Page 43 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

She shrugged. “What else would I do?”

I almost groaned out loud. The universe sure had a strange sense of humor, but apparently, we were going on my work trip. Together.

CHAPTER 18

MAGGIE

Lightning raced across the sky in terrifying, beautiful forks that seemed so close from up in Ryan’s apartment that it felt like I could reach out and touch them. I stared, transfixed, at the storm that had arrived with almost no warning.

Early this evening, clouds had started rolling in, but they hadn’t looked particularly threatening. Ryan had gotten home, we’d eaten and packed, and then a loud boom of thunder had practically rattled the windows and the skies had opened.

Through the glass, I watched the rain coming down in sheets being carried sideways by driving wind. I could barely make out the city below, the twinkling lights so blurry that it was almost like the streets had been submerged.

Ryan stood near the window just a few panes away from me with his phone pressed to his ear and his lips pursed in frustration as he listened to whatever the person on the other end was saying. Finally, he spoke, his words interspersed with more comments from the other person.

“No, I understand.” A pause. “That’s fine. Yes, I know. Thanks.”

When he hung up, I finally turned away from the terrifying beauty of the storm and looked at him, not missing the tension lining in his features and the irritation flickering in those eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Our flight has been canceled on account of… that.” He motioned toward the windows and sighed. “We’re going to have to take the train.”

“The train?” I tried to hold back my grin, but I couldn’t. “Are you serious?”

He frowned. “Yes?”

Excitement sped through me like a bullet, my heart fluttering as a soft laugh escaped me. “Yeah. Yes. Let’s do it. Let’s take the train. Are you coming? What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Ryan’s head slowly tilted as he watched me, that dark hair falling across his forehead and his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Uh, Maggie? Are you okay? Is your brain, like, glitching or something?”

“Nope.” I wrapped my jacket tighter around myself and strode to the door, picking up my bag and sliding the strap over my shoulder even though he hadn’t moved an inch. “This is just fantastic, that’s all. We’re taking the train.”

“Yeah, okay,” he muttered, his head shaking and his eyebrows riding high as he followed me, grabbed his own bag, and opened the door. “After you, oh weird one.”

I laughed, genuinely thrilled about this development. “I’m not weird. I’m excited. Aren’t you?”

“About taking the train? No.”

He locked up behind us, still casting worried glances my way every so often. A driver picked us up downstairs and deposited us as close as he could get to the terminal, but the rain had turned the sidewalks into shallow rivers, and by the time we got inside, I was soaked from the knees down.

While it was definitely cold and uncomfortable, nothing could detract from my wonder as I stared at the massive, cathedral-like glass roof covering the main hall of Penn Station. Ryan marched ahead like he didn’t even notice it while I stumbled along after him, almost tripping over my own feet a few times as we made our way down the concourse.

“This is incredible,” I murmured when he finally stood still, signaling that we’d reached the spot where we would wait for our train. “Just magnificent, don’t you think? Did you know that this used to be a post office? They even reused the steel trusses from what used to be the sorting room.”

When I glanced over at him, he was staring at me with a slightly pinched, definitely concerned expression on his face. “I did know that, actually. What I don’t know is why you’re so excited about it.”

I backed toward a seat and sat down, glancing up at rain splashing against the enormous windows. All around us, people seemed to know exactly what they were doing. They rushed back and forth, striding with deliberate purpose and phones pressed to their ears or occupying their attention in their hands.

It seemed impossible, but it honestly looked like not one other person in here was even slightly awed by where we were. When Ryan dropped into the seat beside mine, I looked back at him, feeling my cheeks warm as I held his gaze.

“I’ve never been on a train,” I admitted. “My parents never even allowed me to take the subway.”

He stared back at me, his jaw slackening until he looked completely horrified. “Never?”

“Never.” I sighed and leaned back against the bench, my eyes drawn up to the massive skylight again when more lightning raced overhead. “I’ve always wanted to go on one. Actually, scratch that. I’ve always wanted to be able to use trains like everyone else, but my parents said it was too dangerous.”

“It’s the subway, Maggie. Not a war zone. Why didn’t you just do it anyway? In my experience, you don’t really let your parents stop you from doing what you want.”

I looked out at the modern glass walls existing right beside old-school industrial strength, the modern art right next to original concrete and steel columns. It was fascinating, breathtaking, and so damn sad to be seeing it in person for the first time at twenty-six that I almost started crying.