A March Bride (19 page)

“
Steve it is.
”

That hadn
’
t been so hard. Maybe her years of friendship
with Hannah demanded loyalty in spite of the sibling relationship.

Not that she would ever ask Hannah to choose—in fact, that was why she had refused all contact with her friend all these months. She didn
’
t want to put her in an even more awkward position. And Marcus had enough to deal with without her creating family drama for him.

But the fact that Hannah was right here in her living room meant maybe they could find their way around this. After all, it wasn
’
t like she
’
d have to see Marcus if she and Hannah remained friends. Maybe he wouldn
’
t even have to know.

“
Anyway, Steve wasn
’
t why I came. You
’
ve made it clear you don
’
t want to talk about that, and I
’
ll respect your wishes.
”
Hannah rose from the chair and began to pace the small living area, pausing every few feet to nervously rearrange a knick-knack on the mantel or straighten the royal purple pillows on the couch Allie had recently recovered.
“
I came to ask a favor.
”

“
Anything.
”
The word leapt from Allie
’
s grateful lips before she could self-edit. She really would do anything to get her relationship with Hannah back, to grasp something good and familiar during this dismal season in her life. Maybe she
’
d brought it on herself, but that didn
’
t make everything any easier to cope with.

Because one fact remained—if she
’
d run down the aisle instead of to her car that day, she
’
d have been married for four months right now. She and Marcus would probably be getting ready to go to a celebration dinner, where he
’
d have sneaked a card under her dinner plate or arranged for the
chef to make a heart with cherry tomatoes in her salad. That was Marcus. Considerate. Romantic. Always thinking.

No question, she had done him a favor. They might have made it a few months, but they wouldn
’
t have made it a few years. No one in her family had ever made it past three—and good grief, they
’
d all given it multiple tries.

“
I
’
m glad you said that.
”
Hannah
’
s voice, and the squeak of a glass vase against the coffee table as her friend absently redesigned the floral arrangement, jerked Allie away from her thoughts. She wondered if Hannah realized that the vase had taken the place of the giant framed engagement photo of her and Marcus snuggled under an oak tree.
“
Because my favor is sort of big.
”

Couldn
’
t be as big as Steve.

“
You know how I
’
ve always wanted a Valentine
’
s Day wedding.
”

Hannah
’
s eyes gleamed, and Allie could almost see cartoonish, pulsing pink hearts shooting out of her gaze.

“
Well, that means we only have about six weeks. Actually, more like five.
”

“
Five weeks. Wow, you
’
re right. That
is
soon.
”
Allie knew better than to assume there was a secret reason, though others surely would speculate. Marcus would hate those rumors about his sister. He
’
d always been so protective of the women in his life.

“
Really soon. So there
’
s no time to lose.
”
Hannah took a deep breath and twisted her ring on her finger.

“
Whatever it is, I
’
m in.
”
I owe you
. The words faded from her tongue but still burned an aftertaste. She did owe her friend. Whatever Hannah needed, it was Allie
’
s turn
to support
her
. After all, Hannah had reluctantly honored Allie
’
s desperate request to give her time and space after the wedding-that-wasn
’
t, time and space from all things Marcus-related. Hannah had met her several hours after Allie sped away from the church that day to pick up Marcus
’
s car, and their brief conversation had been tear-filled and beyond awkward. But Allie needed the chance to process her decision, and in allowing her that time, Hannah had given her a gift that beat all the premium toasters and coffee makers in the world. Allie
’
d had to return those to the store, so it was the least she could do to return this favor for Hannah and keep their friendship alive.

Besides, what could be so bad? If Hannah
’
s obvious willingness to bury the hatchet was anything to go by, this opportunity—whatever it may be—could be the catalyst to proving her ability to remain loyal to at least one member of the Hall family. And having Hannah around again would ease that unbearable loneliness that had taken over these past few months. There was no reason they couldn
’
t rekindle their friendship apart from her brother. No reason for her to have to be around him at all, really.

“
I want you to be my maid of honor.
”

Except maybe that reason.

The story continues in
A February Bride
by Betsy St. Amant.

T
HE
R
OYAL
W
EDDING
S
ERIES

Once Upon a Prince

Princess Ever After

How to Catch a Prince
(Available Winter 2014)

The Wedding Dress

Dining with Joy

Love Starts with Elle

Sweet Caroline

Diva Nashvegas

Lost in Nashvegas

W
ITH
S
ARA
E
VANS

The Sweet By and By

Softly and Tenderly

Love Lifted Me

R
ITA Finalist and Carol Award winner Rachel Hauck was recently chosen by Family Fiction readers as one of the top five romance authors in CBA. She has written more than 15 novels. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and writes from her ivory tower (her 14th-floor office painted ivory!) Visit her website at
http://rachelhauck.com/
.