“Nothing. Except he’s been distant. And…I don’t know. He was against marriage before we met. He had no plans or desires to marry and settle down. But then after his parents got back together and after we fell in love, I was convinced he’d changed. That he wanted this.” She sniffed and then rolled her eyes before blowing her nose. “Now I’m worried he’s regretting his decision.” She slumped a little, stress lines forming on her forehead.
Ruby hollered for Dellynn, the owner of the diner. “We need a large glass of Coke and some of your baked mac and cheese. Please?”
Mabel’s insides turned over. It was just natural nerves getting the best of Hannah, wasn’t it? August wasn’t a KNO original; he was only brought into the circle because he and Mack were good friends and because he and Hannah fell in love.
A few years older than the rest of them, August had been quiet and kept to himself. Mabel knew him to be an honorable person totally smitten with her friend. Still, there was always a very slim chance he’d back out. Stranger things had happened.
“Where are the guys?” Mabel asked.
“They’d taken August to Rexburg for some guy time, but then a fire call came in. That’s the last I’ve heard,” Tory said.
They ordered, and Hannah only took a couple of bites of her mac and cheese. “Does anyone want to finish this?” She eyed herfavorite Clucky Spud dish with the disgust that only a pre-wedding jittered bride could do.
“I’ll happily oblige,” Mabel said, reaching for the crock in front of Hannah. Stress eating? Quite possibly. Did she care? Nope. Not right now.
Halfway through the meal, Zane slumped into the booth on the opposite side of Mabel, hesitating for a moment when he noticed her there. His hair was damp and, even from where she sat, he smelled like fresh shampoo, and he had that look she’d come to understand. He’d just fought a fire; that much was clear. Except his chocolate-brown eyes weren’t quite right. The area surrounding his left one was puffy and pink.
“What happened to your eye?” Mabel asked at the same time Tory asked, “Fire?”
Zane nodded at Tory. “Up on the east bench. Very small. We got it nipped in the bud pretty quick.”
“Mack says he’s on his way now,” Cady said, balancing Henry on her lap while she checked her phone.
Zane yawned. “They should be here soon.”
So he was going to not look her in the eye now, huh? Annoyance flamed within her. “What happened, Zane?” She pointed to her eye and then his, raising her brows.
He glanced at her and then studied the menu, frowning. “It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse.”
That wasn’t what she was asking, but maybe he didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe the black eye happened while fighting the fire when he tripped on a hose or something. In any case, it looked like it hurt.
“Do they know what started it?” Anjali asked while rooting around her side salad with her fork.
Zane putthe menu down and scrubbed his face, wincing as if he’d touched his sore eye.
Oh, so he would put his menu down for Anj but not Mabel? Hm.
“Lightning. Those brush fires, man.” He shook his head before picking up his menu again. Obviously, he wasn’t in the mood to talk, and Mabel must have been the only one to notice or care because everyone moved on to the topic of the hour, the big wedding.
“Just how many of the guests are you and August going to actually know?” Ruby asked Hannah, who’d just snaked a slice of bell pepper from Anjali’s salad.
Hannah shrugged. “Who knows? Victoria feels bad about things growing so out of control, but when you invite one Hollywood friend, it just grows exponentially.”
“That’s why you get married in Jamaica,” Ruby said, pointing to Anjali.
“Honestly? I don’t mind,” Hannah said. “We’ve been engaged long enough.” A smile played about her lips, the first one all night. “In my heart of hearts, I’ve always sort of wanted a big wedding.”
“You’re getting it, ball gown and all.” Mabel couldn’t stop the flick of her gaze to Zane. She had sort of hoped he wouldn’t even show up. It would have been easier to enjoy herself if she didn’t have to be on Zane alert the whole night.
“My dressispretty dreamy.” Hannah sighed. The women of KNO had accompanied her to her last fitting at an exclusive boutique in Salt Lake City, and she’d totally rocked the heavy sleeveless brocade gown with a sweetheart neckline and hoop skirts.
Anjali reached out to squeeze Hannah’s hand. “Your relationship is dreamy too. Maybe August is pulling away because of the stress of the wedding. This is a lot to take in. Especially for an introvert like him.”
Ruby nodded. “And it’s being held at his home, the one he’s been restoring for years. That’s got to make him feel even more vulnerable. Plus all the people he doesn’t know…”
“I’m guessing his pulling away has everything to do with all this external stuff and not the relationship.” Anjali shrugged. “But I also think you should talk to him about it.”
“Is August being weird?” Zane asked, the fatigue on his face pulling his features down.
