They stood like that for the longest time. Caroline was stiff and silent in his arms. Josh was beginning to think he should call for a doctor when Caroline’s shoulders suddenly slumped. She started shaking. He heard one tiny sob, but the rest of her tears fell in silence. Josh held her close. He wanted to kill the bastards who had hurt his woman.
“It’s okay, baby. Don’t cry. We’ll fix everything.”
She pulled away from him. Her eyes were red, swollen and owl-like.
“How are we going to fix this, Josh? I don’t think it’s possible.”
He ran his thumb over her trembling bottom lip. “Of course it is. We’ll wait a few days then try again. I’ll get you a new dress and we’ll be more careful about who we invite.”
She shook her head. “No.” She pushed away from him. Now they were both covered in paint. “We obviously weren’t meant to do this. We weren’t meant to be together.” Her big green eyes implored him to understand. He didn’t. Not one bit.
“Weddings get ruined all the time.” Josh tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Some get hit with hurricanes, or earthquakes, or dodgy relatives. Ours isn’t any different. We can’t call it quits just because some things went wrong.”
Caroline barked a fake laugh. “Some things went wrong?” She stared down at her dress, and another tear rolled down her cheek. Josh felt his chest ache. She looked back up at him. “Beth was right.” She bit her lip as she fought for her precious control. “You’re too good for me. I am unlovable. That’s why you picked me, so that there wouldn’t be any danger of you falling in love with me. I am bossy. And cold. And—”
He stepped into her space and cradled her face in his hands. “Stop. Don’t listen to a word that crazy witch said. There is nothing wrong with you. You’re good and kind. You’re funny and loving. You’re beautiful, and moral, and oh-so-sexily innocent.” He kissed her nose. “You are too good for me, baby. Not the other way around. I keep wondering when you’re going to figure out that you could do so much better than me.”
Caroline closed her eyes. “Oh, Josh. You can’t mean that. I don’t even know how to dress. The country is calling out for my makeover. I embarrass you at every turn. My personality is as grey as my wardrobe.”
“No.” He shook his head. Wishing he could strangle the crazy woman who poisoned Caroline’s mind. “No. It’s not true. You’re wonderful the way you are. You never embarrass me. Never. Why would you even think that?”
Caroline pushed away from him. She took a deep breath. Her shoulders went back. Josh’s stomach turned at the sight. It was her fighting stance.
“I think we should call this marriage off.”
Josh put his hands on his hips. He summoned his patience as stared down at the floor. He shook his head. No. There was no way that was happening. He knew she was upset. She deserved to be upset. But call off the wedding? No. Just. No.
“We made an agreement. We’re getting married.”
“I don’t want to marry you.” Her voice cracked. She was lying. He knew it.
“Don’t say that, Caroline. You don’t mean it. We have a deal. We agreed.”
“It won’t work out for us.” She backed away from him. “I’m not the kind of person people love.”
“You aren’t thinking straight. This isn’t about love. It’s about commitment.” Josh almost choked on the words. They felt like a lie. His shirt was too tight. He loosened his purple tie and popped the top two buttons. He should have put his foot down and gotten married in a T-shirt. “We made a deal. I’m holding you to it.”
“I can’t.” She looked like she was about to run. “I can’t marry you. It hurts too much.”
What the hell? Josh ran his fingers through his hair.
“You’re not making any sense.” He reached for her, but she stepped away from him. “We’ll go back to the castle. We’ll get cleaned up.” He tried to grin at her, but it felt forced. “I’ll show you the delights of showering together. Once we’re clean, things will be clearer.”
“Josh.” She held her flowers in front of her, as though they were a shield. “I was thinking about backing out long before everyone intervened.”
Josh felt like he’d taken a kick to the gut. He actually started to bend over before he thought to stop himself.
“You were going to call it off?”
“It’s the right thing to do.” Her shoulders slumped. She looked defeated. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. “You don’t want me. You want a business arrangement. Which was fine. It was great when we both wanted the same thing.” Her voice shook. “But things changed.” The pain in her eyes made every part of him ache. She took a shaky breath. “I fell in love with you, Josh.”
The ground shifted beneath him. Josh looked around for something to hold on to. There wasn’t anything.
Caroline gave him a sad little smile. “You see why it won’t work? You don’t want to be in love. You picked me because you know you’ll never love me like that. It’s safe for you. Beth was right about that. I’m not the kind of woman men fall in love with. Which means I would spend my life loving you and watching as you never loved me back. I can’t do that. It’s soul destroying. Waiting for you to find the woman you will fall in love with. Waiting for you to leave me.”
She wasn’t making any sense. Why would he leave her? Why would he want another woman? He only wanted her. “You love me?”
“And you don’