“Nope. He wore an Arkansas printed tie and socks. Megan and Blair wore red dresses, and he had a Hog groom’s cake.” Grinning, she stabbed a piece of her steak. “In his vows, he used a play from the 2010 Cotton Bowl game.”
“Why in the world did you agree to that?” He couldn’t imagine her going along with any of it.
She shrugged. “It’s what he wanted.”
“Doesn’t the bride typically get what she wants?” He couldn’t understand why she’d proposed to Mitch, but it absolutely astonished him that she’d let him plan the entire wedding. She loved weddings and everything about them. Heck, she’d probably started planning her big day when she was a middle-schooler collecting images cut out of magazines. None of this made sense.
She shrugged again, not looking up at him.
“Libby.”
She lifted her gaze to his.
He paused. “Yeah, Mitch is a great guy, but he wasn’t the right guy for you.” He held up his hand in case she started to protest. “And no, this isn’t me gloating.”
Something like regret filled her eyes. “You have every right.”
He gave a small shake of his head. “Nope. Not even a little.” He turned serious. “But one day, you’ll meet a guy who can give you the kind of love your friends have found, because that’s what you deserve, Libby. A guy who will stand by your side no matter what, then sweep you off your feet while he’s giving you the stars and moon.” He hoped that guy was him, particularly since a band of jealousy coiled around his heart at the notion of some other man giving that to her. The feeling was unsettling; he’d never been jealous like this before.
Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t think I’m going to find that, Noah. It’s too late.”
“Bullshit. You’re not even thirty yet.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
A soft smile lit up her face. “You’re the only man who’s ever liked me for me.”
“What does that mean?”
“Guys always see the outside. They rarely pay attention to the inside.”
Guilt washed through him. How many times had he been so dazzled by a woman’s beauty, he’d ignored everything else about her? And while he’d seen firsthand how many men openly gawked at Libby, it had never occurred to him to ask how she felt about it. “Not every man is like that, Lib. Look at Josh.” And me. But he couldn’t tell her that. She was still raw over her breakup with Mitch. He didn’t want to be her rebound.
She pursed her lips and didn’t answer.
He decided to change the subject, although he wasn’t sure the one he was moving on to was any safer. “So you called Megan.”
She sighed. “Mitch said she and Blair were freaking out.” A grin cracked her lips. “Blair thought I’d been kidnapped and wanted the police to issue an Amber Alert.”
“Wait. Isn’t that for—”
“Yeah. For kids. Megan says she was irritated when they wouldn’t do it.”
Noah chuckled. “Sounds like Blair.” He paused. “What did Megan say about you running off?”
She scowled. “Nothing good.”
“I gathered that from the fact that you suggested a complete stranger tell your best friend to go to hell.”
She grinned up at him, a new playfulness in her eyes. Relief spread warmth through his veins. She had every reason to be upset, but it killed him to see her that way. He’d do anything to keep her happy.
He gave her a cocky grin. “Since you were supposed to get married, I take it you’ve got a few days off for your honeymoon.”
“Well . . . yeah. I postponed all my photo shoots for the next couple of weeks.”
“Where were you going for a honeymoon?”
“We were supposed to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but then Mitch’s high school football team made it into a playoff game. So we canceled the trip.”
“But you still have time off?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Let’s go on a road trip.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“No. We’re already in Junction City. Why not just keep going?”
“How about the fact that I don’t have any clothes on me besides this wedding dress?”
“So we’ll buy you more clothes.”
“Noah, I don’t have any money. Or a cell phone. Or a form of ID for that matter.”
“Then I’ll pay for the trip.” When she started to protest, he held up a hand. “Consider it a non-wedding present. Or if you’d like, consider it your kidnapper providing for your basic needs.”
“And you can take off work just like that? I thought you guys were in the middle of a merger that was sucking away all your free time.”
He considered telling her the truth—in fact, he was dying to tell her the truth. She was the one person who would understand how he felt. She knew how hard he’d been trying with the family business. But this was about Libby right now, not him. His problems weren’t going anywhere. He could wait. “Lucky for you, I took time off.”
She ate several more bites before looking up at him. “So where would we go?”
He grinned. “Wherever we want. In fact, I declare tomorrow Libby St. Clair Day.”
“Does that mean I get to pick where we go?”