Chapter 1

"Do you Sadie, take Matthew…"

No. No, I don't take him.

"…to be your lawfully wedded husband…"

Definitely not—not lawfully or otherwise.

"…to have and to hold…"

What was I thinking?

"…for better or worse, for richer for poorer, until death do you part?"

Holy hell no. Death? Spend every day of the rest of my life with this man?

Silence. Someone coughed. A baby let out a brief noise. Just minutes ago, I'd been annoyed that somebody brought a baby to our wedding. One of Matthew's pretentious friends, no doubt. Now I hoped that baby would let out an unending wail and pull some of the attention off me.

I let go of Matthew's hand and stepped back. At his confused expression, guilt washed over me, even though I knew he wasn't marrying me for love. My family had money, and he was hoping to get a piece of that.

"I can't do this," I said.

I flipped around and looked at the audience, focusing almost entirely on the people on my side of the aisle. People who cared about me. People who would hopefully forgive me.

When their expressions twisted my gut, I lifted my skirt and ran. I didn't look left or right. I kept my gaze focused on the door and hoped like hell nobody would follow me.

I ran from the area just past the patio where we were holding the wedding. I didn't stop, running around the side of the building and starting up the long road that would take me away from the Rosewood Ridge Retreat Center. To my right, the parking lot was still packed with wedding guest vehicles. We'd reserved the whole place. I just hoped the guests could enjoy the rest of the weekend so it wouldn't be a waste.

As I neared the main road, I noticed the cabin at the entrance to the property. Maybe I'd knock on their door. If no one was home, I could find a place to hide. Would I be brave enough to let myself into the house and hide? If I could find a way in, it was worth a try.

What if they caught up with me first? Imagining a mob running down the driveway toward me, I slowed so I could cast a glance over my shoulder. Nope. Nobody following me. But the thought filled me with panic.

Finally, I made my way to the tiny cabin at the entrance to the retreat center. Once I was at the front of the house, I felt somewhat safe. At least if the mob came running up the driveway, they couldn't see me here.

I stepped up onto the porch and stared at the door. All of a sudden it hit me that I was standing here in a full wedding dress, veil included. It was long and tight and sparkly, stretching over my generous hips and showing off my cleavage. Matthew actually licked his lips and elbowed his best man when he saw me. Apparently, his "perfect gentleman" act expired exactly today.

I took a deep breath and knocked, hoping what I'd find on the other side of this door was a kind woman. A woman who got me. A woman who understood that sometimes you paint yourself into a corner. You agree to marry someone because everyone thinks you should. Because he proposed in front of a restaurant full of people and you kept telling yourself it would be fine. By the time you got married, you'd feel something—anything—despite the fact that you'd never felt anything remotely resembling love for a guy.

And then it was too late to back out. The wedding was being planned all around you. Everyone you loved was excited about it. Then you'd bought the dress and sent the invitations and gifts were coming…and it was all just happening and there was nothing you could do about it.

"They're not here."

A voice from behind me had me practically jumping out of my dress. I spun around, ready to confront one of my wedding guests. Although that made no sense considering what the person had said.

But the person standing on the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps was no one from my wedding. He was no one I'd even seen before.

This guy was shirtless and showing off more muscles than I'd ever seen in real life. His baggy jeans fell just around his waist, held up with a belt. There was something so undeniably sexy about it. I couldn't take my eyes off that belt buckle.

My hand automatically went to my chest as if to still my racing heart. This was a man I could marry.

The absurdity of that thought hit me, and I let out a laugh. Once I started laughing, I couldn't stop. My other hand went straight to my stomach, as if I could push the laughter back inside, but it just kept rolling out.

The man stepped closer. "Are you okay?"

He held some sort of lawn tool. Shears, I was pretty sure they were called. They were used to trim shrubbery and such.

My laughter died a little as I stared at those shears. Finally, I was able to compose myself.

"Do you know where they are?" I asked.

"Vacation," he said. "I'm watching the place while they're away. Are they…expecting you?"

His gaze lowered to my dress as he asked that question. Yeah, there was no logical explanation for a woman standing on someone's front porch wearing a wedding dress and matching veil. Unless that front porch was her own. But even then, someone would be with her—preferably her groom.

"No," I said.

I lowered my hands to my sides and winced as my veil caught on my engagement ring. I looked down at my hand and debated jerking the ring off and throwing it into the yard. But I probably should return that to my ex-fiancé. No telling what he'd spent on it, banking on a future where he didn't have to worry about money.

"I just ran away from my wedding," I said. Then I looked back up at him and said, "I need somewhere to hide."