Runaway Groom (I Do, I Don't 2)

I walk away.

The entire patio’s been reserved for us, and it’s already set up with lights and umbrellas to account for the fact that the sky’s starting to cloud over a bit.

Raven nods for me to sit at the head of the table, and the women must have been instructed about their seating arrangements beforehand, because Maria and Eden take the seats next to me with minimal dirty looks from the others.

Ellie’s at the far end of the table, and I feel a little jolt when our eyes lock and hold, just for a moment.

In spite of myself, I want to know what she was going to say after the “but.” I do my best to stifle the curiosity.

“All right, ladies, I’ve got a request,” I say, leaning forward and giving my best smile.

“Anything,” Eden says a little too enthusiastically from my right. Maria, not to be outdone, sets a hand on my knee beneath the table. I let it stay. As long as it doesn’t start drifting toward the goods, we’ll be fine.

Adam and Raven gave me a list of preapproved talking points for the meal, so as soon as everyone’s ordered, I throw one out there.

“So, I’m curious,” I say, taking a sip of the champagne that’s been poured for the table. “You all know that I’ve been awfully close to the altar—twice—but what about you? Anyone here been married? Almost married?”

I only half listen as the women start replying. Naomi’s been too busy collecting degrees to have a serious relationship—until now. Aurora thought she was going to marry her college boyfriend, but they broke up when he moved to Melbourne for work. Eden confesses that she’s divorced. Cora, Ivy, and Brooklyn all have had a couple of serious relationships, but none that got to the ring-shopping stage. And Kelsey and Maria both end up on tangents so rambling, I’m not even remotely sure what their status is.

“What about you, Ellie?” Brooklyn asks.

Ellie’s in the process of heaping the tuna poke appetizer onto her plate, and she merely shrugs. “Sure, I’ve had boyfriends.”

“Any serious?” Ivy asks.

She bites her lip, just for a second, but it’s telling. “Yeah, one. I broke up with my ex a few months back. We’d been together for three years.”

“Oh, honey.” Naomi sets a hand on her shoulder. “What happened?”

“He dumped me.”

“Why?” Eden asks, her smug tone implying that she could think of a dozen reasons.

I feel a quick stab of protectiveness toward Ellie, wanting to spare her from having to tell the world why a guy she’d been with for years broke up with her, but she answers before I can think of a good diversion.

“Nothing gossip-worthy. He just…moved on. He had a tech company that took off, and opted to move to Silicon Valley. I wasn’t invited to go along.”

“Did you want to?” Ivy asks curiously.

Ellie stabs a piece of tuna with her fork, then jabs at a piece of pineapple, though I have to think the flavor combination is disgusting. “I wouldn’t have minded being asked.”

She gives a quick blink as she looks up, as though realizing she’s said something she hadn’t meant to. Then she gives a wide smile. “Also, my dad left when I was a kid. We can talk about that too. Or my dead cat? Maybe bring out the tissues?”

There’s a round of nervous laughter, and as I change the subject to tomorrow’s snorkeling trip, my gaze keeps snaking back to Ellie. She’s happily joined the conversation, but there’s a brightness to her tone that I recognize as false.

How do I know?

Because I too play that game. I too know the power of a fake smile and a quick joke. I know that making light of anything potentially painful or personal keeps people at a distance. Because it’s safer.

But for some reason it bugs me that Ellie plays that game. It bugs me that there might be something more to her than her dogged determination to make a success of her business.

Lunch wraps up surprisingly quickly, and maybe Raven and the crew were dead-on about me having more sparks or some shit with this second group, because it wasn’t nearly as miserable as breakfast.

Even better, there’s no filming this afternoon—not until the invitation ceremony this evening.

I’m not off the hook yet, though.

Adam steps in front of the camera and explains that while nine of the women will be going home in the van we drove over in, I will be driving one lady back to the villa in a convertible, just the two of us.