Her heart melted. Zach had done this. For her. She closed the app, allowing her head to catch up to what her heart was telling her.
“Didn’t want you?” Crew echoed her earlier words. “Those look like the actions of a man who is very interested.”
She still couldn’t believe it—and yet she could. Zach was the man who’d spent a day of his vacation rebuilding a gazebo in town. He wasn’t famous, but he was funny. He was genuine and hardworking and sweet. He’d anticipated her need and had filled it.
She leaned her head back into the chair which now felt like a hug, closing her eyes against her almost too-full heart, and sighed with contentment. It really was a perfect chair. Made by the perfect guy for her.
Crew gave her a moment, but only one. “I’m going to go check out those tables, make sure they’re where Carly wanted them. What about you? What’s next on your to-do?”
Lucy stood. Time to get to work. “I’d planned to head down to the Cornucopia Inn and check in with Carter. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about the agenda, and I wanted to see if there was anything else he needs.” Which meant she needed to be ready to face the entire family again, because one Hughes meant all of them.
She ran a hand over the back of the chair she’d been sitting in. Warmth bubbled through her, excitement at straightening out this whole mess. She’d get a chance to see Zach, to thank him for the chairs. What would he do if she just walked in, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him? The mental image she’d just conjured sent butterflies through her middle and heat to her cheeks.
18
By the time Zach woke up Saturday morning, Carter was already gone from the room. He jumped out of bed and dressed, in a hurry to find the rest of the family. On the way to the Cornucopia Inn’s lobby, he worked at getting the paint out from under his fingernails, the only trace of his late-night adventures that lingered after the shower he’d taken before he’d fallen asleep.
He made it into the lobby, convinced he’d be the last family member to trickle in, and he was—almost.
“Where’s Carter?” his mom asked. “Did he make it back into town?” She was truly panicking.
The rest of the family, however, seemed unconcerned—about Carter, at least. Blake and Marnie stood by a table, assessing the contents of their day bag, and chasing after Ezra. Mikki was coloring with Leah, and Zach’s dad and grandpa were catching the previous night’s basketball highlights on the sports channel.
“It’s fine, Mom,” Zach reassured her. “He’s here.” He gave her shoulders a light squeeze in attempt to soothe her. “Well, not here, here. I haven’t seen him this morning, but I did see him last night.” Sleeping. He’d assumed Carter had at least talked to the family before bed. “He’s probably just off practicing his speech somewhere.”
“Will you call him?” she asked. “He hasn’t answered my—” She stopped short.
Zach turned to look in the direction she had been. A whoosh, whoosh of the revolving door announced Carter’s entrance. “Speak of the—”
“Don’t you say it.” She cut him off as she always did, and then she chuckled. He’d admitted once that he said it just to rile her superstitions.
Carter stepped up and gave his mother a hug. Zach hardly paid attention to the normal catching up after a quick week apart, until he heard Lucy’s name.
“Lucy is amazing,” their mom said. “She fits this family so well . . .”
“Lucy?” Carter’s thick eyebrows pulled together. “Lucy Morrowitz, as in the woman who invited me to speak?”
So they weren’t engaged? Zach held his breath, his heart pounding as he waited for more.
“Why did you keep her a secret from us?” she persisted. When Carter’s look of confusion didn’t change, their mother pulled Carter aside. “I don’t mean to spoil it if you were going to announce it today.”
“Announce what?” Carter shook his head. “Am I forgetting something? Because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Lucy.” She said the name slowly, as if Carter had gotten hit on the head and couldn’t keep up.
The revolving door made its soft whoosh, whoosh again, and Zach barely registered the elegant blonde who stepped into the lobby. Behind her, Lucy entered with the next whoosh.
“Your engagement, son,” their father said. Sometime during their conversation, apparently, he’d left the couch and overhead at least some of their conversation. “I thought you said they were engaged,” he said to his wife.
Carter’s eyes were already wide, but when he spotted the blond woman coming his direction, they went wider.
“What? You’re engaged?” She walked up to Carter with such fury, Zach was sure she would strangle his brother with his own necktie. “Might I remind you that I asked you to marry me?”
“Lily.” The word started out wobbly but became clearer as Carter seemed to recognize something. “Why are you here?”
“I came to listen to you speak. Like I always do, baby love.” She gave him a cross between a smirk and a too-sweet smile.
Perhaps she figured that was answer enough, but Carter’s chin only went up a notch higher. His father stepped back in shock, and his mother inched closer to Lucy, who’d overheard the whole exchange. Having courtside tickets to whatever was going on right now was highly entertaining, but Zach worried for Lucy. He wasn’t sure he could take it if she was hurt, and she had to be. Carter was engaged to someone else? Who was this blonde, and why hadn’t Carter mentioned her?
“I said no.” Carter was firm. “Look, Lily, I can’t deal with this right now. I have a previous engagement.”
The blonde looked down her nose at Lucy, and then seemed to notice for the first time that everyone in the room was staring at her. “Clearly.” She huffed and pulled her purse strap tight over her shoulder. “I’ll be waiting for you after your speech.” She pushed her way into the revolving door, stumbling slightly when she stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Thanks for the warning,” Carter mumbled. As soon as she was out of sight, all eyes were on Carter, but Carter was only looking at Lucy. “I’m so sorry about all the drama,” he said so quietly, Zach almost couldn’t hear.
Zach’s heart dropped. This was it. This was when he would find out the woman he cared about was out of his reach, permanently.
Carter looked away from Lucy then and stepped toward his mother. Picking up her hand, he squeezed. “I promise I wouldn’t keep something that big from you.” He smiled at her until she smiled back. “Lucy and I are not—” He chuckled, with that one barely there laugh.
Zach felt like he was flying. The relief was instantaneous and complete. Lucy hadn’t been disloyal, and he had done nothing wrong—even falling for her.
“Who is this Lily?” their dad asked.
“She proposed to you?” Marnie was incredulous.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone seriously?”
Everyone was talking over each other, and in the midst of the chaos, Zach saw Lucy slinking back toward the exit without anyone other than him seeming to notice. Lucy caught his eye, pointed at Carter, then outside, and then at her watch. “See you at the drive-in at ten.” She held up both hands before being swallowed up in the revolving door.
“You really ought to get to know Lucy,” his mom was still lecturing Carter. “I guarantee Eden has moved on, and you should too.”
Zach surveyed the room. Despite the noise of his family talking over each other, over the TV’s volume, and taking over the entire room, Zach felt a new hope. Lucy was not engaged to his brother, which meant maybe, just maybe, he had a shot.
19
What in the world had just happened?
Lucy spent the walk away from the Cornucopia Inn with her head spinning. She hadn’t expected things to play out like that, of course. No one could have anticipated the kind of chaos that had ensued in the lobby just then. But she needed to step back and give the family some space. They obviously had some things t
o sort through, and she didn’t want to impose. She’d wait until after the cleanup to offer her thanks.
Except she hadn’t had the chance to figure things out with Zach. Somehow, seeing his family all together like that forced her to face the fact that they’d all be leaving soon—Zach would be leaving soon. The pain in her heart made it difficult to breathe. They could be gone as early as tonight, and she may not have the chance to say goodbye.
By the time Lucy arrived at the Starlight, a line of vehicles was making its way into the drive-in. The parking lot was filling up with people who sat in pickup beds and lawn chairs, standing or walking around, mingling with friends and neighbors. Liv Bridges was already taking photos for the town’s website, and Lucy waved at Ronnie, who offered her a quick salute in return. Photographer and reporter, check.
Near the concession stand, JJ stood with his arm around a curvy woman’s waist, her tight curls no higher than his chin. “Things are looking good, Luce,” he said, giving her the “okay” sign. “Looking real good.”
The way he said it, Lucy didn’t blame his date for thumping him on the chest. It sounded like he was talking about more than the kickoff, but Lucy would let her worry about that.
“Thanks, JJ.” She gave him a smile, already thinking about the next thing. Sound. It was time to run the sound equipment and make sure Crew was ready to emcee.
With this crowd, it was easier to call Crew than to track him down. He answered pretty quickly. “Did you find our special guest?” she asked.
“Got him right here,” Crew assured her. “And I won’t let him out of my sight.”
She heard Carter talking to someone in the background, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow the family—or at least Carter—had made it past her. It was nice to picture the family in some other way than how she’d left them.
“We’re ready to go at the stroke of ten,” Crew said. “Or whenever you give us the go-ahead.”
By the time Lucy made it to her own position off stage right, Crew was center stage, and Carter was on the opposite side with Zach. With them standing side by side, it was easy to compare. How different they were, and yet they were both really great men. Carter stood poised to saunter out onto the stage in his crisp business suit and celebrity smile; Zach stood as handsome as ever in the soft kind of T-shirt Lucy would love to snuggle into. Carter was taller, his hair darker, almost too perfect when it came down to it. And yet, in the past week, Zach had grown to be so much more attractive to Lucy than his famous brother ever had been.
In the midst of her thoughts, Crew’s introduction was a blur, and before she registered it, Carter was launching into his speech.
“Thank you for inviting me, Harvest Ranch.” He paused for the applause. “What an amazing community you all have here!”
Carter was completely at home with a microphone. He could make a good radio announcer, she mused, and she realized she’d never gotten him into the studio for that interview earlier in the week. Maybe she could convince him to tape one before he left this afternoon.
“I don’t know how many of you know Lucy Morrowitz?” He allowed the crowd to cheer. “She is what I’ve been talking about. She’s a perfect example of someone who’s not afraid to reach out for what she wants.”
Her cheeks flushed—not at the praise, but with the worry that somehow he’d been reading her mind, had discovered her heart. But then, that wasn’t possible. He was referring to jump-starting the drive-in and bringing it back to its glory, where she’d been thinking about things a little closer to her heart.
“I’ve been told she’s worked out the financing, and I don’t think it’s long before Harvest Ranch will be enjoying its drive-in theater once again.”
“Will it be this summer?” JJ yelled from one of Zach’s new Adirondack chairs. His date was sitting next to him, proudly holding his hand.
“I’m not sure what the timeline is,” Carter acknowledged with a grin and a nod, “and I don’t want to put words in the proprietor’s mouth, but I have it on good authority that she’s been working through all the steps even while she’s been working full time at the radio station and organizing this cleanup.” The applause, hoots, and hollers surprised Lucy, and she tried to hide her embarrassment. “She’s a great example of making your dreams work for you, and I’m going to tell each of you the secret to accomplishing that for yourself.”
Lucy relaxed as Carter got into the meat of his presentation and moved the spotlight away from her. She understood he was trying to make it local and give the volunteers an achievable goal—if one of their own could do it, they could too—she just hated the pedestal. For the moment, she didn’t care about ratings or supporters or customers. There was only one person whose opinion of her really mattered.
Her eyes flicked to Zach on the other side of the stage and caught him staring at her. This time when she flushed, it was in complete and utter joy. From then on, she didn’t internalize—or even hear—Carter’s words.
That was both the longest and the quickest thirty minutes of Lucy’s life. She would have missed her cue to retrieve the microphone from Carter at the end of his speech if it hadn’t been for a flick of Zach’s wrist, redirecting her attention to their speaker. She caught the last couple of words, and Carter’s inflection was enough to signal her walk onto the stage, the crowd applauding wildly. She added her own applause before reaching out to take the mic. “Thank you, Carter Hughes!”
She paused to allow the crowd to express their thanks once again, all the while thinking about how different the reality of being onstage with her mentor was compared to her expectations a week ago. If the reaction of the crowd was any indication, Carter Hughes had been as encouraging and motivating as she’d expected, but she had been completely distracted by the his brother.
When the crowd died down, she said a few nice things about the speaker, generously praised the volunteers for being here, and then gave directions of how the rest of the day’s cleanup would go. Though DJs most often went unseen, she was accustomed to knowing her every word was being listened to and possibly scrutinized. Acutely aware that Zach was watching, she chanced a glance in his direction and found the exact encouragement she needed—a wide, proud smile.
With the speech over, vehicles lined up to exit, and the volunteers were ready to work. She waved as people drove out, answered a few questions from committee members about logistics, and exchanged pleasantries with a few stragglers at the base of the stage before following her special guest offstage to where his family stood waiting.
She took a deep breath. The pounding of her heart hadn’t abated now that she was no longer behind a microphone, because this next meeting was much more important to her—a lot more risk with a higher potential for reward . . . or loss.
How was she supposed to say goodbye to this family after all that had happened in this short week? She had no idea how they were feeling about her, but she’d be left with a gaping hole once they walked away. She dug down for her best smile and stepped into the circle of Hughes.
“That was amazing, Mr. Hughes. Thank you so much.” Lucy stuck out her hand to shake his.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed rather than shook it, laughing as he did so. “Really? We’re practically engaged, and you’re calling me Mr. Hughes?”
Instantly, her face flamed.
“Yeah, that’s my name,” Bill chimed in from behind Carter.
“No, it’s mine,” Moose teased.
Lucy’s eyes flicked to Zach, expecting him to throw out his own protest, but he stood, his face unreadable. “Of course . . . Carter.” She shrugged. She just hadn’t had the chance to get to know him as much as she had the rest of his family.
He dropped her hand. “I need to apologize.” He dipped his head to look into her eyes.
“You?” If anyone needed to apologize, it ought to be her—though not for any real reason. Her feelings for him had changed so much over the past week. At first, she’d idolized him. She hadn’t known an
ything about him personally, but she had been pulled in by his looks and celebrity status, all because he was a charismatic and intelligent speaker. When her feelings changed, it had had little to do with him personally; she’d just found she wasn’t interested in the dream. She wanted real, and personal, and perfect for her. She’d wanted to be surprised by love, and she’d found it. She’d gone and fallen for his brother. Although it hadn’t actually been a betrayal, it almost felt like it.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk with you this morning after what happened with Lily. I’m sorry for all that mess. And my—” His eyes went to his mom and his brother in quick succession and then back to her. “—people,” he corrected, “thinking you and I were engaged.”
She felt her face started to grow hot again, but she fought it this time. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
Zach ran a hand through his hair as if stretching uncomfortably.
“I just wanted to make sure things were good between us—” Carter left the sentence hanging.
His smile was almost too charming, and Lucy looked away for a breather before responding. “We’re good,” she said, blowing off his concern. Of course they were fine; Carter hadn’t done anything to offend her.
“—because I know my family can be a little intense,” Carter finished.
“Intense is one word.” Lucy looked at each of the family members standing around the two of them. What a strange conversation to have with spectators, especially when they were the ones being talked about. “As well as exuberant, fun, accepting . . .” And they were leaving. These people she’d grown to love were leaving her. She started to tear up. In an effort to keep the tears from filling her eyes and dropping, she looked away at the playground where little Leah was chasing Charlie around the merry-go-round.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Carter said, his voice soft.
Lucy shook her head, bringing her eyes back to Carter. “You didn’t.” She laughed it off. “It was me. It was all me.” She should have known that pretending she had a family would only hurt in the end. A tear dropped from one eye, and she hoped no one saw it.
While You Were Speaking: Spring Flings and Engagement Rings Page 17