Free June Bride: Now and Forever Romance by Regina Duke Page A

reconnect with old friends on Facebook and start networking. Her dorm sisters, the Dorm Storm Twelve, would be her first contacts. But not right now. That sort of action took motivation, and she had none. Instead, she decided to drive around the campus and see if she could retrieve anything that felt like a real live emotion. Because she felt dead inside.
    The rental car was clean and new, but it was gray. Colorless, just like Meredith’s heart. She pointed it toward campus and tried to remember how she’d managed to shower and dress that morning. More proof that she was a pod-person. Did the replacements come out of the pods naked? She couldn’t quite remember. At least she’d put on clothes—black jeans and a form-fitting black tee shirt. Gray car and black clothes, both matching her mood.
    The tree-lined streets and California sunshine tried to lift her spirits. On the seat beside her was her yearbook. She pulled over in front of a row of stores that she remembered from school, old buildings filled with young entrepreneurs. Books, used clothes, a retro music store that was promoting the purity of vinyl in the window, and a gym. No, wait. It looked like the gym had a new owner. She craned her neck to read the sign out front.
    “Dann’s Gym. That’s different.” She squinted at the smaller print on the big front windows. “Tae-Kwon-Do.” As she studied the storefront, a stream of mothers and kids in white uniforms headed for the entrance. “Must be time for class,” she mumbled. Then she frowned. Didn’t she know a Dann from college?
    She opened the yearbook and flipped through it. There she was, and there was her best friend, Allison, and a whole page of pictures of their Dorm Storm group. Bossy blond Clarissa the Organizer stared at the camera with the certainty of a woman in charge. None of their group had pledged a sorority, and that initial bond had united them until, four years later, they were basically their own private club. She ran her fingers fondly over the autographs and messages. What was she looking for? Oh, right. Dann.
    Dann, Dann, wherefore art thou, handsome man? The phrase just popped into her head, and then it came to her. He’d been in her Shakespeare class, and he was indeed handsome in a clean-cut, cheerful way. He was shorter than the other guys in class, but half of them were basketball players. She figured he was about five foot nine. With a cute smile , she thought . His sandy blond hair was always trimmed, and his eyes were emerald green.
    She found him in a series of photos highlighting different sports. She flipped the page to a close up and inhaled with surprise. Cute didn’t even come close! He was adorable.
    The sight of his open, friendly face almost brought a smile to hers, but the grayness of her heart nipped it in the bud. She flipped slowly through the book, wondering how she’d lost touch in Michigan. Why had she gone back there? Ah, yes. The security of relatives. She’d gone back for a post-grad visit, applied for a job on a whim, got it, and that was that. Of course, the fact that the man who interviewed her had shown more than a businesslike interest in her had influenced her decision. And see where that got her? Jilted and unemployed.
    She revisited all the photos that she and her dorm sisters were in. There were quite a few because two of the girls in their group had worked on the yearbook, so they had an in. As she reviewed the happy snapshots, she realized that Dann was always in the background! Odd. She hadn’t noticed that before. But there he was, again and again. Broad shoulders for his height, and always wearing a school sweatshirt. Well, it looked like he’d translated his martial arts training into a business.
    Christopher Dann! That was it. But her girl friends had called him Danny. Danny, Danny, loves our Annie!
    Meredith felt a laugh bubble up inside. Her last name was Oakley, and on the first day of class, Chris had asked her if she was related to