“I won’t be...” She let the words trail off, belatedly realizing she hadn’t asked him about the sleeping arrangements. They’d be expected to share a room, of course. But she didn’t know if a beach resort did the two-double-bed thing like hotels did and she didn’t know the name of the resort, so she couldn’t look it up and see what the rooms looked like. “I doubt we’ll be sharing a bed.”
“I’m telling you, Carly, I think I’ve seen this movie on that channel that plays all the romance movies. Just friends until there’s a mix-up with their accommodations and they have to share a bed. Accidental spooning escalates pretty quickly from what I’ve seen.”
“When he said he’d made up a fake girlfriend, I asked him if he’d been watching romantic comedies without me.”
“See? You know.” Zoe looked pretty pleased with herself. “You already know how this story ends.”
“Seriously?” It was too early in the morning for this annoying crap. “The story’s going to end with me with a fresh tan and a belly full of resort food.”
“Fine, but I’m surprised Noah wants to take you as his plus-one, anyway. I mean, isn’t going stag and banging a bridesmaid something guys do?”
“Not if the bridesmaid in question is your boss’s sister-in-law, I guess.”
“Ah. Don’t shit where you eat.”
“Exactly. And it’s cool. I’ll get a free weekend at a swanky inn on Cape Cod with my best friend.”
Zoe picked up Carly’s coffee mug and stole a couple of sips before setting it back down. It was a really annoying habit she’d developed since vowing to give up caffeine. “It’s weird, though. I mean, if you and Noah are supposed to have been dating for a while, you’ll have to dance with him and kiss him and stuff.”
“There won’t be anyand stuffwith him. Thatwouldbe weird.” She couldn’t even imagine doing anyand stuffwith Noah. “Dancing’s no big deal. And I don’t think we have to kiss. A lot of couples don’t go around kissing each other in public.”
“Weddings are different, though. People are more romantic at weddings.”
“So we’ll hold hands. Maybe he’ll put his arm around me. Remember when I had that wicked bad flu and he took care of me? And I stayed with him when he busted up his leg in that bike accident. I’ll spare you the details, but holding hands won’t be that big a deal for us.”
They actually had kissed one time, back in middle school, though she’d never told Zoe about it. With the pressures of high school looming on the horizon and a rumor going around that Noah Stafford was a bad kisser, they’d come up with a plan to practice some light make-out skills on each other.
Their first—and only—kiss had been strange, but not unpleasant. But then Noah had stuck his tongue in her mouth and it was so weird, Carly laughed. At first, he was put out, but she was laughing so hard she snorted, and that made him laugh along with her.
By the time they caught their breath, everything was back to normal and they swore they’d never try to make out again.
“I’ll let Noah know I can go. Thanks for covering for me.”
Zoe smirked. “Enjoy your made-for-cable-movie weekend.”
Chapter Three
The bride’s parents did okay for themselves, Noah thought as he reached the end of a long, winding drive and a massive, gray-shingled inn loomed in front of them.
It looked as though it had been built by a sea captain with way too much money and while he couldn’t see it from this angle, he knew from the website that there were views of the ocean from three sides. And the back side overlooked a private beach, where Noah hoped to be spending most of his time this weekend.
“This doesn’t suck,” Carly said, craning forward against her seat belt to see the widow’s walk wrapping around the roof of the main part of the tall and sprawling historic building. “Maybe we should have gone shopping for new clothes after all.”
“Hey, I look great.” He was following the signs for parking, but he didn’t need to see her to know she was giving him a once-over and an eye roll. He was wearing cargo shorts because he didn’t give a crap what magazine editors in New York City thought and a navy polo shirt because it was almost like a T-shirt, but at least had a collar. And he’d exchanged his sneakers for a pair of boat shoes. It was practically formal wear.
“I can’t wait to see the inside,” she said. “If it’s anything like the outside, it’s going to be the nicest place I’ve ever stayed.”
Her excitement was contagious and relief loosened some of the knots that had been in Noah’s stomach since he first started the stupid lie. He’d enjoy Jim and Emily’s wedding, he and Carly would have a fun weekend at the beach and he’d worry about what came after when the time came.
But the first hurdle came during check-in and he could feel the tension making his muscles—already tight from hours of driving—even tighter as he walked to where Carly was looking at an oil painting of the sea captain, who’d built the place, and his wife.
“I think I’m going to like staying here,” she said when he was close enough to register in her peripheral vision.
He wasn’t so sure about that now. “What makes you think that?”
“Because this couple built the house and look at them. They look like the kind of people I’d want to spend a weekend with.”
The couple looked like every other couple painted hundreds of years ago. Him, with cropped gray hair and beard, dressed in a vaguely nautical suit and sitting on a chair. Her, with her hair in a bun and wearing a fancy dress, standing next to her husband with her hand on his shoulder. “You know they’re dead, right? If they show up at the wedding, I’m out. And, fair warning, I might forget to wait for you.”
