“What is it?” I feel an internal flicker of something like hope or anticipation, swiftly followed by dread, and I’m not sure why.
“I’m actually working right now, and I can’t talk for super long, but …” he says, his voice dropping dramatically, which is so unlike Luke. He’s the least dramatic person I know. And the least likely to gossip, which I find quite annoying.
“But what?” I ask eagerly, and both Wendy and Juniper look up at me with questioning eyes. “Luke, stop being coy! Tell me what’s going on!”
“I’m nervous to tell you, Mi-Mi.”
He almost chuckles as I growl at his pet name for me, which delights him. Luke loves to annoy me.
“Why are you nervous to tell me?” I ask, my eyes narrowing as I think about what he could have to tell me.
“Did you open the envelope?”
“I just did. Let me take out the letter. Wait, what? It’s an invitation?” I stare at it in confusion.
“Rex is getting married.” He says the words like they mean nothing, but my heart stops beating for a couple of seconds. “Are you there?”
“Yes, I thought you just said Rex is getting married,” I whisper into the phone and quickly read the invite. “Please tell me if I’m hearing and reading this correctly. Is this for real?” My earlier joy evaporates and is replaced by shock.
“Rex is getting married.” His voice is amused and yet worried. “You didn’t fall to the ground, did you?”
“No.” I roll my eyes. “Not at all.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say, though I feel slightly breathless. “Is this for real?” My heart drops.
“It’s for real.”
There’s silence on the phone while I process everything.
“Mia, are you there?”
“I thought you were calling ’cause you got a girl pregnant or something,” I joke because I just don’t know what else to say. I just need to think.
“Really, Mia?”
“True. You’d have to be having sex for that to happen.” I can’t help but tease him, even though I’m closer to being a nun myself.
“You can’t talk, queen of romance and empty beds,” Luke snaps back, and all I can do is laugh. “Are you okay?” he asks again, his voice soft this time.
I don’t answer immediately. Luke knows me better than I know myself. He knows that when I’m joking, I’m actually processing. And this is a lot to process.
Instead, I look past the book truck to the white sand, swaying green reeds, and turquoise-blue water of Coconut Bay and take three deep breaths. The water always calms me down when I feel anxious or overwhelmed or just taken aback.
“What’s going on?” Wendy asks, concern in her eyes as she stares at me. “Is Rex your ex?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “He’s Luke’s older brother. My first crush. The man I told everyone I was going to marry.” I wrinkle my nose and laugh loudly, even though the merriment doesn’t reach my eyes. “I guess that proves I’m not a psychic.” I stare at Juniper, who rubs my shoulders.
All I can think is that the entire town will be there for the nuptials.
“That and many other reasons,” Luke says in my ear. “He was never worthy of your crush, you know.”
“I know, but I still can’t believe it.”
The truth of the matter is that I always thought Rex Haverbrook was going to be my one. Even though we’d never kissed, never dated, never anything. We’d just had one moment when I was a teenager, where he carried me to my room after a party I’d gotten drunk at and put me to bed and then whispered in my ear that he’d never let anything happen to me. And that was it. I spent the rest of my teenage years attemptingto get his attention, but he never really noticed me. Everyone would stare at me, wondering if I was heartbroken.
“You and me both,” he sighs. “Did you read the actual invitation? It’s ridiculous.”
