Not His Bride Anymore novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: The Birthday

On the night of my twenty-fifth birthday, the Grand Ballroom of the Ambrose Inn held two hundred people, a string quartet, and thirty-one toddlers in party shoes.

The toddlers had taken the dance floor.

They ran in circles under the chandeliers, shrieking, while a very patient violinist played something slow over their heads.

I stood in the coat room.

It was the same narrow room behind the front desk where I had found Savannah, and I had asked for it on purpose.

I held my father's letter.

The seal was cracked.

I had broken it a minute ago, with my thumbnail, in the yellow light.

He had written four lines.

Ainsley. If you are reading this, you have finally decided to marry someone, and I am sorry I am not there to see his face.

Don't choose the man who needs you to stay.

Choose the one who would survive it if you left, and would still rather you didn't.

Love, Dad.

I laughed, and then I was crying, and then I wiped my face with the back of my hand and put the paper in my bag.

When I came out, Elliot was standing at the check-in table with a plain white invitation in his hand.

The events manager was holding a clipboard and trying not to smile.

"Name?" she said.

"Elliot Wray."

"I'm afraid you're not on the list."

"It's in my hand."

"That's only the invitation. Do you have a plus-one?"

He looked across the lobby, and found me.

He held out his hand without looking away.

"I think I'm hers," he said.

She stamped his hand.

I did not stop smiling for ten minutes.

Savannah sat in a high-backed chair near the front, with her feet on a cushioned stool and a blanket over her knees.

Caleb's mother sat beside her.

She had one hand on Savannah's arm and a fierce look on her face, and she had brought a bag of baby socks.

← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend