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“It’ll be a long week at that,” Jay replied, raking her fingers through her hair. “I’m only swingin’ by to snag that one.” She nodded her head toward Nora and then asked, “You ready? I need a jolt before we meet up with Mitz. Was gonna grab a coffee, thought you might want one, too. My treat.”
“Coffee sounds good,” replied Nora, slipping into her jacket. She freed her hair from beneath her collar with one hand, reaching for her purse with her other before calling her farewell to all the ladies in the salon.
“So…you know what I’m gonna ask,” said Jay as soon as they stepped foot onto the sidewalk.
Nora grinned, not so much exasperated but amused by the repetitive inquiries of not just the youngest Steele, buteverySteele—save one.
“You do realize it’s been five days since you last asked, right?”
“You say that like five days is nothin’. It took all of five days for Law Man to propose after your second and long awaited first date.”
“That’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” said Nora on a laugh.
“Barely. And stop dodgin’ the question. Have y’all set a date or not?”
The answer was no. Fact of the matter was, Lawson wasn’t much help in that department. Nora-Jean couldn’t decide if she wanted their wedding to be a big to-do or if she wanted something small and intimate. Lawson didn’t care one way or another. He insisted whatever she decided he would make sure she got what she wanted. She knew only one thing for certain: she wasn’t eighteen anymore.
Any dream of a wedding she’d once had didn’t make sense now. Everything they’d been through to get to where they were redefined the significance of their wedding. They were so much older and their love for one another was more mature. She didn’t have the desire to feel like a princess for a day. More thananything, she wanted to respect the sanctity of marriage, honor the faith the Steele family lived by, and nod to the tradition couples had kept for centuries. Whether or not that meant inviting half the town or only her closest friends and family—which was arguably the size her graduating class—she didn’t yet know. It wasn’t as easy of a decision as it sounded.
“I can tell you it won’t be in April, because that’s Evie-B’s birthday month. Neither do I want a Christmas wedding, so it’ll be before December.”
“Oh-kay,” Jay deadpanned. “Given this month is nearly over, we can rule out January. Which leavesnineother months of the year. That is sonothelpful.”
Nora shrugged. “I knew I wanted to marry your brother when I was fifteen years old. Now that I finally am, I want to get it right.”
“It’ll be right no matter what date you choose. And I’ve been waiting my whole life for a sister, so hurry up already,” Jay demanded, looping her arm around Nora’s.
“Well, when you put it that way…” Nora held onto Jay and, seeing the perfect opportunity, changed the subject. “Speaking of sisters—as someone who is about to be yours, officially, maybe it’s time you filled me in on your mystery man.”
Jay laughed as they approached Rock-N-Joe. Opening the front door, she replied, “Nice try.”
“Oh, come on. I’m dyin’ to know. Givin’ the size of this town and our circle of friends, it’s amazing you’ve been able to keep a secret for this long. The question remains,whyis it such a secret?”
“Secret? What secret?” asked Billie, who stood behind the cash register.
“Why are you still workin’? We’ve got a boutique to set up,” said Jay, dodging both questions.
“I’m coverin’ a break. She’ll be back in a minute. Don’t change the subject.”
“I was askin’ her about her mystery man.”
Billie’s eyebrows shot up as she murmured, “Oh.”
It was all she said, which made Nora suspicious.
Narrowing her eyes at the blonde, she asked, “You know, don’t you?”
Unable to contain her smile, Billie’s dimple seemed to wink at Nora mischievously.
“She didn’t tell me. I guessed.”
Nora pulled away from Jay, propped her fists on her hips and shifted her eyes between the women who had been best friends just as long as she and Mitzi had. It wasn’t all that surprising that Billie had managed to figure it out—but that only intensified Nora’s curiosity.
“Hmmm. Well, if Billie was able to narrow down the suspects, that means he’s not an out of towner.”
“Tell you what—you pick a date for that weddin’ of yours and maybe I’ll tell you. For now, order your coffee before I change my mind about it bein’ my treat.”
“Fine,” Nora conceded.
