A Wedding Worth Waiting For (6 page)

“But—”

“No arguments.” He took the check from Sally, who was openly amused at their back-and-forth bickering. “I may be a rebel, but I'm still afraid of my mama.”

Sally nodded in approval, taking the check and the cash he handed her. “The man has a point.”

“Fine, I know when I'm outnumbered. But I'm only agreeing because I paid for the pizza last time.” That she could justify to herself.

“Whatever works.” He winked, then stood. “I'll walk you to your car, unless you'd like to take a stroll on the beach first. It's turning into a beautiful night.”

She glanced down at the shoreline, where the last gasp of daylight was being taken over by night as the moon rose over the water. It was gorgeous, but Dylan had been hard enough to deal with in a crowded restaurant. No way was she going on a romantic walk with him, not after he'd already asked her out. Standing up, she slung her purse over her shoulder. “I really need to get home. My cat will be waiting for me.”

Could she be any more pathetic? Her
cat
was waiting for her? She'd already admitted to struggling to fit in to her old hometown; now he'd think she was a hermit. Or at least in the early stages of becoming a crazy cat lady.

“A cat person, huh?”

He'd kept a straight face, she'd give him that. “Yes, actually. I like dogs, too, but I work long hours, so a cat makes more sense.”

He motioned for her to go first, and walked with her across the deck toward the stairs to the parking lot. “I'm a dog guy myself. I've been thinking of adopting one for a while. I could bring it to work with me, so that's not an issue.”

“Well, why haven't you, then?”

He shrugged, stopping as they neared her car. “I don't know. I guess the right one hasn't come along yet. When it does, I'll know.”

“I guess.” She opened the door to her truck and slid in, thinking how if she wanted to adopt a dog she'd research breeds, make a list of traits she was looking for and scour the shelters until she found one. But it was very clear that Dylan had his own way of doing things. “Seems like it would be faster to just go look for one.”

“Well, I figure some things you can't rush. But when it's right, it's worth the wait.”

Chapter Six

“D
amn it!” Dylan jerked his shirt, now soaked with scalding hot coffee, away from his skin.

“Bad day, surfer boy?” Dani Post walked up to where he stood at the counter of The Grind and handed him a stack of napkins, a smirk on her face.

“Where did you come from?” He hadn't seen her when he'd come in the coffee shop a minute ago. Of course he'd been more focused on his need for caffeine than his surroundings. “And no, I'm not having a bad day, I just spilled my coffee. I must have put the lid on wrong, that's all.”

She tilted her head, her gaze missing nothing as she considered. He hated when she used her lawyer look on him. Crap, maybe he
was
in a bad mood, if Dani could get on his nerves this quickly.

“You look like crap. My guess is you were in a funk before the coffee issue.”

Or maybe she was just annoying.

“Let me guess, your friend from last night found out I wasn't coming and stood you up?”

He replaced the lid on the now half-empty cup of coffee, carefully this time, and took a large swallow before answering. Thankfully, The Grind made their coffee as strong as it was hot. “No, counselor, she didn't stand me up. As a matter of fact we had a very nice dinner. Without you.”

“Uh-huh.” She sipped her own drink, eyeing him over the brim. “So then why are you here, with circles under your eyes, instead of in the office?”

“Because it's Saturday?”

“Which would make sense if you ever took weekends off. But you don't. You've been working seven days a week since I met you. So again, what's up?”

She had him there. Spying an empty table outside, he headed for it, not surprised when she followed and sat down with him. A typical lawyer, she wasn't going to end an interrogation midstream. “I didn't sleep well, so I thought I'd get some decent coffee before heading in. Nothing more than that.”

“You have coffee at home. And at the wildlife center.”

“I said
decent
coffee.”

“Okay, I'll give you that. This is definitely better than the stuff you served me at the last board meeting.” Not to be deterred, she switched tactics. “So why didn't you sleep well?” When he simply glared, she tipped up her cup and waited. She was a good friend, but she had the persistence of a pit bull. If he didn't give her something, she'd keep on him, but he wasn't about to admit he'd been up half the night thinking about Sam. “I just had things on my mind.”

“Things, or a person?” At his startled look, she laughed. “Don't worry, I'm not a mind reader. But you know how fast gossip gets around in this town. I hear you were all gaga-eyed over a certain wildlife officer last night.”

Well, hell. “Sally?”

She shrugged, and gestured to the crowds of people strolling around Main Street. “Probably, plus anyone else with two eyes and a mouth. By now half the people in town know, if not more. I heard it from my mom when I stopped by there this morning to pick up some papers. And she heard it from Mrs. Rosenberg, I think. You're the town's most eligible bachelor, and this is the first time you've been spotted out on a date in months. That's big news in a place this small.”

“It wasn't a date.”

“You bought a pretty woman dinner on a Friday night. Of course people thought it was a date.”

The headache that had been threatening all morning ratcheted up a notch. “You think the gossip has gotten back to Sam yet?”

“Maybe. Depends who she talks to. Sometimes people are less likely to bring it up with the person that the gossip is about.”

“Obviously you have no such compunction.”

“I'm your friend. It's my job to get the straight scoop. I had planned to stop by the wildlife center to quiz you. It was just luck that I bumped in to you here first.”

“You already knew what you wanted to ask, so that bit about me looking like hell—”

“Was true. You look exhausted.” She leaned in, resting her elbows on the table. “I was just going to tease you about finally having a night out. I didn't know you were actually hung up on her. This is way better than I thought.”

“Nice. And for the record, I'm not hung up on her. We had dinner, that's it.”

“So you didn't ask her out again?”

No point in denying it; obviously his fellow diners had done more than their share of eavesdropping. “Yes, I did. But I'm guessing you knew that, too.”

“I did. What I didn't know was that she shot you down. That I figured out all on my own, from your less than pleasant attitude.” Dani shook her head in mock sorrow. “I never thought I'd see it happen. Half the women on the island are dying to go out with you, and you find the one that isn't interested.”

“I don't see how this is at all funny. Or even your business, for that matter.”

“Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I figured you'd want a heads-up, but maybe I should let you brood in peace.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Rationally, none of this was Dani's fault. Other than her standing him up last night, but he'd been happy enough when she'd canceled. Still, he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it. Getting turned down was a bruise to his ego, but not a big deal in the scheme of things. At least, it shouldn't have been. That it obviously
was
just made things worse. And now he knew everyone in town was talking about it.

Although at least, from what Dani said, the part about Sam turning him down hadn't hit the gossip circuit. Yet.

“Hey, Dani?”

She stopped, coffee in one hand, designer purse in the other.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“Any time. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone she turned you down—I'll let her do that.”

* * *

Sam had woken up early, thanks to a very loud, very insistent cat who firmly believed breakfast was the most important meal of the day. She had poured kibble for him and cereal for herself, then given the apartment a quick cleaning like she did every Saturday morning. Normally she'd spend an hour or two catching up on paperwork after that, but today she was feeling...restless. Maybe because the weather was so nice. The humidity of summer had finally started to dissipate and there was a cool breeze coming through her open windows. Or maybe Dylan's comment about her being all work and no play had hit a nerve. Either way, the thought of spending the morning at her desk held less appeal than usual.

Grabbing her keys and a tote bag, she figured she'd start by returning her library books. She could pick up a few novels and then hit the grocery store and get her weekly shopping done. Not exactly a raucous good time, but better than sitting here working. At least she'd be out of the house.

Traffic was light; as on most weekends, more people could be found strolling the sidewalk than driving. Lighthouse Avenue was bustling, full of parents pushing strollers, teenagers windowshopping, and seniors dallying over coffee at outdoor café tables. She'd missed living in a place where people waved when they saw you, and no one was ever in too big of a hurry to say good morning or ask you how you were.

The library was busy as well, with a preschool story hour going on in one corner and a sign advertising an Internet for Seniors class in the community room upstairs. Still, it was a haven. Even the smells of old books and printer ink reminded her of the many hours she'd spent here happily lost in a book.

“Looking for anything in particular?” Mrs. Grey, the librarian, asked as Sam emptied her tote bag of books into the return slot. “There's a few romantic suspense books in the new release section I think you might like.”

“Thanks, I'll take a look.” Mrs. Grey had been watching out for her for years, ever since she'd found her crying in the stacks at ten years old. Only a few weeks after her mom's death, she'd been looking for somewhere to hide from prying eyes. Without saying a word, the no-nonsense librarian had handed her a tissue and put her to work as a volunteer. Having something to do had kept her mind off her grief, but it was the books themselves that had made the biggest difference. She'd devoured every happily-ever-after she could find, starting with fairy tales and working her way up to Jane Austen. Now she was a confirmed romance fan, and Mrs. Grey always had a few to recommend whenever Sam was in town.

Waving goodbye, Sam quickly refilled her bag with new reading material, including ones the librarian had recommended. Once checked out, she loaded the books into her trunk and drove to the island's only grocery store, located at the edge of town where picturesque mom-and-pop shops gave way to the few chain stores.

Grabbing a cart from the corral out front, she mentally recited her grocery list. Milk, eggs, coffee, fruit, bread and more frozen dinners. Oh, and cat food. Cheesy would mutiny if she forgot his special canned food.

As she zipped up and down the aisles, she tossed in items from her list. And a few things that weren't on the list. First, her favorite chocolate bar because it was on sale, and then carrots because she felt guilty about the chocolate. Veggies canceled out sugar, right? All that was left was the frozen dinners. She was debating between ravioli with meat sauce and orange chicken when someone stopped beside her. “Sorry, I'll be out of your way in a minute.”

“No hurry. You're Sam, right? Sam Finley?”

Sam turned, orange chicken in hand, and tried to place the woman. Tall, with brunette hair cut in a sleek bob, she had a basket with a single pint of ice cream, and didn't look at all familiar.

“Yes. Have we met?”

“No, but we were supposed to.”

“I'm...sorry?” What on earth? She racked her mind for some missed appointment or ditched social event.

“Oh, no, don't be. I'm the one that ditched you.”

“You did?”

“Last night, at dinner?”

“Oh! You must be Dylan's friend, the one who had to babysit.”

“That's me. Sorry, I should have said that up front.” She held out an impeccably manicured hand. “I'm Dani Post, local public defender, babysitter extraordinaire and your biggest fan.”

Okay, this was getting weird. “Care to explain that last part?”

“I heard that you turned Dylan down for a date. I've been dying for someone to do that. He's a great guy, but his ego needed to be knocked down a peg.”

Sam laughed as she tossed in a few more frozen meals. “He does seem rather confident.”

Dani pulled her cart alongside Sam's. “Oh, he's totally full of himself. And what's worse, I can't blame him—he's too good-looking and smart to be humble. But as his friend I can say that a bit of a reality check isn't going to hurt him any.”

“I doubt me turning him down had much of an effect, but thanks, I think.” She smiled. “I've got to check out before my food melts, but it was nice to meet you, Dani.” And it was. Something about the brash lawyer's forwardness appealed to her.

“Oh, I'm checking out, too.” When Sam glanced down again at the single item in Dani's basket, she shrugged. “I had a rough week, and ice cream is how I handle stress.”

“Fair enough.” She started to empty her own purchases onto the checkout counter, only to be frozen by an ear-piercing squeal from the cashier.

“Eek! I was hoping you'd come to my register! You're Dylan Turner's new girlfriend, right?”

Before she could utter a word in protest, the gum-chewing teen was calling to the cashier at the next station. “Denise! Get over here!” Turning back to Sam, she batted mascara-coated lashes in rhythm with her gum-popping jaws. “So, is he as sexy as he seems? I bet he's an amazing kisser.”

Joining her friend, the other cashier squeezed into the small space. “Are you going out again tonight? Do you think you'll move in with him?”

Sam stood frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. “No. I mean... I'm not—”

“Olivia, didn't I see you giving Jacob Langley a ride last night? Is your mother letting you date him again?” Dani had moved up next to Sam, and was standing, hands on her hips, staring down the chattering teen.

Eyes wide, the girl turned her focus from Sam to Dani. “You're not going to tell her, are you, Ms. Post? I was just helping him out. We're not back together—really, his parents aren't letting him date at all right now.”

“Well, I know gossip can get out of hand quickly, so if you're sure there's nothing going on...”

The girl nodded, her hoop earrings swaying with the motion. “I'm sure.”

The other cashier, apparently not wanting to get in the middle of whatever was going on, returned to her station, leaving the now much more subdued Olivia, who quickly checked Sam and then Dani out.

Once outside, Sam stopped and turned to Dani, blocking her path with the cart. “What on earth was that?”

“That was the town gossip mill at full steam. Or at least the younger generation's version of it. The downside to small-town living, I'm afraid.”

Sam's head spun. “So you're saying everyone is going to be talking about me like that?”

“Probably. For now, anyway. Dylan's a hot topic all on his own, and since you were out with him, that makes you fair game. Generally people are a lot more circumspect when it comes to these things, but Olivia's young and a bit impulsive.”

“And what was that about seeing her with some guy?”

“Jacob. He was her boyfriend until he got busted for underage drinking and her mom made her stop seeing him. I wasn't his public defender—a friend was—but I know he got community service and some substance abuse counseling. As for last night, there were actually several kids in the car. It didn't look romantic at all. But I thought it might be good for her to get a taste of what gossip can feel like from the other side.”

“Well, it worked, thank you. I'm not exactly comfortable being the center of attention, as I'm sure you noticed. Honestly, I think I might need some ice cream now.”