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There was a sudden moment of silence.
Wade lifted his chin. “Come on, buy me a drink for old times’ sake. You owe me. I had to make a special trip,” he added, teasing her.
She fluttered her eyelashes in mock outrage. “That’s mighty presumptuous of you, Mr. Wade Kennedy.” Marina paused to take a breath, studying him. “But I did make a promise. We’ll go pick out a donut, eat them quickly, and be on our merry ways.”
“As you wish,” he said, unable to stop himself from grinning.
Marina briefly closed her eyes as if she was in pain.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked quickly. “What did I say?”
She bit at her lower lip and gave a little shrug. “I haven’t heard that saying in a very long time. A jolt from the past. I remember watchingPrincess Bridewith you several times during college, and we adopted that saying of Westley’s for the next two years, turning it into a personal joke. Or a joking threat. Depending on the circumstances at the time.”
“Those are good memories,” he said now, watching her.
She tried not to notice his eyes on her face. “You said ‘as you wish’ on the phone when I called you at the graveyard, too.”
Wade lifted his eyebrows. “I did?”
“Yep. It struck me at the time that I hadn’t heard it since—since you, I guess. And it sounds like my Ariel mermaid phone case did the same thing for you. Jogging memories.”
“It did,” Wade admitted. “Maybe I instinctively repeatedThe Princess Bridebecause there was something familiar in your voice. I never expected the woman on the phone to actuallybeyou. Frankly, I’m still in shock.”
She didn’t respond to that, just shrugged as if it was nothing. “Guess it’s nice to see an old friend,” she remarked casually as if their encounter was nothing. As if they had been classmates in grade school decades ago.
Wade knew this unexpected meet-up had to be nothing. It couldn’t be anything more than that of course, because of Lydia. She was the woman he was going to marry. Even so, he and Marina had a history. Agoodhistory. More than just a close friendship. They had loved each other, had made plans to marry, but fate—and his family—had intervened, changing the trajectory of their lives forever.
Marina appeared to be ignoring that—or forgetting that—or pretending it never happened. Why? Wade was confused.
“Come on,” she ordered now, moving toward the archway entrance to The Coffee Loft. Flinging a hand toward the counter, she flippantly said, “Order at will.”
The place wasn’t too busy, but a few tables were occupied, and Jenna was scurrying about doing what looked like filling To-Go orders.
A few minutes later, they were seated at a rear corner booth under the brick archway so Marina could keep an eye on her store. Even though she’d locked up the outside doors, it was still open to Coffee Loft customers. She hadn’t pulled down the divider yet.
Marina quickly said, “Iamgrateful to get my phone returned. It could have been so much worse. My whole life and business are on that thing. I panicked when you answered it. I’d been hoping it was hidden under the seat of my car—or dropped inside one of the grandfather clocks,” she said with a small smile.
“Fortuitous, Marina,” Wade replied. “Sometimes fate does very nice things in our lives.”
“That’s true.” She cut a small bite of her donut with a fork and ate it, closing her eyes with pleasure and an expression of pure bliss.
Wade bit his lips to keep from chuckling out loud. She’d always been a major donut lover. But then he took a bite of his own donut and gave a start, sitting back with a thud. “Wow.You’re right. This donut is fantastically decadent. It’s a good thing I don’t own a Coffee Loft franchise because I’d be having daily sugar overdoses.”
“I have to limit myself to three a week,” Marina confessed, her lips twisting into a smile. “I don’t eat lunch on donut days. And I run an extra lap at the gym.”
“It must work because you look pretty good.”
“Huh!” she scoffed. “Pretty good for an almost-thirty-year-old? I hate thinking about leaving my twenties. Like our best era coming to an end.”
Wade shook his head. “Nope, I think each decade just gets better. If you make it that way.”
He stirred his mug of hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows and then blew across the top of it to cool the scalding drink.
Marina stopped nibbling at her maple pecan bar and was staring at him.
He cocked his head. “What’s that look for?”
She shook her head, her hair swishing back and forth over her shoulders. “Nothing.”
