Page 23 of Take Me to the Wedding

I realized that I was being ridiculous. I wasn’t so much choked up over the bad situation I found myself in but rather because Mrs. D. was so… motherly. I was a caregiver, but I hadn’t been on the receiving end of care in so, so long.

I shook my head to clear it and sat up. Then I forced myself to look her in the eye. I tried to think of something jokey to stop the flood of words that seemed hell-bent on rushing out of my mouth.

“It’s no secret that Caleb and I are like oil and water—and sometimes we even clash at work. A few weeks ago, he switched my name out from one of his cases, which was embarrassing and upsetting, and I vented to a friend. I was mad—and ended up repeating some things about Caleb and someone he dated that I’d heard that turned out to not be true. Through a strange twist of fate, what I said got back to Lilly, and now she doesn’t trust him.”

I had to look away, certain Mrs. D. would be done with me after this. “I want you to know that I don’t spread rumors, but in my anger, I caused damage. But I’m determined to fix it.” I heaved a sigh. “Your son seems to bring out the worst in me.”

She was smiling again. What was with all the smiling? “Watch out for those men that get your dander up,” she said. “They’re the ones who are dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” I hardly thought Caleb was dangerous. Oh. She was talking about my heart. I immediately threw my hands up in a gesture of defense. “Oh no. No, no, no. You’re misunderstanding. This is not an enemies-to-lovers situation. This is me trying to undo the damage I caused. That’s all.”

The shop doorbell tinkled again, and a mild breeze blew, bringing with it the scent of grass and blossoms and… life, sending my hair aflutter.

If it weren’t for all this stress, this town would be a lovely place to explore. Full of nature and family and friendly people—a community.

Mrs. D. waved her hand dismissively. “Experience has taught me that if a relationship could be felled by a simple rumor, it probably wasn’t going to make it in the first place.” She gave me a poignant look. “Let’s go to lunch.”

I jerked up my head. Was she saying something about Caleb and Lilly without actually saying anything about them? “Caleb told me that Lilly was the love of his life,” I said, catching up to her as she headed for the door. “Before all the stress of med school, he said that they got along really well.”

“If that was true, they’d still be together right now.” Mrs. D. gathered up her jacket, her purse, and our bag. “I’m like you. I don’t ever want to be the one to ruin someone’s dreams. Whether I like them or not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll always be nice to Lilly, for Caleb’s sake. But I don’t agree that they’re meant to be together.”

That made me feel a little better. But I had so many questions. “Did Caleb tell you why they broke up?” I was asking solely for professional reasons, of course.

“The move to Milwaukee was really hard on Lilly. She had trouble finding a job, and Caleb was in class during the day and studying at night. She felt alone and miserable. One minute.” She rummaged through her purse and pulled out her car keys. “Caleb tends to shoulder all the blame for everything. Of course, Lilly blamed it all on her loneliness and how she dropped her entire life for him and had difficulties starting another one.”

My head was whirling. Mrs. D. was not painting a picture of the easygoing, uncommitted guy I knew. But maybe instead, he was romantic and impulsive. That could be just as bad, right? “Why do you think he wants to get back together with her so badly?”

She shrugged. “Once we had a dog named Larry. He was amazing, lovable, playful, smart. And he and Caleb were inseparable. When Caleb was eight, he visited Larry’s grave in the apple orchard every single day.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“…for two whole years.” She made a face that wasnotcomplimentary.

I tried to picture a little version of Caleb, kneeling amid the fallen apples, torn up about his dog. “That’s a lot of loyalty for an eight-year-old.”

“I’m being facetious. But the truth is, Caleb loves deeply. But, unfortunately, sometimes stupidly.”

“You said that, not me.”

“He thinks she’s his soulmate. None of us do.”

At some point, I realized that my mouth was hanging open. I managed to shut it. It was bad enough that I was determined to help my mortal frenemy get his true love back. How was I to know that apparently his entire family thought that was a very bad idea?

“I’ve probably said too much.” Then she gave a little laugh. “Make that, IknowI’ve said too much. Look, Caleb and Lilly were young. Maybe Lilly’s matured. Caleb will have to figure that out. I just want you to see that there are layers here.”

Layers I had no desire to peel back.

All I wanted to do was undo the damage I’d done.

My only job was to stay neutral and disinterested. And most importantly of all, to keep disliking him.

Because God help me if that ever changed.

ChapterEight

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