The Goodbye Bride (28 page)

The day was beautiful and sunny, not a cloud in the sky, as she
began the short walk home. When she'd nearly reached the end of the center's walkway, her eyes caught on a familiar figure silhouetted at the end. Her footsteps slowed. She mentally went through her options, from calling Zac to turning back to the center.

But she was overreacting. They were in public. A family frolicked on the beach not far away, and cars crawled past on Main Street at the required thirty miles per hour.

Brad straightened as she neared. A gust of wind swept his hair off his high forehead. “Hi, Lucy.”

“Brad. What are you doing here?”

“You look nice.”

“You shouldn't be here. I told you I'm with someone else now.”

“You wouldn't answer my calls or texts.”

“Because I'm with someone else now.”

He held up his palm. “I don't want to argue. I just want to talk. Did you walk to work? Can I give you a lift?”

She stepped back, crossing her arms. “I don't think so. We don't have anything to talk about, Brad. I still don't remember why I left the wedding, so there's really no point—”

“I'll walk you home. Is that okay? We can talk on the way.”

It was a public boardwalk. She really couldn't stop him from walking alongside her, and maybe if she let him have his say, he'd finally leave her be.

“I suppose so.” She turned onto the boardwalk and set a quick pace.

“Guess I'd better talk fast, huh?” A hint of bitterness coated his tone. “Look, Lucy, I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I'd like a second chance.”

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.

“I know you're seeing that other guy, but you were engaged to
me. You fell in love with me, and if you hadn't bumped your head, you'd still be in love with
me
.”

“I'd already left you by the time I bumped my head. There must've been a good reason.”

“You were just getting cold feet. You'd been a little nervous. If things had gone differently that day, I would've come and found you, and we would've talked it out, and we would've been married before the day was over.”

“I'm not so sure about that. But it doesn't matter anyway. That's not what happened. I can't change the fact that I bumped my head or lost my memory or the fact that I've fallen for someone else. I'm sorry, but I just don't love—”

“Don't say it. Please don't say it. Just think about it. Meet me for drinks later.”

“I'm busy tonight.”

“In the morning then. For coffee or whatever you want. Name the place and time, and I'll be there.”

She shook her head, torn between wanting to appease him somehow and worrying that her intuition was right. “I don't think that's a good idea.”

She was relieved to see the Roadhouse in the distance. Her feet couldn't get her there fast enough. They walked in silence a minute, her spiked adrenaline driving her forward.

Almost to the parking lot. Almost to the walkway.

“Come on, Lucy. Look at it from my perspective. My bride, the woman of my dreams, walked out on our wedding. She disappeared, and I worried myself sick, thinking the worst. Then she turns up, and she not only doesn't love me anymore, she doesn't even remember me.”

Almost to the door. “That's not my fault.”

“And now she's with someone else.” He took her arm, forcing her to stop. His brows pulled together, his lips in a thin line.

He blew out his breath low and slow as Alma Walker shuffled past, giving Lucy a curious nod.

“I didn't say it was your fault,” he said once Alma was inside. There was a strained edge to his voice, one that sparked a flash in her mind. A memory so vivid it instantly replayed.

It was the night before their wedding. He said something in front of his friends that made her feel stupid and clumsy. When she called him on it later, they argued. His voice was strained, his anger barely reined in. Eventually he apologized. They ended the night with a lingering kiss.

The morning of her wedding, she couldn't shake the uneasiness in her stomach. Even as she slipped into her beautiful gown, she knew she had to clear the air before they said their vows. Her friend from work, Anna, was serving as her maid of honor. Anna was a stickler for traditions. Bad enough Lucy was having a courthouse wedding. She'd never be in favor of Lucy seeing Brad before the ceremony.

They entered the courthouse through the side door.

“I'm going to touch up my lipstick,” Lucy said. “Can you go on over to the waiting room and make sure our guests are comfortable? Make the introductions?”

“Of course.” Anna's heels clacked down the hallway, and Lucy turned down a short hall to await Brad's arrival. He was due any moment according to his text.

Her heart beat up into her throat. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, trying to calm her anxious spirit.

Immediately visions of Zac Callahan formed in her mind. His beautiful gray eyes, looking at her as if she were the only woman in the world. The soft scruff of his beard against her temple. His tender kiss pressed to her lips. His strong arms wrapped around her. Her heart pounded as an ache spread like a disease through her middle.

Stop it, Lucy!

“Did you hear me?” Brad squeezed her arm. “Lucy.”

She turned her eyes to his. He kept talking, but his words faded, the memory of their wedding day clinging to her like a barnacle on a boat.

She hadn't loved Brad, not really. She'd settled for him. She'd still been in love with Zac.

She was dreadfully lonely after leaving Zac. Brad came into her life soon after her arrival in Portland. He helped fill the void. She liked his company, liked him. He was smart and, for little bits of time, he could make her forget how terribly she missed Zac. She didn't want to be alone forever, and Brad was a man she could love without needing him so desperately. He was safe. Just the sort of man she should spend the rest of her life with.

She tried to go back even further in time and remember her last moments with Zac. But the slate was blank.

Only when she tried to remember what happened next did the memories begin to flow again.

A car's engine hummed outside the courthouse door, and Lucy prayed it was Brad. They'd have a discussion, he'd settle her
nerves, and everything would be fine. All these jitters . . . cold feet, that's all it was. She just needed a quiet moment with Brad before she pledged her life to him.

His voice boomed through the door well before he did. He had that kind of voice, especially when he was on the phone. After several seconds she realized he was going to finish his call outside. He was using his business voice. It was sharp and firm. But this time she heard a quiver of nerves beneath the confidence.

“I told you, Bill, I'm taking care of it.”

Lucy leaned her head against the wall, heedless of the hairdo Anna had worked so hard on.

“Well, be more patient. I said you'll have it by the end of the day, and you will.”

Lucy frowned, turning her ear toward the door, her stomach twisting with dread. After their wedding they were headed straight for Paris. Her bag was already in his car.

“I'll have it wired,” he was saying. “If you'd leave me alone for two seconds, I'd get inside and get this taken care of.”

A moment later when he burst through the door, Lucy pressed back into the doorway, the pieces falling into place.

“Lucy! Are you even listening to me?” His grip on her elbow had tightened painfully.

She jerked it away, the remnants of her memory fading fast, her vision filling with his deceitful eyes.

Her body tensed as heat flooded through her. “You were using me.”

“What?”

Her legs had gone weak, and her fingers were numb, but her
thoughts were crystal clear. “I remember. I overheard your phone call at the courthouse. You owed somebody money. You were only marrying me to pay your debt.”

Something shifted in his eyes before the shutters went over them. “That's absurd. You must've misunderstood. It was just a business call.” He reached out, his voice gentling. “Lucy, you know how much I love—”

“Don't.” She stepped away. “Don't you touch me. And don't talk to me ever again. I knew there was something fishy about you, about all of this. I felt it from the beginning. You never loved me at all.”

“Lucy . . . don't be this way,” his voice wheedled.

“If you contact me again, I'm getting a restraining order. Stay away from me.”

His face hardened, the corners of his eyes tightened, and his lips curled up into an ugly snarl.

The door behind her crashed open, and Lucy jumped.

Zac took the porch steps in one leap. “I warned you, Martin.”

“Wait.” She held her hands out. “It's fine. He was just leaving.” She turned a dark look on Brad as Zac arrived at her side. “Weren't you.”

A tense moment hung between them, swelling as the two men glared at each other.

Then Brad tore his eyes away, looking Lucy up and down. “Know what? He can have you. You're clumsy, you talk too much, and your redneck twang drives me up the wall.”

Zac leapt forward, and Brad scuttled backward, palms up, all false bravado. “Touch me, buddy, and I'll sue you for all you've got.”

“Show your ugly face around here again, and I'll tear you limb from limb. Try me.”

With a final scowl Brad straightened his shoulders and sauntered away.

Zac stood in front of Lucy, his back rigid. Only when Brad was out of sight did he turn to her. “What happened? Did he hurt you?”

“No, I'm fine. But I remembered something, Zac. I remembered my wedding day.” She told him the story, and he listened patiently. “He only wanted me for my money,” she said after she'd gotten the whole story out. “I almost married someone who was just using me.”

“Thank God you found out in time.”

She gave a wry laugh. “Yeah, just in time to konk my head, get amnesia, and lose seven whole months.”

“And come back into my life, don't forget that.” He pulled her into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I'm grateful for all of it.”

She breathed in deep and blew it out as she snuggled into his arms. “Me too.”

Maybe the road back had been twisty and curvy, but they'd arrived just the same, and her life couldn't be more perfect.

Chapter 35

T
he next Saturday Lucy dressed in shorts and a V-neck T-shirt for their evening together. She blow-dried her hair upside down to give it extra oomph and put on a touch of makeup. She was applying lipstick when a tap sounded at her door.

She opened it to find Zac looking handsome in jeans and a black T-shirt. In the dim lighting of the hallway, his tightly trimmed beard was merely a dark shadow, giving him a roguelike appearance. He gave her that crooked grin, making her want to lay a big kiss on those gorgeous lips of his.

“Is this okay?” She waved toward her clothing. “Where are we going?”

“I'm not telling, but you look perfect.” He took her hand and set a warm kiss in her palm. “Come on. Lola's waiting.”

“Lola? We're taking another woman on our date?”

“You'll see.”

She followed him out the back where a black motorcycle leaned in the alley. She gasped.

He gestured to the bike. “Lucy . . . meet Lola.”

“You have a motorcycle? Oh, she's Riley's. I remember now.”

“He asked us to run her from time to time, and I thought today was the perfect opportunity.”

Something happy bubbled up inside even as butterflies flapped their wings in her stomach. “I've never been on a motorcycle.”

“But you want to. I see the sparkle in those pretty blue eyes.” He spared her a wicked grin as he stowed her purse by a duffel bag that was tied down to the back.

The temperature was perfect, around seventy degrees, and a light breeze blew. She frowned at the smoke-colored clouds obscuring the sun. “I hope it doesn't rain.”

“It wouldn't dare.” He slipped a helmet over her head. “This might be a little big for your tiny noggin.”

“Hey . . .” She gave a mock glower, which disappeared when he dropped a kiss on her nose.

“You haven't heard from dipwad, have you?”

“Surely haven't. I don't think I will now that he knows I won't fall for all his nonsense.”

“If you hear from him—”

“I'll tell you first thing.”

“Good girl.” He finished her strap, then put on his own helmet and straddled the bike.

Glimpsing the small sliver of seat behind him, her heart gave a little quiver. She climbed on, squirming until she was settled. She thought she heard a groan, but then the engine rumbled to life and she grasped the sides of his shirt.

“Hang on!” he called over the growl of the engine.

She grabbed on tighter when he accelerated. The bike leaned as he pulled out onto the street, and she gave a little squeak. Zac
navigated through town, finding the road that wound along the shoreline. As he increased the speed, the wind tugged at her shirt and pebbled the skin on her legs. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing into the warmth of his muscled back. She lost count of the turns and closed her eyes, enjoying the ride.

When he slowed the bike a few minutes later, she loosened her grip and leaned back as the engine went quiet. They were at a quiet cove. About a half mile of pebbly sand stretched along the shore, and tree-covered hillsides sheltered the inlet. The scent of pine mingled with the salty tang of sea air.

She smiled up at Zac. “It's beautiful! Wait, have I been here before?”

His eyes glinted with amusement, his lips twitching. “No.”

She nudged him. “Hey now, it was a legitimate question.”