Elisa set down her drink. “The question is, why didn’tIknow? I’m only your best friend.”
Zoey couldn’t quite tell if Elisa was upset or teasing. “Oh come on, you’re the real bride around here. I didn’t want to rain on your parade.”
“Iloveparades.” With a grin, Rosalyn slid into the bench seat next to Elisa, wearing a gauzy lavender dress with sheer short sleeves. Her long blonde hair was tied back, revealing the graceful long lines of her neck. “As long as Cade doesn’t have to plan it, of course.”
“They might throw us a parade next.” Zoey cast a wary look at Mama D, who was busy stacking gifts on an empty table by the counter. “Someone sent a limo, after all. I felt like I was being kidnapped in the most polite way possible.”
“We all pitched in for that one. I can’t believe Linc got inside it, honestly.” Elisa blew out her breath. “I half expected him to just run back home.”
Rosalyn fluttered her long lashes. “The power of love.”
Ha. More like the power of trying to keep up pretenses in front of his daughter.
“Zoey, for the record, you couldn’t rain on anyone if you tried.” Elisa’s small smile assured Zoey she wasn’t mad. “That’s considerate, but there’s plenty room in the Bay for more than one wedding this year.” Then she elbowed Rosalyn. “Remember that.”
“Hey, if I rushed down an aisle right now, I’d probably trip over my own feet.” Rosalyn twisted a dainty gold bracelet on her wrist. “Cade and I are taking it slow.”
“Yeah, that’s the face of a man who looks like he wants to wait a long time to get married.” Elisa leaned forward and discreetly pointed. Cade’s eyes practically pulsed cartoon hearts from where he stood at the counter, holding a plate laden with bite-sized appetizers and cupcakes.
“Nah. He always looks like that when he’s got food.” Rosalyn smirked.
Linc, however—not so much. Zoey’s gaze found him across the diner, standing in a circle with Noah, Owen, and Cade’s father, Mayor Landry. Linc’s stony expression looked like he’d rather be standing knee deep in the bay.
In a lightning storm.
Holding a metal rod.
Zoey caught Linc’s eyes, raised her cupcake in a satire-laden toast. He glowered. She grinned. Teasing him was fun, even this far away. Then Pastor Dubois and Farmer Branson joined the men’s huddle, which started another round of shoulder-slapping and cheers, forcing Linc to start over with niceties. Her grin morphed into a smirk.
“For the record, Zoey…” Rosalyn tapped her fingers on the tabletop between them, drawing Zoey’s attention back to her friends. “Can’t say we didn’t all see this coming.”
“You did?” Zoey blinked. Rosalyn had only been back in Magnolia Bay since that summer, didn’t evenknowLinc before that. How did she?—
“Yeah, you two were obviously a perfect fit during all the Cajun Circus fundraising.” She elegantly peeled back the wrapper on a cupcake.
They were? Zoey glanced at Elisa, who held her gaze, eyes assessing.
Uh-oh.
“Definitely a perfect fit. And then all the close proximity of late, well, it was bound to happen. You guys moved fast, but that’s what they say.” Rosalyn pinched off a piece of cake. “When you know, you know!”
“Something like that.” Zoey avoided Elisa’s eyes that time, letting her gaze drift back to Linc. His strong shoulders, the broad span of his chest the confident way he carried himself.
What about when one person in the relationship knew but the other didn’t?
She looked away. “We just figured it was good timing, with Amelia and all.” She shrugged a little. “We were talking the other day, and Linc pitched the idea.”
“Pitched? Don’t you mean proposed?” Rosalyn asked with a little frown.
“Ha. You don’t know Linc yet.” Elisa laughed. But her eyes still held something, some spark ofknowing, that made Zoey shift in her seat.
“I’ll admit, the rush part is for Amelia.” Maybe giving partial truth would keep the full truth from being exposed—that Linc didn’t love her like that, that he was just a father trying to do the right thing for his kid.
“Everything happens for a reason, right?” Rosalyn toasted Zoey with her glass. “Cheers to God’s creative timing!”
Hmm. That was one way to look at it. Zoey rolled the idea around in her mind, trying it on. Everythinghadhappened so fast, and shehadprayed. Seemed like the signs were pointing toward this being the right move. So, yeah—creative timing. She could drink to that.
And it was better than the alternative—that she had made a huge mistake.
