The mayor tried to ruin me at the altar—until the pastor spoke a single name that brought the entire ceremony to a halt

shattering against the marble floor in an explosion of water, stems, and glass. Pastor Thomas stumbled, his shoulder slamming into the wooden pulpit, but he refused to let go of the manila envelope tucked inside the cover.

“Leave him alone!” I screamed, the instinct to protect the kind old man overriding the pain in my ankle. I took a clumsy, desperate continue reading …