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And tripped. He tried to catch her, but she was off-balance from her narrow skirt. He moved, intending to brace her fall. His foot got caught in her long train and he went down, Leighton falling onto his chest. After the initial rough contact, air pushing out of both of their lungs, Axl was not disappointed in the position. Her chest was spilling out of the dress, giving him a hell of a view.
“Talk to me,” he said. “What’s going o
n?”
But Leighton shoved off of his chest, hauled herself to her feet and took off again. For a second he lay there wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. Then he jumped up because damn it, she was going to talk to him. She was going to listen to him.
Because he was falling in love with Leighton and she had to hear it from him.
So he reached her for the second time. Only this time he didn’t give her an opportunity to escape. He bent his knees, picked up Leighton with one arm under her ass, and threw her over his shoulder. She was shrieking and kicking. He ignored her and marched her down to the dock. He stepped onto Bill’s boat, knowing the keys were always under the seat, and plunked her down on a cushion.
“What are you doing?” Leighton asked, looked indignant.
At least her panic seemed to have receded.
“I’m taking you out on the lake so that I can tell you how I feel without you running away.” He fired up the motor and untied the boat. A minute later they were pulling away from shore.
Leighton pushed her veil out of her face and threw her bouquet at him. “Let me off this boat!”
It was so unlike her he just stared at the flowers after they bounced off his chest and tumbled to the ground.
He hoped someday this would be a funny story about how he had kidnapped his bride.
Right now he had no clue how any of this was going to shake out.
“You look beautiful,” he told her. “I like the dress.” He reached out automatically and drew a finger across her shoulders. She let him, which made him smile. “And I like you.”
* * *
Leighton wanted to kick Axl. He was smiling. Like this was all so damn funny. She was miserable, her heart breaking, and he was smiling. She sat on the bench and crossed her arms over her chest. Bill’s lawn was crowded with wedding guests, all staring at their departure. Their voices, all in shocked tones, were creating a collective hum. She couldn’t understand what anyone was saying but it was clear her dashing off had rocked the crowd.
She had flat-out panicked, then Axl hadn’t given her the answer she wanted, and now she was both broken-hearted and humiliated and she wanted to kick him in the crotch for making her fall in love with him.
Glancing at the water, she briefly debated jumping overboard but with the wedding gown on, she’d sink like a tank. On the heels of that thought, she considered taking the gown off first but then she would arrive on shore dripping wet in slutty underwear with fifty people watching her. No thanks.
She was stuck.
Axl didn’t go very far before he cut the engine. He turned to her. “Can you please tell me why you’re running away?”
“I told you,” she said, and her voice cracked. “I can’t do this. It’s not right. I don’t give a shit about my job anymore if it means I have to stand there and say ‘I do’ to you when the truth is…” She took a deep breath and laid it all out there. She wanted Axl to know how she felt. “A part of me wishes we were really doing this. Getting married. Because I really, really care about you.”
Axl came over to her and sat down on the bench next to her, the movement sending the boat rocking gently. “Leighton.” He stared into her eyes, running his hand over her glossy beach waves.
She steeled herself to be let down easily. To be told that she was getting a participation ribbon, but no prize.
“If you had let me finish,” he said, “I was going to tell you that while today might not be real, it could be at some point.” He kissed her softly.
Leighton trembled at the touch. “What do you mean?” she murmured.
“I mean that maybe this could be us in two years or a year, or hell, nine months from now. Six months. Because this week I found something I didn’t even know I was looking for—you.”
Her heart swelled. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really. I am crazy about you. In fact, I think I might be falling in love with you. As insane as that sounds.”
“It is insane. But I feel the same way.” Tears blurred her vision of his handsome face.
“You do?” He gave an exhalation of air from his nostrils.
