Chapter 3 - The Man at the Wedding Venue
On the fifteenth day of Ethan’s thirty-day experiment, Clare went to the wedding venue alone.
The Briarwood Conservatory sat just outside Boston, surrounded by old gardens and tall oak trees. In spring, it was filled with roses. In autumn, the glass ceiling reflected gold leaves and pale sky.
Clare had chosen it because she loved how light filled the room.
Ethan had chosen it because the wine list was excellent.
The coordinator, Maria, walked Clare through the reception layout.
“The florist needs a final count,” Maria said. “And the musician wants confirmation on the first dance.”
Clare stopped near the center of the empty conservatory.
The first dance.
She had chosen “Come Away With Me” because it was the song playing during their first dinner together.
Now the song felt ruined.
“Can we change it?” Clare asked.
“Of course. To what?”
Clare thought for a moment.
“I don’t know yet.”
“You have time.”
But Clare did not want to wait for time.
She wanted to choose something new.
As she left the conservatory, a gust of wind caught the stack of seating charts in her arms. Papers scattered across the stone path.
“Oh no,” Clare muttered.
Someone bent to catch the pages before they blew into the fountain.
“Table twelve appears to be very important,” a man said.
Clare looked up.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a dark blue coat. His hair was slightly too long, as though he had been too busy to schedule a haircut. He held several pages in one hand and smiled without looking overly pleased with himself.
“Thank you,” Clare said.
He handed them back.
“Wedding plans?”
“Yes.”
“Congratulations.”
Clare hesitated.
Then she said, “That depends on the day.”
The man’s smile changed. It became gentler.
“I’m Daniel Hayes,” he said. “I’m here to meet the conservatory owner about a restoration project.”
“Clare Bennett.”
His gaze moved briefly to the folder in her arms, then back to her face.
“Are you getting married here?”
“I’m having an event here.”
Daniel did not press.
That was the first thing Clare noticed about him.
He did not demand a story simply because there was one available.
Over the next week, they ran into each other twice.
Once at the local coffee shop near the conservatory, where Daniel was reviewing drawings spread across a table. Another time in the garden, where he was inspecting the old stone fountain that needed repairs.
Daniel was an architect specializing in historic restoration.
He had been hired to redesign part of the Briarwood property into a community arts space.
“I like buildings that have survived things,” he told Clare one afternoon.
She looked toward the conservatory’s old glass walls.
“Why?”
“Because they remind people that damage doesn’t always mean the end.”
Clare laughed softly.
“That sounds rehearsed.”
“It’s not,” Daniel said. “I’m just bad at small talk.”
For the first time in weeks, she laughed for real.
He did not know about Ethan.
Not at first.
Then, one rainy afternoon, Daniel found her sitting alone on a bench outside the conservatory with tears in her eyes.
He sat beside her but did not speak.
After several minutes, Clare said, “My fiancé asked me to give him thirty days with another woman.”
Daniel turned toward her slowly.
“He did what?”
“He said he needed to know whether he still had feelings for his first love.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“And what did you say?”
“I said yes.”
He looked confused.
Clare wiped her eyes.
“I said yes to the thirty days. I did not say I would wait.”
Something warm moved through Daniel’s expression.
“Good.”
Clare looked at him.
“Good?”
“Yes,” he said. “Because you deserve someone who is certain before they ask you to build a life with them.”
The words stayed with her long after he left.
That night, Ethan finally sent another message through email.
I’ve had time to think. I know this is hard, but I still believe our love is worth protecting.
Clare read it carefully.
Then she typed:
May you like
Love is not something you protect by betraying the person who gave it to you.
She did not wait for his reply.
