Page 102 of Running from Drac

Poppy wraps me in a hug, wiping away my tears before they have a chance to ruin my makeup. “Why don’t you go get some air, Amber? You look like you need to clear your head.”

And I do.

Everything is telling me to wait and not go through with this. Yet here I am, standing outside a quickie chapel, wearing a wedding dress I bought from a Mexican dress shop, as I grasp onto the hope that everything will be okay.

“There’s a bench around back. Why don’t you head back there? I’ll cover for you when Eddie gets here.”

Nodding, I slowly move toward the back of the building, my anxiety rising, emotions hitting me like shrapnel expelled from an explosion.

My breathing quickens as I take a seat on the bench, unable to control it, my head pounding with frustration. There’s a piece of my dress that’s slightly frayed, so I pick at it… over… and over… and over again. Still unable to breathe. My mind working overtime.

This is wrong.

Everything is telling you not to go through with this.

But I love him.

God, do I fucking love him.

I’m so lost in my derailed train of thoughts that I don’t hear anyone approach me, not until his thick Australian accent invades and conquers.

“Amber?”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask, scrambling to my feet, nervously looking around to see if anyone else has seen him.

“I had to see you.” He moves so quickly that I can’t stop him from grabbing me. He frowns when he sees the tears in my eyes, his right cheek slightly dimpling as he runs hissmooth hand across my skin to wipe them away. “C’mon, love. Don’t cry. You’re too bloody gorgeous for that.

I jump out of his embrace, recoiling from his touch like he’s a snake trying to bite me.

“You need to leave. I told you that I can’t be with you. I’m in love with my fiancée, and I’m about to get married.”

Ryder’s smile fades along with that sexy dimple that I’m impossibly attracted to. “I know. That’s why I’m here. Had to give it a try, at least one last time.”

“Try for what? Me? Ryder, you’re nothing but a complication. You make me crazy. When I’m around you, I lose my ability to think straight. I can’t even fucking breathe. I have no idea why you make me feel this way, but it has to stop now before things get even more complicated.”

He takes a strategic step toward me, placing himself between me and the exit that leads to the front of the building. I could run, but he’d definitely catch me if I tried.

“If I make you feel like that, then there’s somethin’ real between us. Somethin’ worth chasing.” He reaches out again, but this time I step back, holding my ground.

“If this were a different time or place, and maybe if I didn’t have Eddie, I would be more open to us, but you really need to stop popping up everywhere. It’s getting a little creepy. If Eddie sees me with you, he’ll leave me. I’m on my last chance with him. How did you find me?”

He laughs. “One of your mates told me.”

“My friend?”

“Yeah, one of the twins.”

Fucking Pippa! The next time I see that bitch I’m going to slit her throat.

“She shouldn’t have done that.”

“Well, she did. She came to my hotel room and said ya were getting married today. I know it sounds mad, but Ireckon I’m halfway in love with ya already. Never felt like this before, Amber. You’ve got me completely stuffed, love. I can’t just walk away. Call it pheromones, or womanly allure, but something about ya has me all fucked up, Amber, I can’t let this go no matter how many times ya beg me to do it.”

“But you have to, Ryder. I’m getting married today. I love my fiancée.”

He winces, like my words mortally wound him or something. Then he smirks, striding closer, that confident smile toying with the corners of his lips so vividly. He knows exactly how he affects me and he’s preying on it.

“You feel it too though, don’t you? No use lyin’ about it. Do you deny it?”