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the ribbon that was entwined around his fingers.
    She tilted her head to the side and looked from the key to his eyes. “A key?”
    Ryan slipped the ribbon from his fingers to hers.
    â€œIs it a room key? Are we staying somewhere in town?”
    â€œThink bigger,” he said, clearly amused.
    â€œIt’s not a boat key. . . .”
    â€œWhy don’t I just show you? That is, if you’re ready to sneak out of here,” Ryan whispered in her ear.
    â€œI thought you’d never ask.”
    Even though they knew the right thing to do would be to walk through the reception one more time to say their goodbyes, they looked at each other like a pair of teenagers conspiring to sneak out of class. He took her hand and, without needing to say another word, led her out of the barn and into their new life.

C HAPTER 5
    EYES SHUT
    â€œE yes still closed?” Ryan asked while pulling the car off of the moonlit main road and turning onto an unmarked, narrow dirt road that wound through a thick grove of trees.
    â€œStill closed,” Shelby said, grinning underneath the hands that she held over her eyes. “We’re on gravel now, aren’t we?”
    â€œWe are,” he said. “Just a bit farther.”
    He continued to drive carefully through the woods. The overhead canopy of trees blocked out the moon and left only the car’s headlights to cast light across the road. The car traveled slowly over the gravel, bumping on occasion as it rolled over ruts and ridges in the road, until it reached their destination. Once the car came to a stop, Ryan put it in Park and removed the keys from the ignition. He was glad to see a warm amber light coming from the living room windows of the cottage that stood before them. Earlier in the evening, his instructions to Nic and Hank had been simple. Ryan was grateful that they had agreed to break away from the wedding reception just early enough to help pull this off. Looking over at Shelby, who was still covering her eyes, he was sure she never noticed when he gave them a nod across the room while he was holding her on the dance floor.
    â€œWe’ve stopped,” she said, turning toward him. “The suspense is killing me, you know.”
    â€œGo ahead, Shel. You can open your eyes.” He watched as Shelby dropped her hands to her lap. Her eyes fluttered open and adjusted to the new surroundings.
    â€œThe cottage?” she asked, leaning forward to get a better look out the windshield. She turned to him, a smile lighting up her face. “You rented the cottage again? For tonight? It’s perfect.”
    He exited the car and walked around to the passenger side, opened her door, and offered his hand to help her out.
    â€œHuh—I’m not quite sure how to maneuver out of the car in this dress,” she admitted, nodding toward the cumbersome folds of her wedding gown. “Maybe if you grab this part of the skirt . . . ?”
    â€œI can do better than that,” he replied, reaching into the car to gather her in his arms and easily lift her out of the vehicle. As he carried his bride down the stone-lined footpath, her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and the billowy fabric of her dress floated about them. “Let’s take a look around. It’s been a while.”
    â€œThe lights are on. Is someone here?” she asked, looking into the windows of the lakeside cottage that he had rented during his time in Bayfield, the year they had first fallen in love.
    â€œI’m not sure.” He set her down gently at the front door. “Go ahead inside,” he said, grinning.
    â€œWait! I think I left the key in the car.”
    â€œTry opening it. You might not need the key—maybe it’s unlocked.”
    Shelby reached out and turned the doorknob tentatively and upon hearing the click of the latch gave him a curious glance.
    She was about to take a step tentatively into the cottage when Ryan