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“No!” I shout. “No. Please, I can’t afford a freaking ambulance. I’m so broke I was actually relieved to crash – now I don’t have to figure out how I was going to pay to fill up the gas tank.”
“I’ll pay for it. For fuck’s sake, Andi. You crashed your car. We’re all worried as shit here. I’ve been looking through the forest for six hours trying to find you. I thought maybe you had a seizure, wandered off, and fell down to freeze or something.”
“Sorry,” I say, fidgeting with the torn edge of my wedding dress. “No. I just… realized Landon was never the right guy. I didn’t want to believe the magic was fading, and I kept thinking I could fix it later. But this morning I realized I was acting crazy. I should know it in my bones when a guy is right. I shouldn’t have to talk myself into it or make excuses. And… well, then I became the altar aviator.”
There’s a long pause. “Where are you right now?”
“Like half an hour outside Frosty Harbor on some random ass forest road and suddenly thinking maybe going commando in my wedding dress wasn’t the most climate appropriate decision.”
“You wh–” He pauses again. “I’m going to call the guys and have them come pick you up. They should just be finishing up practice now.”
“You mean I finally get to meet your teammates? All it took was a betrothal bypass, a car crash, and a lack of proper winter gear?”
“Could you please stop coming up with weird phrases to describe what you just did, Andi? This is serious. There are like a hundred people here right now trying to figure out where the hell you are. When I tell them–”
“You can’t tell them. They’ll all just try to make me come back, and I can’t do that. I need this. I need to hide out for a while and get my head on straight. Please, Jake. You can call your teammates, but don’t tell anyone else I talked to you.”
He sighs. “They’re going to find out eventually.”
“Then I’ll deal with it eventually. But not right now. Please.”
“Dammit, Andi.”
I bounce on my feet a little, already feeling the bitter cold from the dirt trying to sink straight into me. Maybe I need to just wait in the car and hope it isn’t about to explode or something.
“How is Landon handling it?” I ask, wincing even as I say the words. It feels like that time I asked my doctor if the three headaches I had last month meant I had a brain tumor. I really didn’t want to know the answer, but I hoped I was just being paranoid, and I knew if I didn’t ask I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.
Turns out, three headaches in a month is perfectly normal. Who knew?
“Fine, weirdly enough. Was there something going on I didn’t know about? He looks like he’s worried for you, but not upset about the wedding being called off. His parents seem pretty pissed, though.”
“Good,” I sigh. “Not about his parents, but I’m glad Landon took it well.”
I hear a door slam.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I just got to mom and dad’s place. I’m not going to be able to get there till tomorrow morning, but I already texted Jesse while we’ve been talking. They’re leaving the rink now and coming your way.”
“Okay. So if a car full of beefy hockey guys pulls up, I just get in, right?”
Jake sighs again. “Don’t call them beefy. Actually, don’t even talk to them. Don’t make eye contact. They’re all convinced they’re God’s gift to women, and it doesn’t take much encouragement to get them excited.”
“I just pulled the old matrimonial mirage, Jake. Do you really think I’m already planning on getting in another relationship?”
“How many stupid phrases have you come up with for being a runaway bride, Andi?”
I grin, even though I’m shivering and my teeth are clattering hard now. “It was a long drive, but I’m almost out of phrases, so we need to wrap this conversation up. But, um, Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for not yelling at me or being mad or anything like that. I’m sorry, I–” I can feel the tears coming.
Jake must sense it, too. “You’re my little sister, so shut up. Of course I have your back. I always will. Now get in your car if it’s not on fire. Try to stay warm. And do not tell any of the guys you ‘went commando’.”
I eyeball the car, give it a cautious little kick, then nod. “Car’s not on fire,” I confirm. “Going to get in and try to warm up now. I’ll just cuddle up with my itchy wedding gown and veil.”
“I’m glad you ditched that guy. He wasn’t good enough for you. But did you have to crash your fucking car and get yourself stranded?”
