Page 32 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

I had so much work to catch up on that I wasn’t convinced I’d be sleeping for the next month, so⁠—

My thoughts were cut off by my phone buzzing in my pocket. Praying that it was work this time, I kept walking, so close to my office that I could already see my secretary, but nope.

When I checked the screen, I seriously considered just not taking the call. I was so close to getting back to my own life that I could practically taste the coffee from my very own, fancy barista machine. The call rang out, but before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, it started ringing again and I groaned, but it looked like he wouldn’t let up until he’d spoken to me.

“Hey, Marcus,” I said, blowing out a heavy breath through my nose. “What’s going on?”

“I’m at your apartment, but she won’t let me in.”

My eyes slammed shut. “She’d just gotten in the shower when I left. Maybe⁠—”

“No, I mean, she’s yelling at me through the door, but she refuses to open it.”

I pressed my free hand over my face and silently screamed into it. For fuck’s sake. Seriously?

“I’ll be right there,” I said calmly once I’d managed to rein myself in. Then I shot my very confused secretary an apologetic smile before I turned and went back home.

Good Lord. Why am I still doing this? Why? I’m not even a good person. Let alone this good. I need Marcus to leave me the fuck out of this.

When I got back to my building, he was standing next to my doorman, Pat, who grinned when he saw me. “So you finally bring a lady home and she barricades you out of your own apartment? What did you do, Thayer?”

I groaned and shook my head. “Trust me, it’s not my fault this time. Let’s go, Pembroke.”

Without even breaking stride, I headed straight for the elevator, inclining my chin for Marcus to follow me. It looked like he was trying very hard not to smile at Pat’s teasing, but fuck him. Soon enough, I’d explain to Pat that Marcus was the one who was responsible for this—well, sort of—and then we’d see who was smiling.

Once we’d reached the elevator but before I could even press the call button, Marcus caught my arm and pulled me into the stairwell. “Wait. Let’s just talk for a minute before we go up there.”

“With all due respect, I really need to get back to work.”

“It’ll be quick,” he promised, shutting the door behind us but still looking around and keeping his voice down just in case. “Look, Ryan, I’ll level with you. The fact that she came back with you is a miracle.”

“You’re telling me,” I said dryly. “You have no idea what it took to get her into that car, so just land the plane, man. You don’t need to take me to dinner first. What do you want?”

His eyes searched mine for a beat and I saw the desperation shining in them, which was odd. I’d never seen a Pembroke—other than Maggie, to be fair—look desperate for anything before. I didn’t think they knew how to feel that emotion.

“I’ll give you a million dollars to get my sister back into that wedding dress and down the aisle.”

I laughed. “You’re kidding, but I was serious, Marcus. I really need to get back to wor⁠—”

“Look into my eyes and tell me I’m not serious about this,” he interrupted urgently, his voice gruff. “I hate to ask. Seriously. I’d much rather deal with this myself, but Maggie won’t listen to me. So far, you’re the only person she’s let anywhere near her.”

“That should tell you how likely it is that she’s going to follow through with this marriage.”

“There’s no other way, man.” He shoved a hand through his hair before dragging both palms down his face. “That wedding has to happen and right now you’re our only hope.”

I stared back at him, realizing that he was, in fact, serious. “You’re offering me a million dollars to get your sister down the aisle?”

“Yes,” he said without any hesitation whatsoever, his gaze fixed on my own. “If you do this, I’ll personally sign the check for all your troubles. I’m good for it, Ryan. You know I am, so what’s it going to be?”

CHAPTER 14

MAGGIE

Marcus sat across from me in Ryan’s living room while Ryan himself pretended to be extremely busy in the kitchen, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. At least, he wasn’t fooling me. I could practically feel his eyes on us whenever he thought I wasn’t paying attention to him.

At the same time, I was grateful that he was here. As soon as he’d walked in with Marcus in tow, there had been a moment when I’d thought of running again, but everything Ryan had said this morning was still true.

I had to at least try to fix this, and Marcus, being the oldest and the most level-headed, was probably the only person in my family who might actually try to understand. Once that urge to run had subsided, I’d decided to lay it all out for the very first time. With Ryan here to back me up, maybe I stood a chance.