Page 34 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

He stared at me at me for a long beat, but that last comment seemed to have settled it. “You’ve really thought this through, huh?”

“Not particularly, but that’s the deal I’m willing to offer.” My parents would never go for it, which meant I’d won, but I held my brother’s gaze calmly and took another sip of my coffee. “If they expect me to spend the rest of my life with a man I didn’t choose, it only seems fair that I do get to choose where I do it and what I wear while I’m committing my life to that man, don’t you think?”

“Fine,” he said finally. “I’ll talk to them, but I can’t promise they’ll agree.”

I bit back a smile. “I know. Just try, but make it clear that if they don’t, there will be no wedding unless one of you wants to marry one of the Hawthorne boys.”

Marcus looked at me like he knew exactly what my game was, but he didn’t call me out on it. “I’ll convey the message, but I’m not leaving until you’ve set a date. If you want them to believe you’re serious about this, you need to be serious about it. There can’t be a wedding without a date.”

“She also needs to confirm with Daniel that he actually still wants to do this,” Ryan said from the kitchen. “After the stunt she pulled last week, there’s no guarantee that the Hawthornes will come back to the table.”

Marcus nodded. “That’s true. We’ll have to set up a meeting.”

I groaned. “I forgot about him.”

Ryan sighed. “That’s probably not the best sign for a marriage.”

“I meant I forgot he might not want to marry me anymore.”

Marcus sighed. “I’ll speak to Daniel and smooth things over. For now, just set a date, Maggie. Make it soon. No one is going to wait another six months.”

“Okay.”

As he stood up, he looked back at Ryan. “What about her living arrangements?”

“She can stay here for a while,” he said. “Just until things cool off a bit.”

I hadn’t expected that, but Marcus nodded, gave me a quick hug, and left. As soon as the door swung shut behind him, I finally spoke again. “I’ll stay here, but I’m not sleeping on the couch.”

Ryan ignored the comment, fixing me with a knowing look as he walked out from around the kitchen counter and leaned with his butt against it instead, facing me. “Are you actually serious about all of this, or are you just stringing your family along the ride?”

“You heard Marcus. I have to be serious about it, but I’m also serious about making it everyone’s problem until they eventually give up.”

He frowned at me. “You know that’s not a real strategy, right?”

“It is if you have enough stamina, and I do.”

He shook his head. “That’s insane. They’re not going to let you out of marrying him just because you want to pick a flower arrangement.”

“Clearly, you don’t know my mother,” I said. “Sit down before you hurt yourself on this one, Ryan. You couldn’t possibly understand.”

“That’s probably fair.” He raked his fingers through his hair and exhaled a deep breath, then looked at me again. “Why didn’t you tell Marcus about the picture we found at the cottage?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, letting my gaze wander to the window. “It’s just that apparently, Pembroke marriages have failed before. I just need more ammo before I bring it up. That way, I may be able to use my grandfather’s past to strengthen my case about wanting to marry for love, which is my goal.”

He groaned but pushed away from the counter and shook his head. “I give up. Let’s just drop it for now. Do you want something to eat?”

“Believe it or not, I’m actually a very good cook.”

“That’s great, because I’m not.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Either way, I’m still ordering Chinese tonight. It’s been a very long day and I’m starving. The last thing I feel like doing is starving for even longer just because I don’t have the ingredients you need.”

CHAPTER 15

RYAN

Isaac, my older brother, had stopped in New York on his way from Cairo to Chicago. When he’d asked to meet me for lunch, I’d been excited to see him, even if I hadn’t quite understood why he’d make a pit stop here.

As soon as he smirked across the table when I sat down, however, I realized that he hadn’t only wanted to have lunch because he’d missed me. In fact, I doubted the bastard had missed me at all.