The Wedding - By Nicholas Sparks Page 0,37
said, but the words sounded like an apology. Surprising myself, I reached for her hand.
“I’ll make some calls,” I said. “Trust me.”
It might have been the seriousness with which I spoke, or the earnestness of my gaze, but as we stood together, she looked up and seemed to study me. Then, ever so slowly, she squeezed my hand to profess her confidence in me.
“Thank you,” she said, and with her hand clutching mine, I felt a strange sensation of déjà vu, as if our years together had suddenly been reversed. And for the briefest moment, I could see Jane standing under the trellis again—I’d just heard the story of her parents, and we were our youthful selves, the future bright and promising before us. Everything was new, as it was so long ago, and when I watched her leave with Anna a minute later, I was suddenly certain that this wedding was the most blessed thing to have happened to us in years.
Chapter Seven
Dinner was nearly ready when Jane walked in the door later that evening.
I set the oven on low—tonight was chicken cordon bleu—and I wiped my hands as I left the kitchen.
“Hey there,” I said.
“Hey. How’d it go with the calls?” she asked, setting her purse on the end table. “I forgot to ask you earlier.”
“So far, so good,” I said. “Everyone on the list said they could make it. At least the ones that I’ve heard from, anyway.”
“Everyone? That’s . . . amazing. People are usually on vacation this time of year.”
“Like us?”
She gave a carefree laugh, and I was pleased to see that she seemed in a better mood. “Oh, sure,” she said with a wave, “we’re just sitting around and relaxing, aren’t we?”
“It’s not so bad.”
She caught the aroma from the kitchen, and her face took on a puzzled expression. “Are you making dinner again?”
“I didn’t think you’d be in the mood to cook tonight.”
She smiled. “That was sweet.” Her eyes met mine and seemed to linger a bit longer than usual. “Would you mind if I shower before we eat? I’m kind of sweaty. We were in and out of the car all day.”
“Not at all,” I said, waving a hand.
A few minutes later, I heard water moving through the pipes. I sautéed the vegetables, reheated the bread from the night before, and was setting the table when Jane entered the kitchen.
Like her, I had showered after returning from Noah’s house. Afterward I’d slipped into a new pair of chinos, since most of my older ones no longer fit.
“Are those the pants I bought for you?” Jane asked, pausing in the doorway.
“Yeah. How do they look?”
She gave an appraising look.
“They fit well,” she remarked. “From this angle, you can really tell you’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“That’s good,” I said. “I’d hate to think I suffered this past year for nothing.”
“You haven’t suffered. Walked, maybe, but not suffered.”
“You try getting up before the sun, especially when it’s raining.”
“Oh, poor baby,” she teased. “Must be tough being you.”
“You have no idea.”
She giggled. While upstairs, she too had slipped into a pair of comfortable pants, but her painted toenails peeked out beneath the hems. Her hair was wet, and there were a couple of water spots on her blouse. Even when she wasn’t trying, she was one of the most sensual women I’ve ever seen.
“So get this,” Jane said. “Anna says Keith is thrilled with our plans. He sounds more excited than Anna.”
“Anna’s excited. She’s just nervous about how it’ll all turn out.”
“No, she’s not. Anna never gets nervous about anything. She’s like you.”
“I get nervous,” I protested.
“No, you don’t.”
“Of course I do.”
“Name one time.”
I thought about it. “All right,” I said. “I was nervous when I went back for my final year of law school.”
She considered this before shaking her head. “You weren’t nervous about law school. You were a star. You were on the Law Review.”
“I wasn’t nervous about my studies, I was scared about losing you. You started teaching in New Bern, remember? I just knew some dashing young gentleman was going to swoop in and steal you away. That would have broken my heart.”
She stared at me curiously, trying to make sense of what I’d just said. Instead of responding to my comment, however, she put her hands on her hips and tilted her head. “You know, I think you’re getting caught up in all this, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“The wedding. I mean, making dinner two nights in a row, helping me