Free Return of the Runaway Bride by Donna Fasano

didn't take me directly home. I was so embarrassed, and so afraid you'd never call me again. I felt horrible that he gave you such a hard time."
    "He wasn't the only one who gave me a hard time." Daniel grimaced. "I was scolded by every person I came into contact with for the next week. Miz Ida topped the list. When I ran into the Kwik -E Mart to buy my mother a pint of milk, Miz Ida demanded to know my intentions where you were concerned. And, I swear, Marty Brown actually growled every time I saw him."
    "Stop," Savanna pleaded. "I can't laugh anymore. My stomach muscles are aching."
    Daniel gazed at her with dark, serious eyes. He leaned over and brushed her hair from her cheek. "I do agree, though, up until that point…" he let his thumb slide down her jawline "…it was a romantic evening."
    He let his hand drop, but he remained close enough for her to smell his cologne, a dark, wild fragrance that enticed a woman to do things she might later regret.
    She shook her head to clear the sensual thoughts. She and Daniel were sharing a heartfelt memory, that was all.
    "We certainly did have some good times together," she remarked.
    "We did."
    Impulsively she reached out and touched her hand to his knee. "Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry I ran away like I did."
    He drew away from her, but her verbal momentum surged ahead and she continued. "But I had to. I just had to, can't you see? It wasn't your fault. It was me . I tried to explain all that."
    " Explain ?" His voice nearly cracked as it elevated in tone. "You never tried to explain anything."
    Savanna had never before seen such a lightning-fast change in a person's demeanor. One moment Daniel had been calm and serene in his reminiscence, the next he was a mass of bitter energy. His body had gone as stiff as the wood in the tree behind her. He'd actually pinched up a handful of the blanket beneath them.
    "But I did," she protested. "I wrote you..."
    Daniel just shook his head. "You may have meant to leave a note. You may have meant to get in touch with me, call me, something. But you never did." His eyes narrowed and he savagely repeated, "You never did."
    Savanna opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get any words out she saw him struggle with the anger he felt. He took only a split second to control himself and slide a blank mask down over his features. She was awed by the fact that he could so thoroughly hide such explosive emotion.
    "I think I should go."
    "Daniel," she said, "we have to talk about this. It isn't right for you to deny your feelings this way."
    "There's nothing to deny or confess." The words were short and sharp.
    "There is," she refuted. "You are angry with me. You're angry that I ran away from our wedding. You're angry that I left you to face our friends."
    "I am not."
    Savanna pursued relentlessly. "You're angry that I left you to explain everything to your parents. And mine." She moved closer to him. "You're angry that I left you to face the town. All alone." She leaned even closer and she lowered her tone in an effort to gain the biggest impact as she said, "You, Daniel Walsh, are so full of outrage that you don't even know how to deal with it."
    His control snapped and his ire glittered brightly in his brown eyes. Savanna felt an instant of triumph, but it was quickly quashed and replaced by uncertainty when he reached up with both hands and firmly cupped her face.
    "I guess there's just one way," he whispered, "to prove you wrong." And he covered her mouth with his.
    Savanna felt as though she were under siege of his lips, not as if she were being kissed by them. His attack was hot. Fierce. His eyes were wide open and so were hers.
    Panic flitted around the edges of her brain, but before the emotion could fully take hold, Daniel ended the kiss by jerking away from her.
    "There," he said, his voice ragged as torn cloth. "That ought to prove it once and for all."
    He got to his feet and stomped off across the open field, leaving Savanna