Page 44 of Windward Hearts

“Did I see you at Anchor Bistro the other night?” June asked, taking a sip of her own coffee. “I could have sworn that I saw you lingering near the bar while Levi and I were singing, but when I got offstage, you were gone.”

“I was there!” Hope said. “I left a little early because Miriam is the lightest sleeper you will ever meet, so I try not to stay out too late, since she always wakes up when I come home. Since I’m out for work late a few times a week now, I wanted to give her an early night. I waited for the end of your set, but I didn’t last until after you were done greeting your adoring public.”

June blushed, looking bashful and flattered, at the reference to the group of people who had flocked to praise her and Levi for their performance.

“People have been really sweet,” June said.

“And it’s well deserved,” Hope said firmly. “You were… wow, June. You can really sing!”

June jokingly hid behind her coffee cup for a moment, as though she couldn’t stand the praise.

“Stop,” she said, chuckling. Then her expression grew dreamy… though there was a hint of sadness behind it, as well. “I do love singing with Levi so much, though,” she said. “He’s basically perfect…”

She trailed off, and Hope frowned. There was something lurking behind that comment. Before Hope could decide if it was her place to press, June’s distant look evaporated and her regular smile returned.

“Sorry, got distracted,” she said airily. “Anyway, I’m headed out to help Diana try on about a zillion dresses, because she still hasn’t found her perfect match. Want to join? A bunch of the book club ladies are coming, and it’s a real ‘the more the merrier’ situation, because Diana is on the cusp of giving up and going with one that she likes only a medium amount, and that is not the energy we want our most stylish friend to be bringing to her wedding.”

June said this last bit with fierce determination. Hope got the sense that June was testing out the speech to use later on Diana.

“I would love to,” she said. “Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?”

“Of course not!” June said. “We wanted to invite you, but… do you realize you haven’t given us your phone number?”

Hope blinked, then laughed. She’d just been showing up to book club; she hadn’t even thought about the oversight. She and June quickly exchanged numbers, then took their coffees to go. Hope had walked to the bakery, so June offered her a ride to the boutique, which was a decent distance beyond Magnolia Shore’s limits.

“We have been working steadily outward trying to find the perfect dress,” June said. “We will find it.”

“You’re a bit scary when you’re determined, do you know that?” Hope teased.

“That’s the right attitude.”

Hope was still a little doubtful as they rode to the store. Was she really not intruding? Any lingering wariness vanished the moment she entered the store and three heads whipped in her direction with a grin.

“Hope, yay!” Eleanor said.

“Oh, June, how did you manage it?” Cadence said happily. “I tried texting Miriam, but she isn’t the best at responding to messages.”

“I stalked her like a hunter stalking a deer,” June said, taking a prim sip of her drink. “It was very impressive. I am a woman of many talents.”

Winnie gave June a skeptical look.

“We ran into one another at Honey Bee Bakery,” June admitted. “But I did succeed in Operation Phone Number. I’ll send it to the group chat.”

Just then, Diana came out from behind a curtained dressing area, wearing a wedding dress that was…

Well, Hope supposed it was nice. Or that it could be. On someone else. But somehow the cut of the dress made Diana’s tall, slender frame look awkward and reedy, and the shade of the gown made her look washed out and wan.

“Oh,” Eleanor said with careful neutrality.

“Please,” Diana said, rolling her eyes. “I am perfectly aware that this is not the dress. I know we’ve had a million ‘not the dresses,’ but this one is really not the dress.”

Even the shop assistant, whose job it was to say nice things about the dresses, looked a little doubtful.

“We can do better,” she said diplomatically.

“It’s good to have a baseline of what you don’t want,” Cadence quipped. “And ‘makes you look like you’re about to barf’ seems as good a line as any.”

Hope might have worried that this comment was a little harsh, but Cadence and Diana had known one another for years, and Diana did indeed laugh at the joke… and look overall a little more cheerful as she turned to the shop assistant.