And he couldn’t look away from her.
Don’t give up on me, Anna.
The priest cleared his throat. “We are gathered here today for love. True love.”
Brett’s eyes widened. The way the reverend said “true love” sounded exactly the same as the man in Anna’s favorite movie, The Princess Bride. She used to watch it at least once a month. All of her brothers had escaped once they heard what she wanted to watch, but Brett had always stayed. He liked the story.
He looked at Anna, and she was fighting back laughter. He grinned and lowered his head to hide the evidence. Now he didn’t need a movie to show him love. He just needed Anna, and he needed to find a way to get her back—
If he had ever really had her.
She’d always been at his side, loving him, standing by him. And now that he finally came to his senses, she was ready to give up on him?
Hell no.
He wouldn’t let her.
By the time the wedding finished, he was a fucking wreck. He entered the crowded dining room and sought out Anna. She was at the bar with one of the bridesmaids, and miraculously enough her brothers weren’t surrounding either one of them. They’d kept their word. Imagine the fucking miracle in that.
Too bad it might be too late.
Too bad Anna didn’t want him anymore.
Anger surged through his veins, and he saw red. He walked up to her with long strides. As he approached her, she stiffened and stopped smiling. “Can I talk to you?”
The bridesmaid shot him a nasty look—so she thought he was a jerk, too. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do.” After they were alone, she turned to him with a sigh. She didn’t look happy to see him. “What’s up?”
He flinched at the indifferent tone of her voice. “Not here. In there.”
Grabbing her hand, he led her into the library, and no one followed him. He shut the door behind him and eyed her. This was where she kissed him for the first time. It was also when he realized he didn’t stand a chance of fighting the desire he had for her anymore. And now he had to find a way to prove he was worthy of her love. That he could be the type of man she deserved, if she let him. “Listen. I didn’t come to your room last night because—”
She sighed. “I already know why you didn’t come. You don’t have to say it.”
Wait. She knew, and she still pushed him away? His whole body went stiff. “Wyatt—?”
“Just stop.” Anna held up her hand when he opened his mouth to talk. “Last night gave me the chance to think. Really think. And…” She broke off, her voice cracking. She straightened her back and met his eyes. “And you were right. You and me? You’ve been right all along. It was just a childish crush on my part. Not love.”
And with those words, his carefully constructed world fell apart. Every wall he’d ever laid around his heart crashed and burned, taking him down with it. “A crush?”
“We wouldn’t…we don’t work.” She gave him her back and faced the window, her shoulders stiff. “My silly crush is gone.”
“Gone.”
He was like a fucking recorder, repeating shit she said.
It was all he was capable of right now.
Anna shrugged, swiped her hands over her cheeks, and then turned back to him. The cold look in her eyes hurt almost as much as her words. “Yeah. So I’m not angry, or upset, that you didn’t show up. It’s a good thing.”
“Good thing,” he echoed, still in shock. His lips were numb and his hands were tingling in that painful just-fell-asleep-and-woke-back-up way. He flexed his fingers. “It’s completely gone?”
She pressed her lips together and looked away. “Like I said.”
“So you used me to scratch an itch, and now you’re finished with it? With me?” He clenched his jaw, anger replacing the mind-numbing shock. “Now that you’ve had me, you’re done? You’re ready to toss me away like yesterday’s garbage?”
“Well—” She flushed and wrung her hands in front of her stomach. “You should be happy I don’t want more from you than the time we shared together.”
He lifted his head, staring at her incredulously. “Happy?”
“Yeah. After all, you were right.” She bit down on her lower lip. “And you usually like to rub that in my face.”
He dragged a hand down his face.
She thought he’d be happy?
That he would boast about it?
Fuck. She really thought he didn’t care about her. Maybe he should let her think that. Save his pride…or what was left of it, anyway. He’d warned her not to fall for him, and she hadn’t. But he’d been the fool. He had gone and fallen for her.