The Runaway Bride

by Noelle Marchand

  A shadow suddenly covered her drawing pad. She frowned and glanced up at the sky for the offending cloud only to meet the shimmering deep green eyes of Sean O’Brien. She jumped. Her drawing pad tottered violently before diving into the grass. Glancing back up at Sean, she uttered a single slightly disappointed word. “Oh.”

  His lips stretched slowly into an amused grin. “That isn’t exactly the kind of hello a man dreams about.”

  She couldn’t help but return his smile. He watched her for a moment before he knelt in the grass to retrieve her things. She took them from him, then carefully swung her feet down and scooted to one side to make room for him on the bench. He sat beside her but angled himself so he could see her face. She shrugged in a delayed response to his statement. “Maybe not, but do you realize that I’ve seen you nearly every day this week?”

  He angled his chin down and leveled her with a teasingly suspicious look. “Are you complaining?”

  She lifted her shoulders while innocently placing a hand on her chest. “Complaining? Oh, no. I was just commenting about it, that’s all.”

  He gave her an easy grin. “Yeah, well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to get used to it, darlin’.”

  She narrowed her eyes, ready to tell him just who he wouldn’t be calling darling. He unnerved her into silence by sliding his arm across the back of the bench and leaning toward her. She forgot to breathe when he met her gaze. He gestured toward the drawing pad. “What’s this?”

  “My failed attempts at drawing.” She shoved the drawing pad toward him. He seemed to take the hint because he took the pad and moved closer to his side of the bench. She watched him look over her drawings.

  “These aren’t so bad.” He held his hand out for the pencil.

  She handed it to him, glad to see him engrossed in something other than staring at her, even if it was correcting her mistakes. She smoothed down the wrinkles in her dress. Finally, she grew impatient. “Don’t tell me you came all the way over here just to look at my awful drawings.”

  “I might have troubled myself to walk all of those three long blocks between our houses just to look at your drawings, if I’d known ahead of time you were drawing, but I didn’t.” He flourished one last stroke of the pencil, then handed the drawing pad back to her. “They weren’t awful.”

  She stared down at the paper in astonishment. “You fixed them.”

  “I moved a few lines.”

  “You must have.” She brushed away a clump of small scarlet flowers that fell onto the page from the crape myrtle branches that stretched above them. “How did you learn to draw?”

  “I sketch the designs for the furniture and wood carvings I make now and then. It’s just a hobby.” He shifted to face her. “Lorelei, I came here to say something, so I may as well say it. I want to court you for real.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. His words just didn’t make any sense. She frowned at him and shook her head in confusion. “Whatever for?”

  “Aren’t you tired of putting on an act, Lorelei? If we were really courting, we wouldn’t have to do that anymore. We would just have to live.”

  “What’s wrong with acting?” she asked, setting her drawing pad and the pencil on the grass.

  “Besides the facts that it’s slightly deceptive and that neither of us are very good at it?” He laughed. “Well, I hate to tell you this, but I don’t think we can even come close to convincing the town we’re really a couple if we don’t make this courtship legitimate. Remember what Mrs. Greene said?”

  Leaning back into the corner of the bench, she sighed. “I remember.”

  “Peppin is too small to hide anything. How long do you think we can keep up a ruse like this before someone finds out? This way we may have to act like our relationship is progressing faster than it really is, but at least there would be a genuine relationship.”

  She could feel her heartbeat drumming through her veins. He was threatening to out-reason her. She couldn’t let that happen. “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

  “Just forget about the town for a minute. Forget that we’re pretending. Forget everything else and think about this.” He took her left hand in his right and looked her straight in the eye. “We’re getting married, Lorelei. We’ve already established that we’re going to have a real marriage. Shouldn’t we also have a real courtship?”

  “No,” she whispered as she removed her hand from his. “I don’t want it to be real.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just don’t,” she said urgently.

  He dropped his head for a moment, then quietly asked, “Do you really dislike me that much?”

  “Dislike you?” she asked in a breathless exclamation. She turned away from his disconcerting scrutiny to try to control her emotions. She had suppressed them for so long that they refused to be contained any longer. She stood. Pressing her lips together, she turned to face him. Once the words finally came out, she couldn’t seem to stop the rest that followed.

  “I never disliked you, Sean. I loved you once, or at least I thought I did. I let all of those silly emotions go. I moved on. I was even going to find a new life for myself in California, then you had the nerve follow me. Now, after everything I’ve gone through, you say that you want to court me for real because that will make things easier on you.”

  Her breath was coming in short gasps. She paused to catch her breath and tried to remember why she was telling him all this. Oh, yes.

  “The answer to your question is no. No, Sean. I don’t dislike you. Well, maybe I do just a little for good reason, but that’s not why I don’t want you to court me. It will just confuse everything and take the focus off what we’re supposed to be doing—fooling the town into thinking we’re falling in love.”

  She waited for shame and fear to follow that statement, but it didn’t. Instead, she felt a burden lift from her soul only to be replaced by peace. There. She’d said it. She’d told him exactly how she felt and now she felt free. Finally, free from the secret that had weighed her down for years. It felt wonderful. It also left her feeling exposed.

  Sean slowly stood and stepped directly in front of her. As the moment lengthened, curiosity eventually drew her eyes to his. What she saw there wasn’t at all what she expected. She had no idea what emotions glimmered from those depths, but there was no trace of mocking or disgust. It wasn’t until a slow half amused, half confused smile pulled at his lips that she knew she was in trouble.

  * * *

  Sean watched the blush in Lorelei’s cheeks heighten incrementally. His amused smile grew even as he tilted his head to survey her in confusion. “Wait a minute! Did I just hear you say you love me?”

  If possible, her eyes widened even more, and she shook her head. “No, you didn’t. You heard me say ‘I loved you.’”

  He frowned, not seeing the difference.

  “It was past tense,” she carefully explained.

  “Oh, I see.” He nodded. “It was very clumsy of me to make that kind of a mistake. There is a very large difference in loving someone and having loved someone.”

  She frowned with a trace of suspicion. “I should say so.”

  “Then I take it back. You are an extremely good actress. I had no idea.”

  Her lips parted in surprise, though her brows lowered in suspicion. “You really couldn’t tell? Not even when we were younger?”

  He shook his head. She looked at him carefully as if trying to discern the truth of his statement. Obviously finding something wanting, she tilted her head and pinned him with a look before slowly asking, “Then why don’t you look more surprised?”

  For the first time during their exchange, he felt slightly uncomfortable. “Lawson recently guessed you might feel that way.”

  “Lawson guessed,” she repeated thoughtfully, then shook her head. “Well, now you know he was right. I hope you also understand that I’ve refused to let you court me.”

  “Hold on. I think you’ve got something
wrong. I’m not asking you to let me court you for real. I’m telling you. I’m going to court you for real.”

  Her mouth dropped open, then she narrowed her eyes. “You can’t do that.”

  He hadn’t planned on it—and even now he could feel an edge of panic deep inside at the thought of committing himself to a courtship when she wasn’t willing to meet him halfway—but it was obvious that there would be no other way to end this standoff. He could see them thirty years down the road still at the same impasse. One of them was going to have to risk getting hurt, and since it clearly wasn’t going to be her, it would have to be him.

  He was going to romance this woman whether she liked it or not because he didn’t know what else to do. Surely God would take it from there. He had to. There was no other way this would work. It was with that knowledge that he stepped out in faith. “I can and I will.”

  “I don’t understand. You don’t even like me. Why would you want to court me?”

  He frowned. “I thought we went over that.”

  “Yes, and we agreed to be friends.”

  “We are friends, aren’t we?”

  She was quiet for a long moment—too long of a moment. She just stared at him skeptically with those large blue eyes of hers. She was making him uncomfortable on purpose, and they both knew it. A smile tipped his lips, causing her to try to hide one of her own. She glanced away. Her tone spoke of her long-suffering patience. “I guess.”

  “Think of this as the next step then.”

  “The next step to what?” She crossed her arms. “You aren’t going to make me fall in love with you. You know that, right?”

  He didn’t want to examine why those tentative words cut right to his heart, but they did until he remembered. “You fell in love with me once before.”

  “Yes, but I’ve resolved not to be that foolish again,” she said stubbornly.

  He frowned. “What’s foolish about loving someone?”

  She straightened. “Well, everything! You’re giving someone the power to hurt you by becoming completely vulnerable.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Lorelei,” he said in frustration. “I just want to court you.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re like every other normal man. You want a wife who loves you, but that’s hardly fair in this case.”

  “Why isn’t it fair?”

  “Because you aren’t going to love me back!” She let those uncomfortable words settle between them for a moment before she continued passionately. “Oh, you may start to care for me, but as soon as you do you’re going to think about Lawson and what I did to him. You’re going to think about the Harvest Dance when I ignored you because I thought you betrayed me. Then you’re going to remind yourself of all the little things you don’t like about me—”

  He gently clutched her arms. “Stop it, Lorelei.”

  “It’s true. Tell me it isn’t,” she challenged. He couldn’t and she knew it. She glanced down, but not before he saw the tears in her eyes.

  “Lorelei,” he began, but she shook her head.

  “That’s quite all right, Sean, because I’d be doing the same thing. You want this to be real, so fine. For you, it’s real. But, I won’t do it. I’ll just keep acting.” She gathered her things and headed inside. “Say hello to my parents before you leave. They love your visits. I’ll be in my room if they need me.”

  She was right. He realized it then and there. She was right about him, and she always had been. He did tend to focus on her faults, but that was only so he wouldn’t have to focus on all the things he liked about her. She’d been his best friend’s girl for so long that disqualifying her had become a necessary habit. There. He’d admitted it to himself. His heart always had had a weakness for Lorelei, and he’d never allowed himself to give in to it. Doing so would have meant betraying a friend.

  Things could be different now if they let it. They needed their relationship to work now, not just in the long run. He would continue with his plan to woo her because it was all he knew to do. Hopefully along the way they’d both be able to set aside the past.

  * * *

  Lorelei picked up the large serving spoon covered in melted cheese and hefted a portion of casserole onto her plate. She wasn’t sure who’d brought the dish to the church’s potluck picnic, but it looked delicious. She was only vaguely aware of someone stepping up beside her in line before a low voice murmured in a teasing tone, “You’re a hard woman to get a hold of these days, Miss Wilkins.”

  Lorelei carefully placed the spoon back in its place before she glanced up into the eyes of the man beside her. She smiled politely to hide her relief that he was finally making contact. “Hello, Mr. Smithson.”

  “Please, call me Silas.” He returned her smile as they progressed down the line. “I was sorry to hear you quit your job at the millinery.”

  Lorelei exchanged a smile with one of the church ladies overseeing the buffet table. She carefully placed a sweet roll onto her plate. “I’m afraid it couldn’t be avoided. It was literally making me sick.”

  He paused to take a large piece of her mother’s pie. “I heard it had something to do with that. I hope that won’t prevent you from helping me.”

  “I see no reason why it should.” She glanced around at all of the innocent churchgoers milling about in groups.

  “I thought you might say that.” Silas led her farther away from the table where they were less likely to be overheard. “I hate to mention this, but your illness might have caused a problem. How am I supposed to contact you without raising suspicion?”

  Her lips tilted upward in amusement. “You’d be doing fine now if you weren’t frowning.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “What’s wrong with us meeting here?”

  “It’s a church, isn’t it?”

  She laughed. Maybe God had a purpose in allowing her to get sick after all. “Don’t tell me you came to church just to talk to me?”

  He glared at her.

  “Did you have to sit through the whole sermon?”

  “Yes, I did. I don’t understand why you’re so amused by it.”

  She shrugged. “I just thought it might have done you some good, that’s all.”

  “Like it did you good? Just imagine what these people would think if they found out what you were really like.”

  She bristled at his tone but found his words achingly true. She was trying to deceive the town just as he was, only not with the same intentions. He wanted to steal the town’s livelihood. She was just trying to protect her reputation. She glanced back at Mr. Smithson and realized he expected a reply, so she shrugged nonchalantly. “They’d never believe it.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter. I have to talk to you about something serious. Our old plans have been delayed, so we’re creating a new plan. I’m going to need you to produce on that information you promised me.”

  “What do you need?”

  He shook his head. “Not now.”

  “When?”

  “Meet me Tuesday evening at 7:30 in the alley where we first met. We have a lot of planning to do.”

  She returned his nod as they went their separate ways. A few minutes later, Lorelei leaned across her mother’s brightly colored quilt to snag a sliver of Mrs. Greene’s famous cornbread from one of the three plates stationed in the middle. A few crumbs managed to drop from the moist cornbread before she captured it in her mouth.

  Her father grinned at her from where he sat to her left. “Is it good?”

  “Delicious,” she said, finishing off the rest of the piece.

  “Lorelei,” her mother called softly. “I think you have a visitor.”

  She glanced up in confusion to see her parents smiling. Following their gazes, she turned around to see three-year-old Grace standing at the edge of the quilt. She held her hands behind the skirt of her blue-and-white dress while she watched Lorelei shyly. Lorelei’s lips lifted into an amused smile. “Grace. Hello.”

  “’
Lo.” The girl smiled impishly, then pulled a bouquet of wildflowers from behind her back. “Yours.”

  Lorelei stared at the bouquet in surprise. “Are you sure?”

  The little girl nodded so adamantly that a little red curl slipped from its place to dance around her shoulder. Lorelei heard her parents chuckle. She shot a helpless glance at them before she turned back to the girl.

  “Thank you so much.” She took the flowers from the girl. “They’re beautiful.”

  The girl grinned, her blue eyes sparkling. She dropped to her knees and placed her hands on her lap as though ready for a long chat.

  “Did you pick these flowers all by yourself?”

  Grace shook her head. “No.”

  “Did someone tell you to give them to me then?”

  A smile blossomed on the girl’s face. Her brow lowered earnestly as she said something that sounded almost unintelligibly like, “Unca.”

  “Uncle.” Her eyes instinctively swept the picnic blankets laid out against the green lawn, searching for Sean. A moment later, her suspicious gaze connected with his. He was kneeling on one of the O’Brien family’s picnic blankets, obviously having just sent off his little emissary. He caught her watching him, and a slow smile spread across his face. She shook her head slightly even as a reluctant smile teased her lips.

  “Yes, I see,” she murmured.

  His smile and gaze were completely genuine, which meant he was really going through with his misguided attempt to court her. That didn’t mean she was going to make things easy on him. Oh, no. If she had her way, things were going to become very interesting.

  He was trying a new strategy on her, but he had no idea she had a strategy of her own. She was no longer an insecure child half-afraid of the attention she might arouse. She was going to guard her heart, but she was also ready to fight fire with fire. She glanced back to Grace. “I think I’m supposed to take you back to dear old Uncle.”