It was a stupid thing to say, but it was all she could think of. Memories played across the screen of her mind in fast-forward. The day they’d met in line at Starbucks in downtown Boston when Kate had gone there for a conference. Their first date at the Colonial Theatre. The long-distance courting and weekend visits. The e-mails, the phone calls, the engagement, the book. It all whizzed by, coming to a screeching halt here, at this moment. Here, in Lucas’s dusty workshop. Here, in front of the special gazebo they were to be married in.

“I’ve already called my family and told them. I know there’s a lot to do, and I’ll help any way you want me to. And then there’s your book . . . I’m so sorry.”

Sorry. You’re sorry? She pictured the precise rows of white chairs, the tent being erected as they spoke, the celebrity preacher, the photographers.

The New York Times.

She closed her burning eyes. Everything would have to be cancelled.

At that thought, humiliation arrived on the scene, sinking in past the pain of betrayal. The weight of it pushed at her shoulders, and she grabbed the hair at her nape. Think, Kate! This is no time to lose it.

“Stop, Bryan. Just stop and think about what you’re doing. Maybe you’re letting your issues with your parents’ divorce affect your decisions. This kind of fear is perfectly natural before a wedding, and maybe—”

“No, it’s not that—”

“How do you know?” She forced reason into her tone. Used her soothing voice—the one she used when things got heated between one of her couples. “We love each other. We’re perfect for each other. You’ve said it a hundred times.”

“There’s something missing, Kate.”

She wobbled again and steadied herself with a hand on the chair. “Something missing”? What was that supposed to mean?

As her mind grappled with that seemingly unanswerable question, she felt a hand at her back, leading her into the chair. She was sitting, her head as fuzzy as a cotton-candy machine, her emerald-cut engagement ring blurring before her eyes.

“What do you mean there’s something missing? The only thing missing is the groom. For our wedding that starts in five hours. Five hours, Bryan.” Now she felt the hysteria building and took a full breath, nearly choking on the way the oxygen stretched her lungs.

“I’ll help in any way I can.”

“You can help by showing up for our wedding!”