Page 36 of Wake Me Up Before You Cocoa

Marina began to laugh, grabbing up a napkin to wipe her face. “I knew better than that,” she said, coughing a little when the powdered sugar tickled her throat.

She was so funny, and so cute—like a little kid caught stealing a cookie—and so self-deprecating that it was endearing. Marina was the most unself-conscious girl he had ever known. She was easy-going, laughed at herself, and made life fun.

Wade needed a little less stress in his life. Not more.

Good grief, what had he gotten into with Lydia? Then a wave of guilt washed over him for even thinking that—as if he was being disloyal.

But weren’t Lydia and her parents acting disloyal to him? Mr. Gravois had made it clear that there would be no compromise.

The prenuptial had forced him into a corner. It was a horrible, misery of a document as well as underhanded.

If he took it to his lawyer, Wade knew Gary would stare at him like Wade had lost his mind. Then tell him to tear it up, burn the pieces, and run as fast as possible away.

Marina reached out to touch his hand. “You okay, Wade? You look like the entire world just fell on your shoulders. What’s happened? Bad news from your—your fiancée?” she said, speaking slowly as if the words were painful to speak.

She blinked away a tiny tear and took a sip of water, attempting to smile again, as if nothing was wrong.

That’s when Wade woke up to the fact that Marina might still have feelings for him. Could that be true? Wade blew out his breath, then gulped down his soda. Had she regretted that college graduation decision? The idea was like a punch in the gut.

His phone rang again. He lifted it from the table and stared at the caller ID. It was Lydia. He also saw that she had left several messages while he’d been at Mrs. Sutton’s house.

“Lydia again?” Marina whispered. “Honestly, I can leave. Having lunch probably wasn’t a good idea.”

“Why?” he asked now, a frown forming between his eyes. “We’re friends, aren’t we? And now co-workers,” he went on with a quick smile to put her at ease. “At least for a few months.”

“Are you going to answer that?” Marina asked, as his phone continued to buzz.

He punched off the phone and jammed it into his front pocket. “Nope, not now. I don’t like talking on the phone while in a restaurant, especially when I’m with someone else. But with Lydia . . . it’s usually better if I do, and then make it quick.”

“You’re considerate and thoughtful,” Marina told him. Then he watched her eat her second beignet with its exploding powder sugar—and dug into his own.

“This isthe best thing ever,” he said when he finished the last bite. “I’m so full, you’re going to have to roll me out of here.”

“I get first dibs on that, buddy. Think our server is up to it—or is there an extra charge?”

Wade chuckled at the idea. “I don’t see the service on the menu, but we’ve made such a mess, I’ll leave a big tip.”

They were both laughing now as they tried to clean up their faces and hands. Their server brought wet wipes, apologizing for not bringing them earlier. That just made them laugh all over again while Wade paid the bill and a generous tip, and they left the café heading to his truck.

“I may need to change my clothes when I get to the antique store,” Marina said, brushing white sugar from her clothes. “I’m a mess. Thank goodness I keep an extra blouse in the back room.”

When Wade’s phone buzzed again, he gritted his teeth. He silenced it and slipped it into his pants pocket. How deep had he let Lydia’s claws into his heart—and his day planner?

He’d probably proposed too fast. Given Lydia a diamond ring too fast.

And yet, he now knew the truth about her parents, and Lydia herself. Which he wouldn’t have known before dinner last night. Lydia wasn’t interested in his opinion, or his feelings.

The wedding date hadn’t been set yet and was many months away, if not a year or more. No plans had been made. No shopping for wedding gowns or caterers or engraved invitations.

He’d gotten carried away with the idea of getting married. The yearning he had to start a family. But he had to stop this now, before it got so much worse.

Which meant he had to figure this out fast.

He started the engine and felt a buzzing against his thigh from the cell phone in his pocket. Lydia again. Confronting her was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done.

No, that wasn’t true.

The hardest thing he’d ever done was walk away from Marina.

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