Page 52 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

“Uh, Ryan?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s only one bed.”

“I know. I’ll take the couch.” I strode to the closet in the hallway that contained the extra bedding, pulled out a pillow and a blanket, and then stopped to look at her. She was standing just a few feet away, watching me with a certain look in her eyes I really didn’t want to see. “Goodnight, Maggie.”

Please don’t keep being disappointed about this, and please, please don’t look at me like you actually wanted me to kiss you.

“Goodnight, Ryan.” She disappeared into the bedroom, but I didn’t hear the lock click into place my behind her.

I let out a quiet groan as I dropped onto the couch and tried to ignore the fact that it was too short. This was the punishment I got for almost making a terrible romantic decision, so I covered myself in the blanket and stared at the ceiling, waiting for my heart to calm down.

Part of me wanted to scream into the pillow, but instead, I held it to my chest and rolled over, desperately willing myself to just fall asleep already. Absolutely nothing good would come of it if either of us stayed awake right now—and it would be so much worse if we both did.

CHAPTER 22

MAGGIE

After a few days in Chicago, getting away from my world and into Ryan’s, I was at peace. While he’d spent most of those days working, I’d spent them wandering around his neighborhood, shopping for clothes I actually found comfortable, eating whatever food I wanted, and discovering a deep love for being free to explore without anyone caring who I was.

It was glorious. I was beginning to understand why Ryan liked living between the two cities, constantly being where no one expected. It was a lot easier to fly under the radar that way.

Unfortunately, feeling like I was free didn’t necessarily mean it was true. While I was folding the last of my things into a new suitcase to head back to New York, my phone rang and Marcus’s name lit up the screen.

I stared at it for a beat, just innocently buzzing on the crisp white comforter while sunshine streamed in through the windows and the city carried on six stories below. A very large part of me wished I could just ignore the call, put on some shoes, and go join those people on the sidewalks who weren’t wondering how long it would be before they’d be marrying someone they didn’t know, but that wasn’t my life.

Sighing as I reached for the phone, I finally swiped across the screen and put my brother on speaker. “Hey, Marcus.”

“Are you back yet?” he asked instead of even saying hello first. “We need to talk.”

“You know, with an opening like that, I’m not sure I’ll be coming back at all.”

He sighed, the sound making me smile. Marcus sighing at me had been a defining feature of my childhood. Frankly, it was comforting hearing it again now.

“The wedding has to go forward, Maggie. I know you’ve been sitting on a text from Daniel asking to talk, but it’s time. Respond to him and let’s get the wedding planning ball rolling again.”

I lifted my gaze back to the windows and looked out at a city I hadn’t had nearly enough of yet, the glittering water of Lake Michigan only just visible in the distance and kids playing in a large park on the next block over.

“It’s still a hard no from me,” I said after a brief pause. “When I’m in love, then it’ll be a yes, but not a second before.”

“That’s not how this works.”

“It should be,” I countered. “Both of us have been raised to accept that marriage is simply our fate, with no say in it otherwise, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.”

He let out another sigh, longer and more frustrated this time. “Daniel expects very little from you, Mags. If you just give him a chance, I’m sure you’ll learn to like him.”

“It’s not that I don’t like him,” I argued. “Again, Daniel is fine, but I’m not in love with him and I want to be in love.”

“I know, but⁠—”

“No, you don’t know. You don’t get it at all because you’re not the one talking about committing to someone you don’t even know. I actually want to love my husband, Marcus. I want to want him. I want to look at him and feel something other than relief that he’s kind, rich, and acceptable to the family.”

“Daniel is a lot more than just that.”

“I’m sure he is, but he also expects very little from me.”

“Exactly. Why is that a problem?”