Page 117 of First Bride to Fall
“Yeah?”
Her heart throbbed painfully. “Thanks for taking care of me that first day. My ankle.”
“I was glad to do it.”
She stared wistfully in his eyes, wondering what might have been. He looked like he wished that he could know that, too. But there was no turning back on this road. Nell’s exit was impending, and this was a one-way street.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Sorry for everything else. For not telling you sooner about Aidan and the bet, and that an engagement story leaked out…”
“Yeah,” he said hoarsely. “I’m sorry too. We should have talked. I should have asked you what was going on.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t.”
Her voice shook. “We’re quite a pair.”
“Yeah.” He pursed his lips. “A mismatched one.”
Heat prickled the back of her eyes, and Nell turned away before he could see her crying. “Good night, Grant,” she said as she zipped up the tent.
“Night.”
…
Nell tied off the knot on her knitting project and wiped back her tears.
There. She’d finished the hat. After all the love she’d put into it, believing she was going to give it to Grant, now she wasn’t going to do that at all. This September seventh would be just like all the other years, and she’d sell this project on Etsy.
It had to be very late. She checked her phone.
It was nearly three a.m. Weirdly, the campfire outside her tent hadn’t burned out.
She heard an eerie howling in the woods, and she shivered, snuggling down in her sleeping bag. Maybe she should go inside. Grant was probably sleeping soundly by now. At this point in the night, what would it matter anyhow? When she’d retreated here after dinner, it was because she’d needed that physical separation. She’d been hurting so badly she could barely stand to look Grant in the eye. They’d both been heartbroken, and with good cause. But he hadn’t been half as upset with her as she’d been with herself. At least they’d both apologized and had made their peace in a gut-wrenching way.
She got up and unzipped her tent, then stood stock still.
Grant was there, sound asleep by the campfire, his head bowed against his chest as he sat in his folding chair covered with blankets. A stack of small logs sat beside him. He’d been tending the fire and keeping it going, watching over her all night long.
Hot tears streaked down her face.
She’d blown it with Grant and blown it big time. He looked so peaceful resting there, she decided not to wake him. So she zipped up the tent and crawled back into her sleeping bag, crying into her pillow.
She clutched her hands to her chest, every inch of her being aching, but she’d laid this all on herself. She’d decided to put herself before her sisters for the first time ever, and so everything had broken down. Nothing good came of self-interest and selfish desire. She should never have chased after Grant to begin with.
Aidan was the man she was destined to be with. She could do a world of good by marrying him, and in the end it wouldn’t be too bad. They’d have their separate lives, and it would only last five years. Maybe they’d even be friends. She was the oldest so should accept responsibility for her family. She had to think of her dad, her mom, Charlotte, and Misty.
She was a great accountant, and that would come in handy in helping merge the family businesses together. The truth was that she and Aidan were the natural fit. Charlotte was intelligent and pretty. She could have so many choices. And Misty—Nell sighed—was the baby, her sweet, goofy little sister with so many talents she’d not yet explored. Plus, gobs of options for romance, too.
Nell’s romantic options had pretty much dried up.
She’d thought she stood a chance with Grant, but no. That ship had sailed.
Or maybe, and much more tragically, it had never been in port to begin with.
Chapter Twenty-One
When Nell woke up the next morning, the sun was high in the sky and burning brightly. The campfire had just been quenched, and gray smoke rose from its damp, chalky ash. The folding chairs had been put away. The collapsible table, too. She gathered her things from the tent and crossed through the backyard, fall breezes rippling through the trees.
It was odd to think she was going to miss this cabin, but in some strange way she was. She and Grant had had some good times here. She glanced at the hose caddy. And some really sexy ones. That passionate kiss last night had been their last one, but at least she had its memory to take with her and hold close in her heart.
During those long, lonely nights in England, she might think of Grant at his cabin, and that selfie of them by the waterfall would bring her some joy. Maybe after England, after Aidan, she’d find someone different, but Nell doubted he’d be nearly as great as Grant.
