Escape With Me (Love With Me 1)

“Thanks, Annette,” Wyatt said, carefully picking out the flowers and arranging the prettiest ones in his hand.

“Good luck, Wyatt,” Annette replied. She smiled at him. “And you should dress up more often. It looks nice.”

He flashed her a smile before heading up the elevator and up to Cassie's room.

He knocked with confidence, even though his chest was so tight he was sure his heart would be crushed any moment. “Please, Cassie. I need to tell you something.”

The door cracked open, and his chest relaxed slightly.

“She's not here,” Brianna told him, standing defiantly in the door with arms crossed. “You should leave.”

“Please, I just want to talk to her,” Wyatt replied, trying to look past her and into the room. Brianna blocked his view.

“I told you, she's not here.” She glared at him.

“Can you get a message to her?” Wyatt asked, deciding to try a new tactic. “I need to apologize before she leaves.”

“Well, that's going to be rather difficult,” Brianna informed him. She checked her watch. “Her flight leaves in ten minutes and the airport's twenty minutes away.”

Wyatt took a step back in surprise. “What? Her flight's not until tomorrow.”

“Well, it was. We switched flights,” a voice from inside the room informed him, coming to the door. It was one of the other bridesmaids. He was fairly sure her name was Julia. “My flight was for tonight. Hers was tomorrow. She took my flight, and I'm taking hers.”

“Whatever you told her had her in a panic,” Brianna told him, her eyes still hard. “She paid the transfer fees and everything. She's gone. You scared her off.”

Wyatt's shoulders slumped. His heart went through his expensive shoes. He shouldn't have changed. If he'd come straight here, he could have caught her and explained. Instead, he'd decided to show off his wealth and wasted precious time.

Yet another example of why money isn't everything, he thought to himself.

He held out the flowers. “Here. Someone might as well enjoy them.”

Julia took the flowers and held them to her nose. "Sorry, you missed her."

He nodded. “Tell her I'm sorry,” he said, his voice wooden in his ears. He turned and walked down the hallway, every step feeling hollow.

He was too late. He'd missed his chance, and she was now gone.

He moved robotically into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby. This wasn't how he'd seen the evening going.

“Thanks, Annette,” he said, passing the front desk.

Annette's eyes went wide again. “Get out of here. James is looking for you, and he's pissed!”

“What?”

“He's on the warpath,” she hissed. She shooed him with her hands. “Get going.”

Wyatt nodded. He hurried his steps through the side door of the lobby and ran directly into James.

“All dressed up for the wedding, I see.” James' eyes went up and down over Wyatt's fancy clothing.

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Wyatt didn't have any excuse prepared. He was still reeling from finding out Cassie had left and his brain couldn't come up with anything to say.

“You realize you're fired, right?” James crossed his arms and looked down his nose at Wyatt.

“Sir, I can explain,” Wyatt replied, hoping he could come up with something.