calling him delicate. And as he sat beside her on the small love seat, then put his arm around her waist and tugged her closer, for once she couldn’t have been happier that he was inclined to hog most of the cushion. If only for the excuse to sit practically in his lap.
They all picked up their coffee and drank, and when neither man spoke and Brittany frowned into her cup, Zara decided it was up to her to lead the conversation. “Have you decided where you’re going to get married?”
“We’re still working out those details,” Cameron said, “but we have picked our honeymoon destination. Haven’t we, honey?” He gave Brittany’s hand a squeeze.
She looked up from her cup and finally smiled. “Harbour Island, Bahamas. I read about it in a magazine recently—a British woman who is related to the royals has a place right on the pink sand beach. We’re renting one of her guest houses.”
Given Brittany’s impeccable taste, it was sure to be a five-star wonder. “I’m sure you’ll both have a fantastic time.” Even though Cameron tended to turn red like a lobster when he sat out in the sun too long.
“Have you been to the Bahamas before?” Brittany asked Rory.
“One of my cousins has a place on Eleuthera, the island just over from Harbour.” He gave Zara a lazy smile, one that sent her heart racing as though he were doing far more than just smiling at her. “Anyone who loves wild swimming needs to experience diving into the warm, crystal-clear water. Promise you’ll let me take you sometime.”
She knew she shouldn’t be making Rory any promises beyond Saturday, but when he was holding her this close and looking at her with this much heat, it was impossible to do anything but nod. And when he dipped his head to kiss her, it felt so good that she nearly forgot where they were—and who they were with.
Blushing even harder now, she turned back to the other couple. “I’m sure your mom has plenty of ideas for where she’d like you to hold the ceremony.”
Brittany nodded, but she was frowning as she said, “She’s been trying to convince us to have it at the yacht club.”
Zara nearly gasped at the suggestion. Brittany’s father had died of a sudden heart attack on the club’s golf course. As long as Zara had known her stepsister, she’d never been comfortable there. “Do you need me to talk to her about it? I’m sure I can find a way to convince her that there are at least a dozen better options in the area.”
“The library amphitheater would be an incredible place for our wedding.”
Zara had never spent much time thinking about her own wedding—why would she, when she’d never truly been in love?—but if she had to pick her favorite place in Camden, it would be the large lawn behind the library that overlooked the sailboats in the bay. “I can’t see how Margie could object to that. Do you have a date yet? We should check to make sure the library has rental availability before going full-court press on your mom.”
“We?” Brittany beamed at her. “Does this mean you’re offering to help me plan the wedding?”
We had been a slip of the tongue. Given that Zara hadn’t even been sure she’d be able to deal with having coffee with the couple, helping plan their wedding was a major stretch. But she wasn’t sure how to back out of the messy spot—or even that she should, considering how unwavering Brittany’s support had been when they were teenagers.
“With your new product launch coming up,” Rory said before Brittany could pressure her to agree right then and there, “are you sure you have the bandwidth to fit anything else in?”
She hadn’t realized he knew her release calendar so well, not when it had always felt like whatever she said to him went in one ear and out the other. But he was right. Hopefully, she was going to be slammed with orders once her new line launched.
Still, this was her stepsister’s wedding. Even if Brittany had come by her fiancé in less than ideal circumstances, Zara didn’t feel right about bowing out completely. “For now, you can definitely count on me to step in with your mom and bring her around to having the ceremony at the amphitheater,” she told Brittany. “Let’s talk again later this week to see if there’s anything else that you’re getting stuck on. After all,” Zara reminded her,