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“No, Mom,” Faith said. “I think we’ve got it under control.” She sounded kind of breathless. More sounds of rustling came from behind the screen, followed by a muffled “Ow!”
By the time the cupcakes were set out and Anna had set up rows of polishes and hand bowls and clippers and all the things that went into a manicure, Faith still hadn’t emerged.
“Are you being sewn into that dress inch by inch?” Leah called, good-naturedly. Stella’s cupcakes, topped with little fondant decorations of hearts and tennis balls and guitars and tiny brides and grooms, looked delicious. But she could hardly eat one before Faith had seen them.
Instead she topped up her champagne.
“Just a few more minutes,” came the serene voice of Elise Ng, the dress designer. There was more rustling. Leah remembered the dress as being spectacular, but from the amount of rustling going on, it sounded like it should be adorning a Disney princess, not Faith.
“There,” Elise said, sounding approving. “You can go out and show off now.”
“Finally,” Ivy called and everyone laughed. But the laughter turned into “oohs” and “aahs” as Faith walked out from behind the screen.
“Oh, honey, you look beautiful.” Lou pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket and started dabbing at her eyes.
“Mom!” Faith said. “Don’t cry, you’ll make me cry.” She smiled at Lou, but the expression was a little wobbly. But tears or no tears, Lou was right. In yards of creamy white silk, set off by subtle hints of gold embroidery, Faith looked like a goddess.
“No tears,” Elise said, from where she was smoothing the short train at the back of the dress. “Tears spoil silk.” She straightened and studied Faith, dark eyes narrowed as though looking for any imperfections in her creation. Apparently there were none, because she smiled and faded back behind the screen.
“I’m allowed to cry,” Lou said. “I cried when I saw Mina in her dress. And Leah. And I’m not going to stop now.”
Leah exchanged a look with Mina, who simply tilted her glass of soda at her. Then Mina turned back to her sister and widened the smile on her face. Leah did the same. Faith looked beautiful and Leah was happy for her—over the moon for her—but with her standing there looking so happy it was hard not to think about her own wedding. And the aftermath. The sting of it was unexpected. And for Mina, even though she now had Will, it had to be even worse. Weddings. Tough sometimes. And, maybe, just maybe, she might contemplate doing it all over again. But it would take one hell of a guy to convince her.
“Who wants a cupcake?” she said brightly, then downed half her glass of champagne.
Faith turned to look at Stella’s handiwork. “Oh.” Her expression went even wobblier. “Oh, Stella, they’re so adorable. Look at the little tennis balls. Zach did this?”
“He wanted them to have things to do with you and Caleb,” Stella said, nodding. “He had a list.”
“A list?” Faith bit her lip. “He made a list?” She looked at Lou. “I should have invited him.”
“He’s fine, hanging out with the guys,” Leah said, then kicked herself as Mina lifted an eyebrow at her. Luckily Lou was too preoccupied with Faith to notice. Zach hadn’t said he’d told Lou. Besides Mina, Ivy shook her head—Leah had told her about Zach last night—but didn’t say anything.
“I want to show him my dress.”
“We could FaceTime him,” Ivy offered. “Or whatever. What kind of phone does he have?”
Faith lost her wobbly look, a smile lighting her face. “Great idea!”
“He’s with Caleb,” Mina said. “Do you want Caleb to see the dress?”
Faith turned to Leah. “You call him. Tell him to leave the guys for a bit and then we’ll show him.”
This time Lou turned and give Leah a look. Damn. Busted again.
She went to grab her phone off the counter and called Zach as instructed. He picked up and she explained what was happening. He looked kind of surprised but pleased that Faith wanted to show him the dress, and Leah was treated to a lightning-fast view of the inside of Salt Devil as Zach walked off the deck where the guys were sitting and into the depths of the bar.
“All clear,” he said. “No groom in sight.”
He meant Caleb. She knew that. But she couldn’t help thinking it was also a reminder. Zach wasn’t hers. Not for long, at least. “Good,” she said and handed the phone to Faith.
“This is good,” Zach said when he and Leah were settled on the patio behind the guesthouse, watching the sun starting to set over the ocean. The big house had a view of part of the patio so up until now, they’d avoided sitting out. But now that Faith and Mina—courtesy of a slightly weird conversation he’d had with Mina a few days ago—knew about him and Leah there was no need to stay inside.
Leah smiled at him. “Yes, it is. And sorry I wasn’t very hungry. I ate too many of Stella’s cupcakes.” Her smile widened. “That was very nice of you, by the way, sending those. And Anna.” She lifted her leg and waggled her foot at him. “Don’t my toes look nice?”
“Your toes always look nice,” he said. Though he had to admit the deep red color on her toes was hot. Especially displayed on the end of her long tanned legs clad in nothing but cut-offs. “And it was nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing, it was thoughtful.” Leah frowned at him. “Faith was really happy.”
