Page 48 of (Not So) Famous in Paradise

“Georgia.” My name floats across the line on what sounds like a sigh of relief. “I’m driving into the canyon, so I’ll probably lose you, but can I come over when I get back?”

Zach’s words pour out in a wild rush of air that’s hard to decipher. It doesn’t sound like excitement, but between the fuzzy connection and noise inside the Garden, I can’t be sure. He almost sounds…sad. Or am I fooling myself into hearing what I want to hear? Not that IwantZach to be sad.

I don’t.

Unless, of course, it means he changed his mind about marrying Carly.

“Sure, come on by.” I sound normal, right? Even though I’m ninety-nine percent on the verge of heartbreak and one percent hopeful Zach’s the one with the broken heart? “I’ll be up, but tell me how it went? You did propose, right?” There’s no way I’m waiting another hour to at least confirm that much.

“Yeah. Kind of. I told her that’s why I was there.” His voice sounds heavy, not happy. “She said…”

Silence.

Because, of course, he’d hit a dead spot at the most inconvenient moment ever.

Then he’s back. “And I can’t believe…”

Silence again.

“What? What can’t you believe?” I yell into the phone, like maybe the louder I am, the stronger the cell phone signal will be. “Zach? Can you hear me? What did you say?”

He doesn’t respond. And he won’t be able to for at least another hour until he crests Eagle Peak and descends into Paradise.

I growl, glaring at my phone, wanting to throw it into the depths of Hell. I could literally travel the entire state of California without signal interruption. But put one little mountain range between me and Zach, and he might as well be on another planet.

“Stupid Idaho,” I mutter, glaring at my phone.

“Careful how loud you say that,” Britta says from the hostess stand. I’d barely noticed her there. “You’d better have a good reason for disparaging your home state.”

I shake my head. Not in answer to her. Mostly to clear my head. “Is Evie here?”

“Right in front of the stage.” Britta smiles at the people who walk in behind me and grabs a handful of menus.

“They’re playing tonight?” I grab a menu for myself. I know everything on it, but I’ll need something to look at. If Evie gets a hint of what’s going on in my head, she’ll get it out of me.

“It’s Saturday.” She moves aside so I can go in front of her while she leads the other customers to a table.

“That’s right. I forgot.”

Adam and his band usually play on Saturdays, after he closes the kitchen. Any other night, I’d plan on staying that long. But tonight, I’ve got to be home in time to hear what happened between Zach and Carly. Good or bad.

Please bad.

I sit across from Evie and spread the menu open on the table. “What’s good tonight?”

“Adam came up with a new dish. It’s a play on the traditional open-faced sandwich. He tried it out on me, and I gave it the thumbs-up.” She looks behind me at the kitchen, a smile sliding across her face before she puts her curled fingers together to make a heart.

The diamond in her engagement ring catches the light, sparkling almost as much as Evie is. But it reminds me of the ring in Zach’s pocket. Or, more likely, on Carly’s finger.

I have to look away, so I glance over my shoulder to see Adam do the same heart motion. All I can do is roll my eyes. I’d hate them, but they’re too cute.

“I think I liked it better when he was a grump. Now tell me all about New York and the proposal.” I take a long sip of my water and buckle in to be as excited and happy as I should be for my best friend.

So, for the next hour, I keep my worry tucked away in the corner of my heart. Thoughts of Zach and what he might tell—what he’ll probably tell me—are banished to the back of my brain.

For the most part it works. I nod, smile, and squeal at all the right times until my watch buzzes with a text.

Almost to your place.

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