Page 97 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

He sighed, smiling again as he shook his head. “Fair enough. Your wishes are the priority until they clash with our mothers’. After that, the only place they go is out the window.”

I chuckled, wrapping my arms around myself as we drifted around the ballroom. Large, round tables had been set up, starched white tablecloths already covering them in preparation for the reception. “I still would have preferred to be outside. Even without the carnival, but at least it’s really pretty in here.”

Daniel nodded, but he hadn’t looked away from me yet. “Have you spoken to Ryan recently?”

My stomach twisted itself into knots, but I nodded. This was the most time Daniel and I had ever spent together, but a couple days from now, we would be married. Whether we liked it or not, this was the start of our future together, and if we were laying a foundation, I didn’t want it built on dishonesty.

“I ran into him in the park in a few days ago,” I admitted. “After that, I went to his apartment to get my puppy back and we sort of had an argument.”

“You have a puppy?” Daniel frowned. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, I, uh, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about him,” I said quietly. “Ryan and I met him when we went to make the arrangements for the carnival, but he wouldn’t let me take him home that day. Instead, he promised to bring him to me once I sent out the invitations for the wedding, so when he received his, he went and got me the puppy.”

“When he received his invitation, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t realize he was invited,” Daniel said mildly.

I glanced down at the floor, watching soft rays of sunshine spill across the polished wood. “I invited him, but I don’t expect him to come.”

“Is it because you don’t want him here?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s because I don’t think he wants to be anywhere near me or the wedding anymore.”

Daniel studied me for a moment before he leaned against one of the sideboards and folded his arms loosely over his chest, his gaze weirdly soft on mine. “What happened, Maggie?”

Once again, I considered lying. The last thing I would’ve wanted to hear about from him right now was another woman. Although, if I was being honest, I was sure there were many waiting in the wings to take my place.

I suddenly felt awful about not even knowing if any of them were special to him, but as I stared back into his eyes, so full of understanding, I realized that Daniel and I might not know each other very well yet, but that would change.

With time, we would get to know each other, and maybe one day, he’d trust me enough to tell me if our marriage had taken the same thing from him as it had from me. Either way, we were getting married and I didn’t want him to feel blindsided if any of this came up later.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said honestly. “The only thing that’s relevant is that it’s over between Ryan and me. It was over before it even really had a chance to begin.”

Daniel exhaled a heavy breath through his nose and turned his head to stare out of the wide windows at the lush green lawns beyond. “For what it’s worth, I like him.”

My eyebrows shot up, surprise making my extremities suddenly feel numb. “What?”

He turned back to me and smiled. “I like him. Why do you sound so shocked about that?”

“Uh, maybe because I am?” I said, my nose wrinkling. “I don’t think you’re supposed to like him.”

Daniel barked out a laugh. “Why not?”

“Could it be because you and I are getting married and I’m standing here talking to you about how it’s over with somebody else?”

Daniel shrugged. “Whatever happened between you two happened. We weren’t engaged anymore, remember? We’re not even really engaged now.”

“Yeah, I know.” I sighed. “It’s all just so freaking weird.”

“It really, really is.” He ran both hands through his hair and looked out across the ballroom, slowly raking his gaze across the tables in various states of preparation. “Look, Maggie, let’s just be honest here, okay?”

“I thought that was what we were doing.”

“Exactly.” He shot me a small, almost apologetic smile. “You and I have accepted our fate. I respect you and I feel like you respect me too. I don’t think you’d be telling me all of this if you didn’t.”

“Yeah?”