want to marry me any other day?
“Give it to me.” I grab the helmet and pop it on. Roman gets on the bike and I grab my dress, swinging my leg over the bike and tucking my dress around me.
The bike roars to life under us and Roman jerks it forward. I yelp.
“Better hang on tight, Blossom,” he calls back.
I wrap my arms around his waist, my heart thumping inside my chest and pulse roaring in my ears. I can’t help thinking I’m making a huge mistake but doing the right thing isn’t exactly working right now.
“Please don’t kill us!”
His laugh is the last thing I hear before we’re rushing out of the parking lot and onto the road, the resort a dot in the distance.
TWO
LAVINIA
If anyone asked me yesterday what I’d be doing on my wedding day, my answer wouldn’t have been running away with Roman Maddox.
The guy I’ve known since we were kids because our fathers played for the Boston Titans at the same time. The guy who’s made a reputation in the NHL for being a loose cannon on the ice and has earned himself the nickname The Brutalizer because of how often he gets into a fight on the ice. It’s every game.
I guess all that trumps the fact that he used to be my friend once upon a time, even though we hadn’t seen each other in years before I started dating Josh.
We’re driving around Providence, and I have to admit, being on the back of a bike is freeing. It’s freezing, but Roman isn’t speeding and he’s driving the speed limit. I can almost forget that right now, my best friend is telling all my guests and family that the wedding is off.
I don’t know how long we’ve been driving around for when Roman pulls the bike over and parks it. We’re on a main road with heavy foot traffic and people are throwing curious looks our way. The engine cuts out beneath me. I can still feel the vibrations through my body.
“Do you want ice cream?”
It’s then I notice that we’re parked in front of an ice cream store, one that boasts being founded in 1901 and being Providence’s premiere ice cream shop. I’m not sure if ice-cream is enough to make me feel better but I am not a savage. “Yeah, that’ll be great.”
Roman gets off first and when he sees the way I’m sitting—my legs bare, the dress bunched and tucked under me—he laughs. The sound is rich and deep and causes the muscles in my lower belly to tighten.
Get a grip, Lavinia! This is Roman, for crying out loud, and you’ve been left by your fiancé hours before your wedding.
How am I still capable of feeling any form of attraction to the opposite sex? My body doesn’t seem to have registered my disaster of a wedding day because it’s behaving in ways it definitely shouldn’t be.
