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Chapter Three
Immediately after theceremony, Tracey popped open another few bottles of champagne and filled their sparkling glasses all over again. The sun had begun its descent toward the western horizon, casting everything in a gorgeous orange light. Elise shivered slightly and then felt Wayne’s hand on her lower back. She blinked up into his eyes, both afraid and not of his sudden contact. The moment their eyes met, he dropped his hand.
He realized he’d gone too far.
Or maybe he hadn’t realized he’d touched her at all?
“Are you two going to join us for the party downtown?” Tracey asked brightly.
Wayne and Elise yanked their faces back round to answer. Elise stuttered as Wayne slid his fingers through his dark curls.
“I don’t know,” Elise said. “I feel like I’ve intruded enough.”
Tracey shook her head. “You’re a part of the crew now, my lady. Why not swing by later? Wear that green dress again. I won’t tell that you wore it twice in a row.”
She winked.
Actually, I’m too afraid to go back to my BnB because I’m terrified of your brother—our brother—who threatened me to leave the island.
Instead, she said, “That sounds fantastic. Thank you. Where is it?”
Tracey gave them the address, a little restaurant on Main Street, then said, “Wayne knows where it is. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Elise thanked her and held her eyes for a moment too long. Could Tracey sense the link between them? Could she tell that, in actuality, they had a few features that seemed pretty similar—like the shape of their eyebrows and the way they laughed?
“I guess we’ll see you later, then,” Elise said. “Thank you again, Tracey.”
She now loved saying the name. Tracey.
Elise and Wayne walked in slow motion back toward the stables. Neither seemed to have the strength to speak. When they reached Calvin, he spoke to them excitedly about the book he was reading about the plans he had at Michigan State that fall. Both Elise and Wayne managed to half-translate how pleased they were for him all over again, but only half.
Back on horseback, Elise swallowed hard and said, “Do you mind, um...” She trailed off. She suddenly found it difficult to ask Wayne to do anything for her.
“Coming back to your bed and breakfast with you, just in case Alex is lurking?” Wayne asked, finishing her thought.
“Yes. I feel ridiculous, but yes.”
“You shouldn’t. The guy broke into your room and tried to frighten you. I’d be scared, too.”
Elise chuckled slightly as her horse clopped toward the main road. “I can’t imagine brave Wayne of Mackinac Island ever showing his fear.”
“How did you know that my friends call me Brave Wayne?” he asked with a sneaky smile.
Elise rolled her eyes as her heart lifted. His playfulness went a long way.
They arrived back to Wayne’s, where they fed and watered the horses. Elise suggested that Wayne change into something a little more “party-like,” to which he teasingly responded, “What do you mean? Is this not good enough for you?” as he gestured toward his work clothes.
“No, I mean. You look like you just walked straight from the pages of GQ magazine,” Elise said. “I was just hoping for something a little more Vogue.”
“So picky,” he said, clucking his tongue.
They reentered the house, and Elise waited on the couch while he changed. When he returned, he wore a dark grey suit jacket over a t-shirt; his hair was moused; and he wore dark dress jeans, ones that hugged over what Elise would have called six-pack abs (if she’d gotten the chance to see).
“You clean up good,” she said.
Back at Elise’s BnB, they found Connell at one of the breakfast tables, watching a rerun of an old soap opera and eating chips. He nearly fell out of his chair when he saw Wayne.
“Wayne, my boy! What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
