Page 56 of Kiss the Bride

A shiver of anticipation passed through Evelyn the moment she spotted Ryan’s pickup turn onto the long, curved driveway that led to the entrance of the Captain’s Cottage. She darted through the massive double doors. The hem of her sundress swished against her knees, and her heels clicked on the stone steps as she tripped down the steps. Over one shoulder, she carried a straw bag loaded with essentials—a thermos of coffee, a few snacks in case they got hungry, a pair of comfortable walking shoes, and a light sweater. She’d debated about the sweater. No doubt Ryan would gladly wrap his arms around her and keep her warm if the day grew cool. In the end, she decided bringing it along kept her options open, so into the bag it went.

The well-oiled door of the aging truck opened noiselessly at her touch. A rush of air-conditioned air flowed out, and she sniffed. The interior of the vehicle smelled of Ryan’s spicy aftershave and his own unique scent. She drank it in, looked up at the man behind the wheel, and just like that, her mind went completely blank. She knew she was supposed to say something, anything. Wish him a good morning. Thank him for driving. She stared silently at the curve of his chin, his freshly shaved jaw, the lips that wore an amused grin, the eyes that crinkled with good humor. The possibility of speaking actual words retreated further.

“Hey, good morning,” he said, his smile widening. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good, thanks. And you? Looking forward to the trip?” Ryan’s friendly greeting must’ve jumpstarted her brain, because she’d at least strung a few words together. She climbed onto the wide bench seat and rested her bag in the well at her feet.

“Ready?” Ryan asked.

She buckled her seatbelt. “Ready.” As Ryan followed the driveway to the main road, she pulled out the cell phone she’d already programmed. She settled it into a cup holder and hit Go. The GPS squawked out the first set of directions.

“You look nice.” His hands on the wheel, Ryan aimed the truck toward Boston Neck, which would take them north along the coast. “Did you sleep well?”

The compliment warmed her, but she was pretty sure he was just being his typical sweet self. She’d had a late night. “Jason called just after I turned out the lights. He wanted me to fill him in on things here. I brought him up to speed on the Wedding-in-a-Week activities.” Glad her brain and mouth had stayed in gear, she paused. “He said to tell you hi.”

“He and Tara are having a good trip?”

“Sounds like it.” She smoothed her skirt over her knees. “They were both going on about the churches they’d toured earlier in the day. How utterly boring.” She clamped her hand over her mouth. With his interest in the history of old buildings, Ryan probably thought Jason and Tara’s tour of grand cathedrals was a little slice of heaven.

He shook his head. “You’d think I’d be itching to visit all the famous buildings throughout Europe. The truth is, I study enough architecture in my line of work. That’s the last thing I’d want to do on my honeymoon.”

“Whew! That’s a relief.” She fanned herself with exaggerated motions.

Ryan pressed his shoulders into the seat back. “Give me a sandy beach and tropical breezes, and I’m good.”

Now that was interesting. That was exactly what she’d call the perfect honeymoon. But they’d gotten ahead of themselves, hadn’t they? Or maybe not.

“You might not realize it,” Ryan said, turning serious, “but I’ve been looking forward to spending a day like this with you for a long time. Probably ever since you started high school.”

“You’re kidding, right?” He was already a junior when she’d finally entered Heart’s Landing High as a freshman. Back then, she’d hoped that once they were all in the same school, she and Jason and Ryan would start hanging out again. She’d quickly learned that upper classmen had little to do with the younger students.

“No, I’m serious,” Ryan insisted.

“Huh.” She didn’t want to say anything that would dampen their time together, but she hadn’t forgotten how much it had hurt when he’d ignored her. “You didn’t even know I was alive in high school.”

“That’s not true. I’ve always thought you were special.”

“Oh, yeah?” she challenged. “If that’s so, why didn’t you ever ask me out?”

“I did.” Ryan tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

“You most certainly did not, Ryan Court.” Grinning, she shook one finger at him. “Most of the girls in my class had crushes on both you and Jason. They envied me because Jason was my cousin and you were his best friend. I would’ve remembered if you’d asked me on a date.”

“But I did.” Ryan turned to her, his expression sheepish. “It took a while to get up the courage. There was my friendship with Jason to think about. Plus, those other kids from the theater were always around. But I asked you once. You turned me down flat.” He quickly returned his focus to the narrow, winding road.

I what? She stared at him. “Nuh-uh.”

“Yessir. It was homecoming my junior year. You were standing outside Mrs. Eller’s drama class, waiting for the bell to ring. I didn’t want to say anything to you in front of your girlfriends, but those days, you were hardly ever alone. I knew if I didn’t ask you then, I’d lose my chance and some other guy would take you.”

“Really? I don’t …” Something nudged the back of her mind. She shushed it in order to hear what Ryan said next.

“I had it all planned out. I’d wear my best Sunday suit, buy you a corsage. Our moms would take pictures. We’d double-date with Jason and … I think he was dating one of the cheerleaders then, wasn’t he?”

“Sandy Robinson. She was captain of the squad.” The two of them had been an item throughout high school.

“Perky little blonde?” When she nodded, he said, “That sounds about right. Just a sec.” Ryan focused on the road ahead until they’d passed a slower moving car. After he pulled the pickup back into his lane, he picked up the thread of the story. “Anyway, I walked right up to you and asked if you’d go with me to the homecoming dance, and you said—”

“What?” She held her breath. Why would she ever turn him down? She’d thought he practically walked on water ever since the day he’d taught her how to tie her shoelaces.

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