“That would be great.” She took her keys out of her pocket and rushed toward her truck. She had no idea why Zac wanted to meet her in town but, if he was buying dinner as well, she wasn’t complaining.
Zac paced back and forth.Every few seconds he peered through the front window, hoping he saw Willow before she opened the door to the medical clinic.
Megan stuck her head around the corner of the hallway. “Is she here yet?”
“No. I still can’t see her.”
Brooke stood beside Megan. “I could call her cell phone. She might have stopped at the general store to buy a few groceries.”
“She told Emma she was coming straight here.” Zac looked through the window again. It wasn’t like Willow to make a detour. Especially when she knew he was waiting for her.
His eyes widened when he saw her truck pull into a parking space. “Quick. Hide. She’s getting out of her truck.”
Brooke and Megan rushed back into the consultation room, hushing the people who were waiting with them.
By the time Willow stepped onto the sidewalk, he was standing in the doorway.
“Sorry I’m late. I dropped a basket of kitchen things off to Barbara.” She kissed him and smiled into his eyes. “What have you been doing?”
“I…ah…” Zac needed to pull himself together. At the rate he was going, Willow would know exactly what he’d been doing. “The new ultrasound system arrived.”
“That’s great. Did you try it out?”
“I did.” He opened the door to the clinic and breathed a sigh of relief. He’d half-expected Megan or Brooke to be hovering around the entrance. They were convinced he’d go off-script and ask Willow to marry him on the street.
“Ooh! I love the champagne flutes.”
Zac’s heart skipped a beat. Sitting in the corner of the room were four crystal glasses. They must have been left there after everyone finished in the yard.
“Did you buy them for a special occasion?”
He hated telling Willow lies, even if they were for a good reason. “Cassie used them as part of a display in her jewelry store. She doesn’t need them anymore and thought The Welcome Center might like them.”
“That was nice of her. Why did you want me to meet you here?”
“I made dinner.”
Willow looked around the clinic. “You did?” She sniffed the air and frowned.
“It’s on the patio.” The clinic, like most of the buildings on this side of Main Street, had wonderful views of Flathead Lake from the rear of their properties.
Willow smiled. “We’ll have to buy some new outdoor furniture.”
Zac raced ahead of her and opened the back door.
“Last time I sat on one of the chairs, I thought it was going to…” Willow’s mouth dropped open.
Usually, apart from the view, the best thing you could say about the patio was that it was functional. With red-brick pavers, an old wooden table, and four creaky chairs, it was the type of area where you ate your lunch quickly before heading back inside.
But not today.
Their friends had spent the last hour transforming the run-down area into a little slice of France. Red and white tablecloths decorated small round tables. Baskets of baguettes, French cheese, and grapes filled each of the tables, and bottles of champagne cooled in silver urns filled with ice.
As if on cue, soft, romantic music spilled from speakers they’d hidden in the yard. Brooke had brought the playlist from her wedding. As Nat King Cole sung, “When I Fall In Love,” Zac’s heart gave a nervous stutter.
“This is amazing,” Willow said softly. “But why is there so much food and champagne?”
“It’s for later. For after…” He took a deep breath. Running three marathons in a row would be easier than asking Willow to marry him.
