Free The Runaway Bride by Noelle Marchand Page A

fists. His heart began to race.
    “Sean, where’s the fire?”
    He stopped short, then whirled toward his friend’s voice, feeling a mixture of dread and relief. “Lawson.”
    Lawson tipped back his Stetson to look at him. “Where have you been? My parents have been out on a doctor’s call all day. I got tired of my own company so I went to the café. I was going to rope you into going with me, but I couldn’t find you.”
    “Sorry,” he mumbled. Glancing away to survey the town’s quiet streets, he debated whether or not to tell Lawson what had happened. How could he not? Lawson had a right to know as his best friend and Lorelei’s former fiancé. He swallowed, realizing he might have just gained a wife and lost a best friend. He cleared his throat. “I hope you didn’t wait for me. I had dinner with the Wilkins family.”
    Lawson’s mouth dropped open. “You don’t say? Well, no wonder you were running like you saw a skunk and looked like you swallowed a porcupine.”
    Sean shook his head. “Where do you get those sayings?”
    “I don’t know. They just pop into my head. Are you going to tell me what happened at the Wilkinses’ or am I going to have to guess?”
    Sean shook his head. “You couldn’t guess this. I’ll tell you, but I think you’d better sit down.”
    Lawson frowned curiously then lifted his chin in the direction of the Williamses’ house. “Well, come on then. Ma made a pitcher of sweet tea and there are a couple of glasses left. We can sit on the porch.”
    A few minutes later, Sean clutched the sweating glass of sweet tea tensely as a heavy silence settled between him and his best friend. He’d done his best to explain the circumstances of his predicament and the events that were about to take place. Lawson had listened intently, but his expression remained inscrutably thoughtful. Finally, when he thought Sean couldn’t bear the silence another minute, a wry smile pulled at Lawson’s lips. “I think your mischievous youth has come back to haunt you.”
    The glass nearly slipped from Sean’s hand. “Is that all you have to say?”
    “What did you expect me to say?”
    “I had no idea.” He set his drink on the table next to him, then slumped in the wicker chair in a strange mixture of relief and confusion. “I thought you might yell at me.”
    Lawson was the picture of nonchalance as he propped his arm on the back of the wicker bench. “Why would I yell at you?”
    Sean sat up in disbelief. “She was your fiancée!”
    “Right. She was my fiancée.”
    “If you’d hit me, I would have called it fair. I almost wish you would. I’d hit myself if it were me.”
    Lawson’s smile spread. “Now that would be something to see.”
    Sean rested his forearms against his knees. “Listen, stop being glib about this. I thought you loved her.”
    “I thought I did, too…for a while.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Now I think I just loved the idea of being loved by a girl like that. You know what I mean?”
    “No,” he said dryly.
    “Let’s just say that when she left me at the altar a little part of me was relieved. I wasn’t happy at the time because it was mighty embarrassing for both of us, but if we’d gone through with it…” He shook his head at some imagined outcome, then met Sean’s gaze again. “How is Lorelei reacting to all of this?”
    “She’s no better off than I am.” He frowned. “Worse probably and she let me know it.”
    “That’s what I don’t get about this whole thing. Lorelei and I never argued. We got along perfectly. I thought that meant we were in love, but now that I know we never were, I’m inclined to think there just weren’t any strong feelings there at all. Not even enough to make us bicker.” He crossed his arms and tilted his head suspiciously. “You two, on the other hand, can’t seem to be in the same room for longer than a minute before you’re shooting invisible bullets at each other. It makes me