Page 82 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

Maybe that was what loving her meant. So even as her eyes filled with fresh tears, I looked at Daniel, who was still standing beside her with a furrowed brow and suspicion in his eyes. “She’s the best person I’ve ever met. Look after her, okay? She deserves better than what she’s been offered so far.”

Maggie Pembroke might’ve become the person I couldn’t imagine not having in my life, but I loved her enough to take myself out of the equation. So that’s what I’m doing.

Daniel turned back to Maggie and opened his mouth, but instead of listening to him, she raised a hand and flagged down an approaching taxi. The driver stopped in a skid of water sloshing over the sidewalk, but she didn’t even seem to notice, just yanking open the door and disappearing into the back seat.

Neither Daniel nor I tried to stop her, both of us simply watching as she left. Rain ran down my face, soaking me to the bone. Daniel was dripping too. He sighed a few seconds later and backed up until he was next to me.

“Do you think she’s going to come back?”

I stared at the tail lights of the cab as it turned a corner several blocks down the street. “Nope.”

“Yeah, me either.” We stood there for another beat before I felt him glance at me. “Can I buy you a beer?”

A delirious laugh bubbled up from deep in my chest. In what universe do I spend a night drinking beer with a man after helping his fiancée run away from their wedding?

It was absurd, but I swallowed the hysteria and spun back toward the bar feeling like my life had officially become satire. “Sure.”

We sat down at a high-top in the corner and waited for the bartender to deliver the pitcher we’d ordered on our way in. Holden and Marcus had disappeared, which left Daniel and me completely on our own. I was sure I’d be hearing from both of the others later, but for now, I poured a beer when the pitcher came and looked down at the rising bubbles in the glass, considering my options for just a beat.

“There’s something I have to tell you, Daniel,” I admitted finally.

He looked at me across the table, halfway through pouring a drink of his own. “What’s that?”

“I slept with your fiancée,” I said, ripping off the band-aid with as little inflection as humanly possible. “I know it won’t make much of a difference, but it wasn’t planned and it won’t happen again.”

He sighed and took a long drink, swallowing before he looked back up at me. “Maggie and I aren’t engaged, Ryan.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t make it less terrible. You might not be engaged, but she is your future wife. As weird as it is to say that out loud.”

“Maybe, but maybe not,” he said easily. “The point is that she and I aren’t together. You didn’t sleep with my anything. She’s free to do what she wants with whoever she wants, and so am I. That’ll be true until the day we say our vows. If we ever even say them at all.”

Both of my eyebrows arched. “You’re taking this suspiciously well.”

“I’m not.” He took another sip of his drink. “I’m just not surprised, is all. I knew from the beginning Maggie wanted something I couldn’t give her.”

“Love?” I guessed out loud.

He shrugged. “Sure, that too, but I was more thinking that she wanted a choice. So did I, if I’m being completely honest. I know exactly what I want out of life and it’s not Maggie Pembroke, but here we are.”

Daniel stared into his beer and my heart slammed against my chest. “You don’t want her?”

“Of course not.” He glanced back up at me with a dry, humorless smile on his lips. “I don’t know her, Ryan. How could I want someone who’s practically a stranger?”

“You’ve been so chill about this whole thing, I guess I just assumed…” I trailed off and shook my head. “I don’t know, actually. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.”

“Same.” He paused for a beat. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t want this wedding and I know she doesn’t either. If I had it my way, I’d be on a yacht in the Mediterranean or something, worrying about where to drop anchor for the night instead of feeling like I’m forcing a stranger down the aisle, but I can’t have it that way, can I?”

He took another drink before bringing his gaze back up to mine. “This is what you were able to avoid, Ryan. It’s the only silver lining I can see in the Thayer fracture, but it’s a pretty fucking bright one. You get to choose. Maggie and I don’t.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, and it was an honest question. “People keep reminding me we always have choices. Maybe you do, too.”

“I really don’t,” he said after shaking his head. “Trust me, I’ve thought about finding a way out of this a million times, but I’m going to marry her because it’s what’s being asked of me and it’s being asked of me because of money, the estate, and my inheritance. It’s my duty as the eldest.”

He glanced out the rain-streaked window, suddenly looking so miserable that I genuinely felt for him. “One day, I’ll sit in my father’s chair, looking out over the whole of New York City, and ask the same thing of my son. Maybe I’ll hate it then as much as I do now, but I’ll do it anyway.”

Huffing out a quiet laugh, he brought his glass back to his lips and took another long drink. “You’re free, Ryan. That’s worth more than what any of us have.”

I stared at the glass in my hand and realized he was right, which was a pretty harsh thing to realize after all this time being pissed about losing everything. While I’d valued the freedom that had come along with it all along, it had never occurred to me quite how deep that went.