dress with the blue flowers. It’s attractive and feminine without being flashy.”
Robin removed the dress from the hanger and laid it on the bed. “I should probably stick to flats. Wade doesn’t care if I wear heels, but I don’t want to tower over him in front of his mother.”
“Good idea.” There was a noticeable pause. “Have you told him yet?”
“No…but I will. I have to find the right moment.”
Kait drummed her fingers on the armrest of the chair, a wry smile on her face. “Love does strange things to people. In your case, it turned a woman of intelligence into someone afraid to admit she’s not perfect.”
“There’s nothing strange about that,” Robin said defensively. “Love is known to inhibit clear thinking.”
“One thing is perfectly clear: the longer you wait to tell him, the worse it looks.”
Kait wasn’t saying anything Robin didn’t already know. She’d been wrestling with her conscience for weeks to no avail. Her fear of disappointing Wade had completely overtaken the discomfort of keeping something from him. “It’s too late to worry about that. I just have to hope that when I do tell him, he’ll understand.”
“I still say you’re making too much of it. If Wade loves you, it won’t matter.”
That was part of the problem. Robin was still in the dark about how Wade felt about her. His actions spoke of deeper feelings, but he hadn’t yet said the words she longed to hear. “Wade isn’t my main concern right now. It’s meeting his mother.”
Kait came to her feet in one smooth movement. “I know this won’t be easy for a worrywart like you, but try to have a good time. Wade’s mother can’t help but love you.”
Robin’s smile was a little watery as she pulled Kait close for a hug. “I feel bad about leaving you on your own at the shop tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine. My mom is coming to help in the morning, and our wedding cake is delivery with no set-up.” Kait walked to the bedroom door. “I better get going to UPS. Friday evening traffic can be dicey.”
“The box for Piper is on the coffee table.”
Once Kait departed, Robin slid into the dress and did a final check of her hair and makeup. She was rolling her overnight bag into the living room when the buzzer rang. Leaving it by the couch, she walked over to open the door. The preoccupied expression on Wade’s handsome face vanished when he saw her. He was only twenty-nine, but there were already flecks of gray in his otherwise black hair. Robin privately thought it lent an air of distinction to his appearance.
“You look lovely,” he said, leaning close to kiss her.
“Thank you.” She touched the dimple in his left cheek. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He laughed as he reached for the handle of her luggage. “Just one bag? I’m impressed.”
“Yep. I travel light.”
“I passed Kait on the road,” he said while she locked up the apartment. “Where’s she going in such a hurry?”
“I bought a birthday present for Piper, and then forgot to mail it. Kait’s doing it for me.”
“You forgot something? That doesn’t sound like the super-organized woman I know.” He opened the passenger door of the Jeep and then walked around to take care of her bag. When he joined her inside, he said, “Mom is excited about us coming. She’s talked of nothing else all week.”
Robin had thought of nothing else all week. The stress of meeting Wade’s mother was made worse by her anxiety of not measuring up to expectations. It raised long-buried memories of being taken by social services as a child to visit potential foster families. She would never forget the anxiety inherent in those sessions. There had been times she’d been so nervous she could hardly form sentences.
“I’m looking forward to meeting her.” She was trying to think of something to add to that bald statement when she heard the bleep of Wade’s phone.
“This better not be anyone from work,” he said as he grabbed it out of the cup holder and glanced at the screen. “It’s just Reece. He’s already on his way. That’s great. He can warm up the crowd for us.”
This information did nothing to reduce Robin’s already high stress level. “I didn’t realize Reece would be there.”
Wade sent her a quick, apologetic glance. “Did I forget to mention it? Sorry, darling. I’ve had so much going on this week. I guess it slipped my mind. Anyway, it’s not a big deal. Reece