Page 54 of First Bride to Fall
“Karl Kramer.”
Grant blinked. “The butcher?”
“Yeah. He’s more of a charcutier. Works with restaurants and such.”
“Huh.” He cocked his chin. “Did he cut you any discounts?”
No. He’d kind of cut out her heart, but she decided not to mention that part. “Ha-ha, but no. Not really.”
“How long were you guys an item?”
“We made it through our third anniversary.”
He digested this. “Three years, whoa. That’s a long time.”
“Actually.” She winced. “It was more like three months.”
“Oh, sorry.” He set down his tea. “What did the slimebucket do?”
She giggled at his assumption that the breakup was Karl’s fault, because in truth it had been. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think he wasn’t interested in getting serious.”
“Were you?”
“In a way?” Her shoulders sagged. “But in a way not.” Because in the back of her mind, Karl was always in second place, right behind her number one fantasy choice, Grant. She’d always assumed Grant was out of her league, believing she’d never appeal to someone as talented and athletic as him. From the outside, they seemed very different in so many ways. Now that she was getting to know him better in person, Nell understood that she and Grant weren’t as different from each other as she’d believed.
“Well, I’m sorry Karl let you down. But not sorry, too, if you know what I mean.” He laid a hand on her sweatshirt sleeve. “You could be Mrs. Kramer right now. Loading up on prosciutto and salami! I mean, seriously.” He rolled his eyes. “Who needs all that meat, anyway?”
She laughed. “Thanks. You know, you’re very good at making everything better.”
He locked on her gaze, and his eyes danced.
“So are you, Nell. So are you.”
The way he looked at her was so adoring, so blatantly interested, it was almost overwhelming to absorb it. It was like staring directly into the blazing sun. So much blinding white light. The sensation was oh so new to her and super wonderful.
She blushed and dropped her chin.
He reached out and tipped up her chin with his fingers. “I meant that, Nell.” His voice grew husky. “Karl’s loss is my gain.”
“What about you?” she asked softly.
He withdrew his hand and picked up his tea. “You’re asking about past relationships?”
She nodded. “You said there were a few?”
“There was really no one important.”
“You’re thirty-two,” she said. “There must have been someone?”
“Okay. There was Carol in college.” He blew out a breath. “And then there was Susan.”
Nell guessed at once who Susan was. She teetered on the edge of how much she wanted to hear about her, though. What if merely talking about her brought back all sorts of happy memories for him? What if he started regretting letting her go? She decided to steer clear of Susan for now and ask about the college one. “What happened with Carol?”
He shrugged. “We graduated and each went our separate ways. I always wanted to come back to Majestic, and she took a job on the West Coast. We tried the long-distance thing for a while, but it was hard to maintain.”
“That does take commitment.”
“Yeah, and anyway, Carol wasn’t into any of the same things that I am. She was never interested in camping or anything like that.” He shared a tender smile. “She wasn’t like you.”
