are nauseatingly adorable together.” In spite of my left-handed compliment, I was feeling happy for them. In the light of day, with the memory of Leo’s kisses still on my lips, I was free to fully embrace their joy. “I think he’s perfect for you, and I love how much he loves you and Chloe.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand with the sparkle of a happy tear in her eye. “I know. I’m so lucky, and Chloe is over the moon. Ryan is going to be such a good dad to her. They get along so well, and God knows her own father was never any good.” Chloe’s father was Emily’s first husband, a guy who should have had I’m a mistake tattooed across his forehead.
“Have you set a date?”
“In the spring, probably. And of course, we’ll have it on the island. Ryan’s family will have to fly in from Sacramento, but they can afford it. It might be kind of awkward, though.” Her expression dimmed.
“Awkward? Why?”
She kicked off her shoes and pulled the edge of my blanket over to cover her feet. “I talked to Lilly last night,” she said.
Lilly was our twenty-seven-year-old sister, who was currently shacking up with Ryan’s father. Handsome and fit, he was a young sixty, but I admit it was a relationship I didn’t begin to understand.
“I think she and Tag may be having trouble,” Emily added. “I’m not sure, but something about her seemed odd on the phone.”
“Maybe she’s thinking it’s time Tag proposed to her?” That would be weird in so many ways, not to mention making me truly and completely the spinster Callaghan sister.
But Emily shook her head. “No. I asked Ryan about it, but he said that everything was fine, as far as he knew. If they were having trouble, I guess I wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, we all kind of figured that relationship had an expiration date on it. I just hope it doesn’t make things strange at my wedding.”
“I’ll give her a call today and see if I can find out anything. I haven’t talked to her in a couple of weeks, anyway. She did send me some pictures of her and Tag riding camels in Morocco. They looked pretty happy to me, but I guess it’s easy to be happy if you’re on vacation all the time. Maybe he’s getting tired of traveling.”
“Hmm, maybe,” Emily mused, then lit up again. “Hey, guess who was at the coffee shop besides Leo.”
“Ryan Reynolds? Ryan Gosling? Oprah?”
“Unfortunately, no, no, and no. But that creepy little private investigator was there. You were not wrong about him. He’s gross.”
“Bill Smith of B.S. Investigations? That guy?”
“How many private investigators do you think we have wandering around here? Of course it was Bill Smith. But the weird thing was that he wasn’t asking anyone any questions. He was just sitting there drinking his coffee.”
“Really? All by himself?”
“Yeah. I thought at first he might be waiting to meet somebody, but I was there for almost fifteen minutes and he didn’t approach anyone. Then I got distracted by seeing Leo. He is maximus hottimus, by the way. You should seriously consider giving that a try.”
I tried to hide behind my cup but felt my telltale blush stealing over my cheeks. My sister pounced.
“Wait a second! Do you have something you need to tell me?”
“I would’ve had a hell of a lot more to tell you if Dad hadn’t come busting in here last night.” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, even as my skin flushed with embarrassment over the whole debacle.
“Oh no! What happened?”
I filled her in, leaving nothing out, not even the fact that my dress had been halfway to my waist when Harlan arrived. She laughed far more than she should have, but in the end, I joined her. It was funny. Mostly funny.
“So I assume you’ll be seeing him again?”
“He’s taking me out to dinner in a couple of days,” I said, feeling a sudden wave of shyness overtake me. “But honestly, Emily, I’m just not sure how far to take this. He just had a job interview in Washington, DC, which means he might only be here another couple of weeks. If that job falls through, there will be another. He could end up on the other side of the country. I know I need to be less guarded, and learn to trust guys who’ve earned it, but if I’m going to take that risk, if I’m going to invest