Page 66 of Unbound Boxset

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Tomorrow was her wedding day.

Julianna stared at the simple white gown hanging by the closet. Clean lines flowed from a strapless neckline and gathered in a bow in the back, then spilled to the floor in a rush of lace. The dress screamed elegance and practicality, especially for a small garden wedding with a few guests. She had no maid of honor; no close friends or family. Her lunch friends were acquaintances she kept up for appearance’s sake and no one knew the extent of her desperation. She’d invited a few neighbors and co-workers from the college in an effort to remember the only wedding she’d ever have. She couldn’t stand the idea of a justice of the peace—much too impersonal. So, she’d say her vows at the Cliff House, drink some champagne, and pack her bags for England.

Julianna sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the gown. An emptiness took root and grew hungrier with each passing day. She wondered if Jack had sailed away yet. Maybe another waterfront town in the hopes of finding something better than his home. Someone better than her. A woman like the one he’d shared dinner with that night.

Choose me.

His plea echoed in her head like a mantra with no ending. He’d called her a hero, yet she’d known the truth. She was a coward. Afraid to really live on her own terms. Afraid to choose the unknown over the dependable. A martyr to the end, she was willing to marry to give her father what he wanted. She was exchanging one prison for another without a fight. She placed no value upon herself.

Until Jack.

How had he suddenly made her feel important? Worthwhile and deserving of love? He’d challenged her body and her mind, pushed her boundaries, and had the gall to ask her to come away with him. Was there another man alive with such audacity? Was there another man alive who was meant to be her true love?

Her nerves raw, she wandered to the sunroom, desperate for a few moments of peace. She sought out her thick poetry book, cracked the spine, and opened the page.

And came face to face with Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Julianna fought for breath as her gaze rested on the title, “Give All to Love.” And then she read.

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

Friends, kindred, days,

Estate, good-fame,

Plans, credit and the Muse,—

Nothing refuse.

’T is a brave master;

Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope:

High and more high

It dives into noon,

With wing unspent,

Untold intent;

But it is a god,

Knows its own path

And the outlets of the sky.

It was never for the mean;

It requireth courage stout.