Jenny Read Free

happiness. When he reached the hotel, he
made his way upstairs. He was a determined man going after the prize he sought.
    "Jenny?" he called after knocking on the door. The
answering silence puzzled him, and he wondered if
she was even in the room. "Jenny, it's me, Cole."
    "Go away," she answered softly.
    "I love you, Jenny, and I want to talk to you. Whatever is bothering you, we can work out."
    "No"
    "How do you know until we've had a chance to
talk? Trust me, Jenny. Talk to me."
    Inside the room, Jenny steeled herself for what was
to come. Her Aunt Evelyn had left her alone so she
could have a few minutes of privacy, and now Jenny
regretted that she'd gone. She could have used someone there to be a buffer between her and Cole. Knowing there was no escaping this confrontation, she
unconsciously squared her shoulders and opened the
door.
    Cole stood before her, his manly presence seeming
to fill the entire doorway. Jenny stepped aside to admit him, and he entered the room without saying a word. She closed the door and turned around to face
him.

    She expected incriminations and anger.
    He surprised her.
    "I love you, Jenny," Cole told her quietly. "I don't
know what's troubling you, but I know that together,
if we try, we can work it out."
    "Cole, I'm sorry about what happened, but-"
    "If the big wedding wasn't what you wanted, I
don't care. I never wanted a big wedding. That never
mattered to me. I was doing it for you. If you want
to, we can sneak off and elope right now. You're
what's important to me. I want you, Jenny."
    "No, Cole, you don't understand," she interrupted.
    "Understand what?" He frowned, his tone becoming cautious and guarded.
    "That I don't want this - I don't want any of
this-"
    The blunt harshness of her words was like a slap
in the face to Cole.
    He loved her.
    They were to be married.
    This was their wedding day.
    "You don't want me?"
    "No," she blurted out, really wanting only to stop
him from saying anything more. She was confused by
all her conflicting feelings and wanted to try to explain everything to him. "I mean, I'm not ready to-"
    "I know what you mean, Jenny," Cole said, cutting
her off harshly.

    His gaze turned cold as he glared down at her. His
jaw tightened as he struggled for control over his
emotions. He didn't trust himself to say another word.
He turned and stalked from the room, shutting the
door silently behind him.
    Jenny was trembling as she stared at the closed
door. Cole was gone, and his silent closing of the door
had been more powerful than if he'd slammed it.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She had never wanted
to hurt Cole
    Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the
door.
    "Jenny? Are you all right?" Aunt Evelyn asked
softly. "I just saw Cole leaving and he looked very
angry."
    She all but threw herself into the older woman's
arms. "I'm sorry, Aunt Evelyn! I didn't mean to make
such a mess of things!"
    "There, there, honey, it'll be all right." Evelyn held
her trembling, crying niece for a long moment, gently
trying to reassure her. "For all that this has been so
difficult for you, Jenny, I must tell you that I'm very
proud of you."
    Jenny drew back to look at her, her eyes wide in
surprise. "You are?"
    "Very much so," Evelyn said. "There aren't many
women around who would have been courageous
enough to do what you just did."
    "I don't feel very courageous."
    "But think about it. You realized in time that you weren't ready to get married. You saved both yourself
and Cole a lot of heartache by being brave enough to
admit it."

    "I don't think he saw it that way. He was furious
when he left."
    "He didn't try to harm you, did he?" Evelyn asked.
She would not stand idly by and let anyone hurt her
niece.
    "Oh, no, Cole would never do anything like that.
I'm so sorry I hurt him, Aunt Evelyn. I never meant
to-"
    "I know that, sweetheart, but now that you've
talked to Cole, the worst is over. What will you do
next?"
    Jenny lifted