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Chapter 11
Procrastination wasn’t normally Eliza’s style so she didn’t immediately recognize that that’s exactly what her behavior was as she sat outside Bella. On the way over, she’d taken a detour by her childhood home. There were no lights on inside, no cars in the front, and from the street it looked vacant. But the lawn was well manicured and there was a fresh coat of paint on it and the wooden steps that led up to the wrap around porch look like they’d been restained.
She’d sat, parked out in front of it for almost fifteen minutes before driving to the boutique. And now, for the last ten minutes, she’d scrolled through Instagram as she kept an eye on the time. She was due at her second and final fitting in exactly two minutes. Amber had asked everyone to stop by between six and seven for their final fittings. It was 6:58. She didn’t plan on being late, but she didn’t want to spend any more time there than necessary.
Her reluctance had nothing to do with Amber. It had to do with Bailey. She’d seen the other woman walk in just as she pulled into the parking lot. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Bailey, it was actually quite the opposite. It was just like Julia Roberts said in My Best Friend’s Wedding about Cameron Diaz’s character, if she didn’t love her she’d hate her.
The last time she’d seen Bailey, and Nate for that matter, he was kissing her…or um—kissing the top of Bailey’s head as he hugged her tightly against him while they were slow dancing under twinkle lights. After seeing them together the night of the fundraiser, it was obvious that whether or not he classified them as a couple, that’s exactly what they were. They’d looked so happy. So comfortable with each other. They looked like the toppers of a wedding cake.
Not that any of that should matter to her anyway. She was single and staying that way. She’d already put two notches in her marriage belt and she had no plans on putting a third. Even if she was, there was the small, but rather vital problem that Nate had no interest in notching her. So whether he was with Bailey, or alone or with someone else really didn’t matter.
Logically, she knew that. Unfortunately, the rest of her had missed or ignored the memo. It wasn’t just this fitting that she was trying to put off. Tomorrow morning, she was leaving for Whisper Lake and the thought of spending three days watching the two of them together made her sick to her stomach.
The digital numbers on her phone indicated that if she didn’t go in now, she would be late, something that as an adult she’d prided herself on never being. As she grabbed her purse, which was beside her on the passenger seat, she gave herself a little pep talk. She just needed to get through the next few days and then she could get back to her normal, well, new-normal routine, which was surprisingly Nate-free.
After seeing him three times her first week back, she’d thought for sure that Nate sightings would be a regular occurrence. She’d thought wrong.
It had been two weeks since she’d seen him at the fundraiser and since then nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. They parked in the same back parking lot. Worked two doors down from each other. And frequented the same coffee shop and she had not even caught a glimpse of the man. Unless you counted seeing Neil, who’d stopped by every day to ask her to lunch, dinner, or a movie. She’d turned him down every time but he kept coming back which somehow just made her miss Nate more.
Maybe not seeing him was actually for the best. Yes, she’d missed Nate more than she thought it was even humanly possible to miss someone. But what purpose would seeing him serve?
Why flaunt what she couldn’t have in front of her heart? That would be like waving a steak in front of a starving man, just cruel. Yet, every time she entered or left her office she’d find herself scanning the street, the parking lot and the front and back entrances of Elite Security. Her fruitless Nate-watch should’ve been a good thing. The right thing. The best thing for her. So why did it feel bad, wrong, and like the worst thing ever?
With a deep inhale, she took a cleansing breath and focused on the fact that the next three days weren’t about her. She was here for Becca. Everything that was going on with her could wait until Monday.
She stepped out of her car just as the sun was setting behind the trees that lined the shopping center. She took a moment to appreciate the view. In her opinion, sunrises and sunsets weren’t only beautiful to witness, they were also reassuring and renewing. Every sunset signifying that you made it through another day and every sunrise representing a new start, like Mother Nature’s reset button.
Today had been tough. In the back of her mind she’d been dreading this weekend. But the sun would rise tomorrow, and Saturday, and Sunday and the world would keep spinning. Keep handing out fresh starts. Do-overs.
Which was exactly where her life was at right now. A very big do-over. She needed to look forward and not back. It was like they said: you can’t start a new chapter if you’re still re-reading the last.
Renewed determination flowed through her as she pushed open the door of the boutique. A soft ding sounded, alerting her entrance and the girls that were congregated around the dressing rooms all turned and greeted her.
She hugged Becca’s sisters Jessie, Haley and Krista and a few of Becca’s cousins’ wives also. She’d known Katie, Chelle and Sophie fairly well because they’d grown up in Harper’s Crossing. She waved at Bailey and Brian’s sister who were sitting together on a wing-backed loveseat. She was then introduced to Jamie, Alex Sloan’s wife. Out of all the Sloan brothers, it was Alex settling down that had shocked Eliza the most. He’d been quite the ladies’ man. But after meeting Jamie, she could see why the mighty had fallen. She was a doll.
The room was packed but after thirty minutes it started to clear out. Katie’s Aunt Wendy was Becca’s wedding planner and was running the show like a pro you’d see on one of those bridal reality shows. The bridesmaids that had kids at home went first and then others that had needed minimal alterations went after them. A few of the girls were still in dressing rooms and Amber was fluttering between them like a butterfly seamstress while Aunt Wendy checked in with everyone, making sure they had the correct undergarments and didn’t need any help with zippers.
Somehow, someway, it ended up with only she and Bailey left in the small lounge area. Eliza wanted to make sure that the conversation steered far away from Nate so she turned towards her and said, “I’d love to hear more abou—”
At exactly the same time Bailey said, “I hope you don’t min—”
“Oh, sorry. Go ahead,” they chorused.
After laughing Bailey said, “Jinx, you owe me a soda.”
Eliza nodded as she chuckled, “What were you saying?”
“Oh, right. I was just saying…” Bailey scooted closer to her, so that they were inches apart as she lowered her voice.
It took Eliza a second to pay attention because as Bailey got closer her beauty wasn’t just undeniable, it was flawless. She’d sat and had dinner with the woman but seeing her so close, her high jawbones, perfectly arched brows, long dark lashes and not a single pore to speak of all combined into a shockingly beautiful package.
She must be an alien…she really is Superwoman.
When Bailey stopped speaking it snapped Eliza out of her distracted haze. The expectant look in Superwoman, or…er, Bailey’s eyes was Eliza’s clue that she’d missed something important.
“I’m so sorry.” Eliza shook her head and blinked. “I zoned out for a second. What did you say?”
“I said that I hope you don’t mind that I asked Becca to switch the lineup.”
