Chapters (42)
- Cover Page
- Dedication
- Dear Friend
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Acknowledgments
- Reading Group Guide
- An Excerpt from the Goodbye Bride
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- About the Author
Her mind ran through the list of people she’d have to call. Her dad, the guests, her publisher. She thought of the money Rosewood Press had spent on this elaborate beach wedding. They’d flown in friends and family from all over the country, paid for the photographer, flowers, caterer, the wedding attire. Kate had only wanted a simple wedding, but with the release of the book, the marketing department had other ideas. “An elegant wedding and a surprise groom just as the book releases. We can ask Reverend James McFadden to perform the ceremony! Think of the publicity, Kate!”
A knot started in her throat and burned its way to her heart.
“I’ll always care about you,” Bryan said.
The words fell, as empty as a discarded soda bottle on a deserted beach.
Enough.
The adrenaline coursing through her veins drained suddenly, leaving her once again weak and shaky. She couldn’t talk to him anymore. She wasn’t going to break down on the phone, wasn’t going to beg him to come back. It wouldn’t accomplish a thing anyway. She’d heard this tone of Bryan’s voice before. He was a man who knew what he wanted. And what he didn’t want.
And he didn’t want Kate. She suddenly knew that fact as surely as she knew tomorrow would be more impossible to face than today.
She cleared her throat. “I have to go.”
“Kate, tell me what I can do. My family will pitch in too. I want to help fix things.”
She wanted to tell him there was no fixing this. There was no fixing her heart or the impending collision of her life and her career. Instead, numb, she closed the phone, staring straight ahead at the holes on the pegboard until they blended together in a blurry haze.
He was leaving her. The man she loved was walking away. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Not to her. She’d been so careful, and for what? A hollow spot opened up in her stomach, wide and gaping.
Instead of the headlines reading “Marriage Expert Finds Her Mr. Right,” they would read “Marriage Expert Jilted at the Altar.”
Kate had never considered herself prideful, but the thought of facing the next twenty-four hours made cyanide seem reasonable. How can this be happening, God? To me, of all people? She’d written a book on the subject of finding the right mate and had managed to find the wrong one instead. By tomorrow the whole world would know.
Two
Two
Impulsivity is the enemy. Intelligent relationships require careful, thoughtful planning.
—Excerpt from Finding Mr. Right-for-You by Dr. Kate