The Goodbye Bride Read Online Free Page A

to you?”
    She blinked away, thinking. She couldn’t remember what it felt like. Had she been chilled?
    â€œIt’s not November, Lucy. It’s June.”
    She shook her head. No, it couldn’t be summer. She’d just finished decorating her apartment for Thanksgiving. She’d put out the festive tablecloth and the brown pillar candles and the big stuffed turkey Zac had given her, the one that gobbled when you squeezed its belly. Just a couple nights ago she’d laughed herself silly at the ridiculous sound.
    He held the paper in front of her, and her eyes worked hard to focus where he pointed. Today’s date. June 15. And a year she didn’t even remember ringing in.
    Her head spun, and her skin felt hot. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She wished that nurse would come back and double her anxiety med because it wasn’t working anymore. Not even close.
    â€œCalm down now . . .”
    â€œI’ve lost seven months? Seven months? ” It all spun in her head. What had happened in those months?
    Her chest tightened, and she palmed the spot. “We broke up?”
    â€œYes.”
    He was the one thing she had going right in her life. The one thing she couldn’t live without. Her gaze touched on the wedding dress.
    â€œIf we’re not together anymore, why was I wearing a wedding gown, huh? Answer me that.”
    His lips formed a tight line. “I don’t know.”
    â€œYou’re wrong. You’re making this up!”
    â€œWhy would I do that?”
    â€œWe’re engaged!”
    â€œAre we, Lucy? Where’s the ring I gave you?”
    â€œRight here.” She held up her hand, noticing the ring for the first time. A diamond twinkled back. An awfully large one.
    Not the one Zac had given her.
    A whimper escaped her throat as panic crept in. “What’s going on?”
    An orderly slipped into the room. “Okay, time for pictures.” Working quickly, he verified Lucy’s identity, took care of the IV, and set the bed in motion.
    Lucy turned toward Zac as she was wheeled from the room, her gaze aligning with his guarded eyes. He stood immobile, his hands in his pockets, his jaw hard, his lips pressed into a tight line. He disappeared as quickly as her memory had.

Chapter 4
    W hat’s the last thing you remember, Miss Lovett?”
    It was midnight, and the doctor had been quizzing her for ten minutes. Her thoughts were so fuzzy. The CT was normal. Everything looked fine, he’d said. How could everything look fine when it clearly wasn’t?
    The doctor looked to be in his thirties with messy brown hair, blue eyes, and round glasses. He looked like Harry Potter. How could she remember Harry Potter when she couldn’t remember losing the only man she’d ever loved? How could seven months of her life simply slip her mind? She had a man—a fiancé!—she didn’t even remember. What had she been doing the last seven months? Where had she been living?
    â€œLucy . . .?” Zac said. “Your last memory.”
    She cleared her throat and thought hard. “Um, we were walking home from the Roadhouse—Zac’s restaurant. It was cold. We said goodbye at the door.”
    She had a sudden flash of memory, and her eyes cut to Zac. “You picked up the pumpkin on my porch and pretended it was talking.”
    She’d laughed at his antics, and she’d been relieved to see a glimpse of his old self. He’d been so blue since his daddy had passed. After he’d set the pumpkin down, he’d pulled her into his arms and told her he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her.
    She searched his eyes now and saw the glimmer of memory before he looked away.
    â€œHow long ago was that?” the doctor asked Zac, oblivious to the tension hovering in the room.
    â€œThe end of October,” Zac said.
    The doctor closed his chart. “Well . . . you’ve