Page 90 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

“He does outweigh you,” I said as I pushed back to my feet. “Pretty soon, I think he’s going to be double your weight.”

She gave me a small smile. “Yeah, he’s growing fast.”

I glanced down at him again. “At this rate, he’s going to be even bigger than Brutus when he’s fully grown.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I might’ve bitten off more than I can chew with him, but it’s worth it. He’s a sweetheart.”

When I looked back up at her, she was rubbing her palm where the leash had probably burned it and I frowned, itching to grab her hand to check the injury for myself. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. He just got a little excited.”

The puppy sat between us with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging. I shook my head at him. “You’re in trouble, boy.”

He gave another little yelp-like bark and Maggie smiled. “I think he misses you.”

“I think he’d miss anyone who gives him attention.”

“That’s not true.” She pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head, and as soon as her actual eyes met mine, my heart stammered. It had been almost a month since I’d last seen her, but despite all the work I’d put into moving on, all I wanted to do right now was kiss her.

God, I’m so fucked.

As our eyes held, there were a hundred things I could have asked, but instead of going there, I inclined my chin toward the dog. “You need to use a stronger voice with him.”

She frowned. “What?”

“He’ll listen more if you use a stronger tone. Like, if you’re firmer. You might even be able to stop him from dragging you across the park again.”

Her lips pursed. “You didn’t even want him.”

I sighed but kept my voice light because there was no chance in hell I was going to say what I was actually thinking or even have her guess that I was thinking it at all. “You just need to tell him no, Mags. You’d be amazed what happens when you actually mean it.”

Just like with your own impulsive behavior and saying no when it really matters, like when you’re actually going through with a wedding to a man you don’t want to marry.

“I suppose you might be right.” She swallowed hard, looking at me for another moment before she gave me a very obviously forced smile. “How have you been, Ryan?”

It was such a simple question that I really should’ve been able to answer without skipping a beat, but instead, I just looked at her for a long time. I’ve been fine. Busy, tired, horny, and lonely, but dealing with it all.

When I didn’t answer, she seemed to understand I’d been worse than I was willing to admit and her smile, as tiny and forced as it had been, faded. “Yeah, I’ve been about the same.”

And therein lies the problem.

I knew exactly what would happen if we started talking. We’d only make it worse. One of us would say something we couldn’t take back, then the other would retaliate, either with honesty or bitterness, and before we knew it, we’d either be bickering or kissing in Central Park while she was now, officially, engaged to someone else again.

I could already see the tears shining in her eyes and I hated it with a fiery passion because I knew she was trying to hold herself together and pretend that she was fine even though she wasn’t. We were both trying to pretend that this was normal, and it wasn’t.

It fucking sucked. All of it.

The puppy, however, still had an undeniable zest for life. Too busy staring into Maggie’s shining eyes to notice that something had captured his attention, I acted on pure instinct when he suddenly made a break for freedom, yanking the leash so hard that she stumbled sideways.

I caught her elbow, steadying her before gently taking the leash from her. “Perhaps we should split custody.”

Those hazel eyes flicked back up to mine, surprise cascading through them as she blinked hard. “I thought you didn’t want him.”

“I never said I didn’t want him. I just didn’t want to take him while we were still figuring things out.”

“Are they figured out now?” she asked quietly, still holding my gaze.

I looked back at her and thought about that wedding invitation, her and Daniel’s names entwined in that fancy, embossed lettering, and nodded. “Yeah. I, uh, I think they are.”