Page 68 of Runaway Bride’s Husband

While she stared out the passenger window, I kept my eyes strained ahead, trained on the road like I was a Formula One driver. Neither of us mentioned the fact that we’d completely lost our minds and spent most of the night kissing. And doing other stuff.

God, the other stuff.

If it’d been bad, or uncomfortable, or even just a little bit weird doing all those things with her, maybe I would have felt different this morning, but regrettably, it hadn’t been any of those things.

In fact, spending the night with her, even if we hadn’t technically gone all the way, had been the single best sexual experience of my life. Because it had also been fun. I’d never laughed with a woman in bed until her. I’d never actually enjoyed the pillow talk while we both recuperated. Hell, I’d never wanted to spend the rest of the week with her right where we had been, without even taking things any further than we already had.

Which was truly, desperately unfortunate, because it also meant that I didn’t regret it.

The only thing I did regret about the choices I’d made recently was agreeing to plan her wedding to another man. A man she was no longer even engaged to, and yet, we were planning a wedding like they were going full steam ahead.

Honestly, when I thought about it like that, it made me realize how fucked up our current situation was, but at the end of the day, I’d promised I would get Maggie down the aisle and I kept my promises. What happened once she got to that altar, however, was her business. I couldn’t exactly force her to say her vows, and even if I could’ve, I wouldn’t.

Which was why I would have preferred to run the errand we were on by myself. I desperately needed some time to gain perspective on all this. Clearly.

However, the errand couldn’t be avoided and Maggie had been adamant about coming along. I got it, though. I wouldn’t have hung back for something this big either.

We were about to see a man about a carnival, and considering it was one of the things she was most excited about, it made sense she’d want to be here. On the other hand, as we drove onto the dirt lot housing the carnival, I realized the man we were about to see might just be a serial killer who specialized in amusement park themed killings.

Holy shit. This is creepy.

Rusty trailers lined the lot, half-assembled rides towering around it. Coils of cables, piles of painted metal, and discarded machinery littered the ground, but Maggie grinned like she’d just discovered utopia.

“This is amazing.”

“No, this is where people come minutes before they disappear.”

She laughed. “It’s not that bad.”

“I’m sorry, but are we in the same place right now?”

She opened her door as soon as I rolled to a stop, climbing out of the car before I’d even killed the engine. Without a care in the world, she waltzed right up to the gate surrounding the inhabited part of the lot, reaching for it just as I saw a very good reason not to.

“Maggie!” I yelled. “Wait.”

She turned, but before she could ask me why or what was happening, she unlatched the gate and two massive bull mastiffs came charging toward us. Maggie squealed and I lunged forward, preparing to throw myself between her and two hundred pounds of angry dog.

It barely even occurred to me that I was fully prepared to sacrifice my life to save hers before she dropped to her knees and the dogs launched themselves at her like a pair of furry cannon balls.

“Maggie!” I shouted, sprinting across the yard as she disappeared underneath them, but then I heard laughter instead of screaming and I slammed to a stop.

One of the dogs was licking her face while the other was drooling all over her hair, both their tails wagging so hard, it almost looked like they were about to fall over. Meanwhile, Maggie was literally crying with joy.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, wrapping both arms around the nearest dog. “I love them.”

I did a slow double take, seriously wondering if I was hallucinating. “They could’ve killed you.”

“No, they couldn’t. They’re babies, Ryan.”

“Babies?” I snorted. “Those are not babies, Mags. They’re the size of small horses.”

She dissolved into another fit of laughter just as a man came barreling out of one of the trailers.

“Brutus! Blanche!” He grabbed the collar of the first dog, dragging him off her. “Come on, you big idiot.”

Maggie grinned up at him. “Brutus?”

“That’s him.” He grabbed the other dog’s collar too. “This is Blanche. They’re married, a real enthusiastic husband and wife team who are determined to bathe every visitor in love.”