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Kendall tilted her head to the side, her brow furrowed. “What is Buzzard Gulch?”
“It’s an old ghost town on the hill. My business partners and I are going to restore it and turn it into a wedding venue. In fact, we were talking about how nice it would be to have more in house services for Something Borrowed, and we could really use a talented photographer.”
“I thought you didn’t work there anymore,” Kendall teased.
“I don’t, but Kelly, Rylie, and Dustin are my business partners and I spent seven years at the place. I want to see it grow and thrive.” Marley listened to the bubbling brew boil behind her, music to her ears. “Do you want some coffee?”
“No, I’m okay,” Kendall said.
“Anyway, Kelly and I are on good terms, especially with the changes she’s making to Something Borrowed.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Kelly has put into place a code of ethics in the contract for future brides. Any harassment and degradation of a Something Borrowed employee will result in termination of the contract with no refund.”
Kendall sat down at her dining room table, her face brightening. “Wow. And you’re really going to stay here?”
“This is where my family and friends are.” The coffee pot beeped, signaling it was done and she filled her Coffee, I love you cup three quarters of the way full. “This is where I want to raise my children and build a life with the person I love.”
“And who is that?” Kendall asked.
Marley shot her a dirty look as she leaned against the counter. “Don’t be cute.”
“I’m always cute. I’m just saying that you’ve got this great plan, but what if you just let the love of your life go—”
“I didn’t let him go. I chased him away.”
Kendall sat down at the table, staring at her. “Do you even know why?”
A thousand lies threatened to roll off her tongue, but instead, she told the truth. “I was afraid of getting too close? Of putting myself out there and losing him? Of getting my heart broken when he didn’t feel the same way.”
“Well, that’s dumb,” Kendall said.
“Gee, tell me how you really feel.”
“I’m serious, you are an idiot. I mean, I was in love with my sister’s fiancée , about to watch him pledge to love her for the rest of their lives, and just before the I dos, he came to me and told me that he loved me too. And when he was still going to go through with it because of obligation, you saved the day. I lived with heartbreak for a year and now I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Life is crazy and you have to embrace it, the good with the bad.”
Marley reached down to pick up Butters, who was nibbling on her toes. When he nuzzled into her neck, she sighed at the warmth his small body brought her. If her life had gone differently, she wouldn’t have been here to rescue him.
“He lives in L.A. and I live here. It wouldn’t have worked unless one of us was willing to make a change and I finally know where I belong. I can’t leave.”
“But did you ask him to? Did you say, ‘Luke, I love you and I want you to stay and be with me?’”
“I couldn’t ask him that,” Marley said.
Kendall looked like she wanted to choke her. “Why the hell not?”
“Because it isn’t a fair question. Relationships are about compromises. It isn’t right if one person sacrifices everything for the other.”
“What isn’t fair is making him think he doesn’t have the option to decide.”
Marley carried her mug over and sat across from Kendall, Butters against her chest. “I can see we’re just going to keep arguing about this.”
“Only because you’re being a giant dumbass.”
Marley set her mug down and picked up the white envelope, waving it at Kendall. “Can we get back to this ginormo
us check and how I can’t accept it?”
