Page 58 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

One corner of his mouth curved slightly upward. “I thought it might.”

I smiled. “So to be clear, you didn’t want a beach wedding?”

He stared back at me for another moment, then laughed. “No. God, no. I only like sand when it comes with swimming and elaborate cocktails served in a tropical fruit. If those things aren’t involved, it’s just not worth it.”

“Thank God.”

Daniel leaned back in his chair, amusement still shimmering in his eyes. “Okay, so what are you really telling me, Maggie? You don’t want a beach wedding, sure, but is that it? If I’m being honest, I actually thought the beach was your idea. My mother made it sound like your mom had insisted.”

“She might’ve,” I admitted. “My mom has an insane amount of opinions.”

“So does mine,” he said easily. “That appears to be one thing we have in common.”

We looked at each other for just another second before we both laughed again, but I realized as I stared into his eyes under that bright blue sky on a gorgeous sunny day, that Daniel wasn’t my husband. He wasn’t my man.

There was not even the faintest spark of chemistry here. He was handsome, kind, and by all accounts, intelligent too. Someday, he was probably going to make an excellent husband but not to me.

Thankfully, judging by the complete lack of interest in his eyes, I wasn’t his woman either. Relief spiraled through me when that piece of the puzzle clicked. We were both in a corner, but at least we were in it together.

Truly.

“So what do we do now?” I asked. “Our mothers are both going to detest the wedding I want, but that doesn’t matter if you’ve changed your mind about me.”

His eyebrows crept up, genuine surprise flickering in his eyes. “My mind doesn’t matter, Maggie. The offer stands. Of course, I’ll marry you, but right now, I don’t consider us engaged.”

“What are we, then?”

“Nothing,” he said simply. “Nothing but two people whose families have entered into a contract. In a way, I guess that makes us business partners. Or maybe it makes them business partners. I’m not even sure, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s business and it can stay that way.”

As he said it, I would have expected a flash of anger or at least irritation, but he didn’t even sound bitter. If anything, he sounded relieved. I should’ve been devastated, but instead, it felt like he’d just tugged at the giant knot that’d been sitting right at the center of my chest for months and unraveled all that tension with just a few sentences.

“The fanfare around it all the first time around felt completely forced to me,” he admitted a second later. “If possible, I’d like to skip that if we decide to try again, but outside of that, I defer to you.”

I blinked hard. This should’ve felt like a way out. It wasn’t perfect, but it still could’ve been an out if I just told my parents Daniel didn’t want me.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t true. He’d just said he would still marry me, which meant Ryan had been right. Daniel really was a good man. I almost groaned. Of course, he was right. He’s been right about everything all along.

Daniel was exactly the type of man I should be grateful for. He just didn’t make my heart beat faster.

“You defer to me.” I finally said. “Does that mean we’re not engaged?”

Daniel shrugged. “We don’t have to be, but we do both have a lot riding on this marriage, so if you do decide to show up at the altar, I’ll be there with you.”

He stood up and checked the time. “Whatever you want, Maggie. That’s what it means. Just let me know on the day, okay? If you’re not going to go through with it, I’d like to not be at the altar either this time.”

“You’re leaving?” I asked when he slipped his hands into his pockets and inclined his chin like he considered it settled. “Don’t you want to know what I’d like for the wedding or tell me what you want included?”

“Nah, I’m okay. To be honest, I’ve never spent any time thinking about my wedding or what I want for it. As long as you’re happy, I’ll be fine. What I don’t want, however, is to be late for my next meeting, so I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Okay,” I said softly, watching in a state of utter disbelief as he spun around and left without looking back.

Nothing had really changed between us, but it sure felt like everything had. Daniel was leaving it up to me to decide, which meant I had a choice. I could do it my way or not at all, and the very idea of it left me reeling.

Clearly, Daniel didn’t care one way or the other. He didn’t consider us engaged unless I showed up at the altar. He didn’t even want to know where we would be getting married if I decided to go through with it.

Nothing.

He genuinely only planned on showing up if I told him to.