The ladies said “aw.”
He gave them what Chloe called his wicked smile. “Being a protective older brother, you can bet I’ve been planning this roast—I mean toast—since the day I caught Grady kissing Ronnie in our garage.” There was a light chuckle, and he began to relax into the moment. The day had turned out to mean so much more to him than he’d believed it could be, mostly because of the woman sitting next to him. Chloe had stolen his breath and his heart away. He glanced down and took her hand once again, never wanting to let go. She lifted her gaze to his, and her luminous brown eyes chased all the words from his memory. All the teasing he’d planned evaporated.
Without looking away, because he physically couldn’t, he said, “At first, I was upset at the two of them for falling in love—a guy’s sister should be off-limits. Then I was mad at them for keeping it a secret.” The sound of silverware clinking against china plates and the shuffling of a hundred and fifty people faded away. In this moment, it was just him and Chloe, and he said what was in his heart. “But I think I reacted that way because I didn’t understand what it was like to be in love. I get it now.”
Chloe’s free hand went to her throat and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She’d never looked more beautiful to him than she did in this moment. Love made her shine like an angel.
“I get it now,” he continued, wanting to empty his heart into her hands. “I get why Grady leaves work early and dogs our Saturday flag football team. I get why he’s got a goofy grin on his face and jumps to answer his phone. I even understand how he could listen to Ronnie go on and on about flowers and tablecloths and dresses.” He swallowed, knowing the words on the tip of his tongue were game changers. “I get it, because I’ve finally found a woman who inspires me to be a better person while making me feel like Superman. I love you, Chloe.”
Penny-sized tears fell from Chloe’s heavy lashes. Troy bent and put his hand on her elbow, wanting to guide her into his arms. She jolted as if he’d hooked jumper cables to her arm. He paused, his heart hovering out there, waiting for her to cradle it in her hands and hold it close to her chest.
With a strangled sound, Chloe shoved away from the table, making the drinks slosh. She ran for the exit. Her heels pounded against the wood floor, the sound echoing in his chest, final and sad.
Troy stared after her in shock. She’d run away. She’d heard his declaration of love and she left. She just left him standing there without a reason. Unless… unless she didn’t feel the same way. Or, maybe she thought he was lying some more. She’d been funny about that; making sure he knew she didn’t like leading his family along this path.
But the important thing was: she left.
A dinner roll hit him between the eyes. He blinked, clearing his vision, and saw Ronnie glaring at him, her hands on her hips. Wearing a wedding dress didn’t throw off her aim—she still had the best arm out of the three Martin siblings. “Go after her,” she hissed.
He shook his head, the world quickly coming back into focus. The wedding guests—his aunts, uncles, cousins, people he’d grown up with—all stared at him expectantly.
His gut flopped to the floor. Chloe was right, this was insane. He should have been smarter than to think up this crazy plan. He should have been smart enough to date her in the first place. Date her, love her, make all this happen for real.
“I need to tell you all the truth,” he said into the mic, ready to shed the lies he’d put on one by one. He didn’t care if his family pitied him or thought he was nuts. He may have ruined his chance with Chloe, and he’d fooled his family. He had to come clean. “Chloe and I aren’t engaged. We aren’t even dating.”
Dad slowly rose to his feet, his face the color of a stop sign.
Troy should have stopped there, but he needed to get it all off his chest. “I made it all up. It was a lie.” He dropped his gaze to the floor. “All of it.”
“Why?” asked Mom, her face a mixture of horror and confusion.
He couldn’t face her. A disappointed mom was like being stomped in the Achilles’ heel. “Because I didn’t want you to worry about me anymore, and I didn’t want everyone to feel sorry for me because I came alone. Everyone kept pushing me to find my soul mate, and, and …” They were horrible excuses for a horrible lie. It was all supposed to be so simple. Chloe would pretend to be his fiancée for the wedding, and then they’d go back to the easy not-quite friendship they had before. He’d screwed that up too.
Ronnie pointed at the exit door. “I don’t think that speech about loving her was a lie.”
Troy put his hand over his heart. “That was the truth. I swear.”
“Then go get her!” Mom yelled like she used to when he stayed out too late with the guys.
Grady grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and shoved him towards the exit. “Go.”
The guests nodded and pointed at the door too, a chorus of get goings and hurry ups growing louder the longer he hesitated. Pastor John made a shooing motion. Troy paused only long enough to kiss his sister on the cheek. “You are a beautiful bride, and I’m sorry I made a mess of my toast.”
She shoved him none too gently. “You’re forgiven, but if I have to choose between the two of you, I choose Chloe. Don’t make me choose!”
Troy laughed, feeling lighter than he had since he’d arrived in Snow Valley for the wedding. “This is crazy.” He lifted his hands above his head as he walked towards the door. “I’m crazy in love.”
Clapping broke out, and he jogged. Looking right and then left down the hallway, there was no sign of Chloe. He raced through the big doors to the parking lot. A pair of taillights pulled out—out of reach and out of his life. Troy ran to his truck, intent on catching Chloe before she left town and left him for good. He fired up the truck and kicked up slush with the tires.
He barely caught sight of the back of Chloe’s escape vehicle as she turned onto Main Street. He prayed that for once the only traffic light in town was on his side. For a brief moment, he was outside the situation looking in and wondering how a sensible guy like him ended up in a high-speed chase after a woman who ten months ago drove him nuts.
Chapter 22
Chloe
Chloe’s hand went to her heart as she drove. Grady had taken their deception much too far. Professing his love in front of his family as if all this was real when it wasn’t. It wasn’t real at all. The pain that tore through her chest as she shifted into a lower gear on the wet road wasn’t real.
Her mind replayed the last ten minutes.
Troy had grabbed her hand under the table and held on during his dad’s toast. She could feel him having a difficult time with his sister moving on in life. Like Brian was having a hard time letting Ronnie go. She both loved and hated that she knew the two of them enough to know what was going on inside of them. Their faces were stone, but their hearts were as soft as rose petals.
Brian had cleared his throat and finished up, passing the mic to Grady’s dad. Glen didn’t have any problem roasting his son and earning laughs. Where Brian was sentimental, Glen used humor to get through. With these two examples in their lives, Grady and Ronnie were going to make it. Chloe had felt it in her gut.
Then, Glen handed the mic to Troy. Troy had given her hand a gentle squeeze as if he was drawing strength from her before he stood. “It’s not every day your sister marries your best friend and makes him your brother.” His deep, gorgeous voice filled the room and made goose bumps break out on Chloe’s skin.
The ladies said “aw.” Her heart said “aw.” If only this man were truly hers, she’d thought.
Troy gave them what Chloe called his wicked smile. “Being a protective older brother, you can bet I’ve been planning this roast—I mean toast—since the day I caught Grady kissing Ronnie in our garage.”
Chloe leaned back and just listened. She hadn’t realized how tense she was for him until he’d settled into his speech. He glanced down at her and reached for her hand. She knew what was expec
ted, and so she lifted hers to him. His thumb brushed her knuckles, and her heart expanded. He shouldn’t do such things to her. Not when they weren’t really engaged. Her body had no right to react to him the way she did. They had shared a magical carnival evening together, and that was all they could have. There was no coming back from so much deception.
As he’d looked down at her, the teasing glint in his eye had evaporated, burned off by the passion that consumed him. Chloe couldn’t look away. She wanted to remember what it felt like to be looked at with such wanting.
Troy continued, his voice lower and more intimate. “I didn’t understand what it was like to be in love. I get it now.”
Chloe’s eyes burned with unshed tears. He drove nails into her coffin with every word, because even as he said them, there was a worm of doubt in the back of her head, wondering if he was saying these things for the crowd, to keep up appearances, or for her.
“I get why Grady leaves work early and dogs our Saturday flag football team.” He swallowed, as if he wasn’t sure he could say what came next. Chloe held her breath. “I get it, because I’ve finally found a woman who inspires me to be a better person while making me feel like Superman. I love you, Chloe.”
Penny-sized tears fell from Chloe’s heavy lashes. Troy bent and put his hand on her elbow, pulling her into his embrace. She’d jolted, knowing that if she fell into his arms , she’d never be able to leave.
He’d paused, his forehead wrinkling in confusion. She couldn’t tell him she loved him too, not in front of his amazing family, because if she said it now, he’d never know if it was the wedding magic, being a part of his family, or their fiancée conspiracy that had prompted the words. But oh, how she wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted it more than she could stand.
With a strangled sound, Chloe shoved away from the table and ran for the exit. Her heels pounded against the wood floor, the sound echoing in the silence.
She’d done it now. She’d made a scene at Ronnie’s wedding. The tears fell hot and fast. She didn’t bother to swipe them away. All she could think of was getting out of Snow Valley and never coming back. She’d sell her share in the company, or just gift it to her dad for Christmas. He could be a silent partner. Mom’s life insurance money should have been his, but he’d given it to Chloe to make her way in the world. What a mess she’d created. She ran for Ronnie’s car and started it up. She glanced in the rearview mirror as she pulled onto the street and saw Troy burst from the doors.
With a sob, she pushed down hard on the gas.
Chapter 23
Troy
Troy’s truck wasn’t as fast as Ronnie’s car, but he pushed the old girl to go as fast as he dared drive in the snow. Chloe was getting farther and farther away from him, and he was desperately trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. He replayed the weekend in his head, looking for his mistake. As far as he could tell, he’d made quite a few, but the one that drove her away was the toast. Had he pushed her too far? Was he the only one who felt the love between them? Because it wasn’t just inside of his heart. It was out there and in here and everywhere he went.
Flashing red and blue lights in his rearview made him curse. He pulled over on the state road and tapped his hands impatiently on the steering wheel as Chloe became a small speck in the distance.
Hank, one of the local sheriffs, climbed out of his car, walking as if he had all the time in the world. Troy rolled his eyes and rolled down his window. Hank was as small-town as they came. Sticking his head out, he yelled, “Hank, could ya hurry it up a little?” He’d known Hank since he was in high school.
Hank pushed his velvet state trooper hat up with one finger. “You in a hurry, Troy?”
“No, I was speeding because I was bored.”
Hank narrowed his eyes. “You’re begging for a ticket.”
Troy nodded. “Yep. Write it up quick so I can chase down the woman I love and convince her to come back to my sister’s wedding.”
Hank tapped his pencil on his ticket book, his lips twitching. “I forgot that was today. Shouldn’t you be at the reception?”
Troy dropped his hands to his sides in exasperation. Could the man not see the tux? “Yes! But Chloe ran out and I’ve got to catch up with her.”
“Chloe’s your fiancée, right?”
“Yes.” Troy remembered that he’d blabbed everything to his family. If Hank didn’t hear the story by tonight, it would be a miracle. “No. She pretended to be my fiancée so I wouldn’t have to deal with everyone setting me up.” There. That sounded a lot nicer than saying he was tired of disappointing his mom.
Hank nodded. “I hear ya. Ya really in love with this girl?”
“More than I ever thought possible.”
“Huh.” Hank scratched his cheek.
Troy waited for him to continue, clenching his teeth together to keep from telling the guy to get back in his cruiser and go save a cat or something. When he didn’t talk, Troy wanted to bust from the truck and take after Chloe on foot. It was unlikely that Hank would tase him, but was he really willing to risk it? Yes. For Chloe, he would risk being dropped to the asphalt by an electrical current. His hand went to the door handle.
Hank pressed a button on the walkie-talkie attached to his shoulder. “This is Hank. I’m in pursuit of a runaway fiancée. Where are you, Carter?”
Troy froze, wondering if he’d heard right.
Static answered first, and then Sheriff Carter’s voice came through loud and clear. “I’m turning off the freeway.”
“Perfect. Any chance you can set up a roadblock?” Hank winked. “We’ve got a desperate man here needing to catch up to his woman.”
Troy’s heart leapt. If he was just getting off the freeway, he was in front of Chloe. Maybe … He whooped and smacked the steering wheel. He had his hand on the gear shift before he heard the answer. Hank put his arm through the window and shook his head.
“I think I have the suspect in my sights.” Pause. Crackle. “Yep. Pulling her over now.”
“10-4. We are on our way.” Hank signed off. “Now, I’m going to escort you down the road to make sure you drive the speed limit. One mile over and I’m giving you that ticket, understood?”
Troy could have kissed him. His heart was soaring, already catching up with Chloe. “Hank, you’re a real softy. You know that?”
“Consider this an early wedding present.”
“Done.” Travis drummed his fingers as he waited for Hank to climb back into his running vehicle and pull in front of him, lights blazing.
Troy followed, his heart hammering in his chest. True to his word, Hank didn’t go so much as one mile over the speed limit. Troy sucked air through his teeth in an effort to hold on to his patience. Four minutes and twenty-seven seconds later, Chloe’s car came into view. Troy’s leg bounced in anticipation.
Sheriff Carter was parked behind her. Hank pulled ahead of Chloe and blocked her in. Troy parked behind Carter, threw off his seat belt, and bolted for Chloe’s door. He ripped it open and, breathing heavily, grabbed her face with his hands and kissed her solid.
She tried to push him away at first. He backed up and nudged her nose, and she melted into the kiss, moaning softly. He kissed her again and again. “Where are you going?”
She kissed him back, tears falling down her cheeks. “I can’t lie anymore. I’m lying to your family, I’m lying to you …”
“You’re lying to me?” He kissed her temple. “This doesn’t feel like a lie, Chloe.”
She sniffed.
“I love you.” He unbuckled her seat belt and guided her out of the car and into his arms. “I love you,” he said again. He would say it a hundred times if that’s what it took for her to actually hear the words. He felt like they weren’t getting into her heart.
“How can you love me? It’s this.” She held up her left hand and pointed at the ring. “It’s making the lie feel real. We’ve lied to everyone and we started to believe it, Troy.”
He t
ook her hand gently in his and pulled the ring off. Stepping back, he pulled his arm back and chucked the thing into the field. His old high school football coach would have been proud of his throwing arm.
“What are you doing?” Chloe stared in the direction the ring had gone. There was no way she’d find it out there in the miles of snow, and he was glad for it.
“I’m proving that it’s not the ring.” He took her hands and found them ice cold. It was freezing outside, and she was only in a dress and shoes that were not made for snow and ice. He released her and shook out of his jacket, wrapping it around her tightly. “The day you walked into my office, something changed inside of me. I didn’t want to go out with the guys to find women. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to be where you were. I didn’t see it for what it was back then, but Chloe, I’ve been falling in love with you for months.”
She shook her head, her chin low.
He hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could look her in the eye. “When you agreed to be my fake fiancée, I thought it would be easy.” He touched his forehead to hers, breathing in her wonderful floral scent. “But I didn’t know you would be so wonderful.”
She laughed and sniffed.
“Please don’t go,” he said low. “Stay with me.”
“As what?” she whispered.
“As the woman I love. The one I want to spend every day with and every night. Be my fiancée for real.”
She laughed, and his heart lifted with hope. A laugh was so much better than crying or even worse: silence. “You threw away my ring.”
“I’ll buy you another one.”
She swiped at her cheeks with his jacket sleeves. Her eyes glowed.
Lucy McConnell's Snow Valley Box Set Page 66
