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Kate blinked at him, frustration boiling up in her gaze. Then she waved her hand and laughed. “We’ve agreed to a spring wedding. I’ll be visiting venues in the upcoming week to see what is available.”

Her mother’s back stiffened. “Katherine, venues book up years in advance. You can’t possibly expect that you will find a decent place to host your reception if you plan on having it a few months from now. We’ve been through what is an acceptable venue and what is not. Your father might have some pull, but we can’t expect these places to turn away parties who’ve already placed hefty deposits.”

“I’m aware, Mother. I’ll only settle for the best for my wedding.”

“Bryce, dear. Do you think the groomsmen would prefer lavender ties or lavender cummerbunds?” his mother asked, diverting the conversation from their hasty potential dates to something even less palatable. He crossed his arms over his chest, cutting his gaze from Kate to Mrs. Felton, and back to his mother. Mary Hampton motioned to the magazine page on the coffee table that showed men modeling tuxedos.

Kate dropped back in her chair and pinned him with a cold glare. “Have you been paying attention to any of this?”

Bryce shrugged. “I think so.” He scooped up a handful of peanuts from a bowl and popped a few in his mouth before casually motioning to the magazines piled all over the floor. “Springtime. Lavender.Yourwedding.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ve been here for an hour and a half and we’re no closer to any decisions other than a possible color scheme that I doubt I can weigh in on if my life depended on it. How about you women figure all the details out and I’ll just tag along for the vows, since that’s how it’ll end up. If you’ll excuse me, I have some business that requires—”

“No!” Kate stomped her foot on the floor and shot out of her chair. She punched her fists onto her hips, her cheeks flushing. “You promised we’d go over this today. You keep pushing this off. At this rate, we’ll never secure a venue in time for a wedding next year!”

Bryce’s eyes widened as he became a microscopic specimen being examined by all four women. He cleared his throat, his fingers fisting around what was left of his peanuts.

“For the record, you told me I’d better be here today, so here I am. Not a single one of you have asked for my opinion, my input, regarding any of these wedding details until just now, and as a diversion. I think you’re all capable of doingthis without me at this point. However, I will say this. I’ll not agree to pink or purple ties or cummerbunds for me and the guys.”

Bryce snatched up his coat from the arm of his chair and headed toward the entryway. He couldn’t escape this mess fast enough, and the very prospect of a wedding actually happening merely added to his agitation and desperation to get away.

Make a decision, Bryce. Make a decision and make it soon.

“Bryce, stop.”

His mother’s sharp tone brought him to a halt as he opened the front door. Winter’s icy air hit his face, a welcoming blast to cool the heat of frustration. His mother grabbed his wrist and forced him to look at her. “What has gotten into you lately? Do you know how important a wedding is for a woman? Kate’s been looking forward to this for years, and it’s within sight. Your union has been a highly anticipated event among the upper social tiers ever since you two started dating. Planning is never a simple endeavor, but you need to be here during the process.”

“I don’t, Mom. Really. If not for me occasionally picking something off the platters on the table, no one would know I’m here. Besides, I have someplace I need to be.”

“Dear, Kate’s just excited. We all are. Girls dream of their wedding day, as do their mothers. But it’s not just the excitement of you two finally making things official. The political importance—”

“Seriously?” Bryce hissed, throwing up his hand to stop his mother mid-sentence. “I’m so fed up with all the political bullshit. The power, money, and whatever else is driving this wedding. I don’t care for any of it. All I want is happiness, but that’s too much to ask.”

His mother straightened and her expression turned chilly. She lowered her hand from Bryce’s wrist, narrowing her eyes on her son. “Something tells me you’re having second thoughts about this wedding. About Kate.” She shot a cautious glance over her shoulder toward the sitting room where planning had recommenced. “Don’t you dare disappoint me, Bryce. Our families have planned this since you two were tots. It’s expected. It’s your duty to this family, and to the Feltons. If you call off this engagement, the damage it might cause your father’s campaign and the law firm could be catastrophic. Do you realize that? Don’t youdaremake fools of your father and I.”

Bryce punched his arms into his coat and stepped onto the front stoop. “I’m glad my opinion counts for something.” He hopped off the steps, ignoring his mother’s demands that he return. When he reached his Hummer, he turned back to the front door, his mother, and tapped a finger on his chin. “You know what? You’re right. I’m having second thoughts about a lot of things.”

“Bryce Hampton!” she screeched, hands fisting on either side of her legs.

Bryce climbed into his truck and left the Feltons’ house without looking back. He immediately put in a call to his best friend, and received an answer by the second ring. “Jesse, you busy?”

“Just finishing at the gym. What’s up?”

“Wanna meet me at Grasshopper for a few drinks? I’m feeling the call for some Irish whiskey to wash away my pain.”

Jesse sucked in a loud breath. “Shit. That bad, bro?”

“Worse.”

“Let me jump in the shower here and I’ll head that way. Give me twenty.”

Bryce ended the call and pressed down on the accelerator. He couldn’t put enough distance between himself and his prospective future quick enough.

Bryce stirredhis Jameson mindlessly with a red stir stick, his mind a battlefield. Not even the initial burn of the whiskey going down his throat could dull the razor-sharp edge of his mother’s warning, or the guilt that kept him trapped in a situation he knew he needed to escape. He couldn’t marry Kate. He knew it as plainly as he knew his own name. He didn’t love her, not the way she wanted to be loved.

No, his heart beat for a ghost in a dream until he realized that ghost existed in reality. Now, he chased a stranger with no leads as to her whereabouts, only hoping one day, one night, she’d be at a bar or club he visited.

Shewas the reason for his late-night excursions and unreasonable behavior.Shewas the reason he stayed out until the wee hours of the morning, sometimes hitting up a club alone just in case he was lucky enough to find her again. She’d become his secret obsession, trying to fill a sickening hole in his chest and remove the unnatural desperation from his soul.

Six months, and he’d yet to discover the smallest hint as to where she might be.