Madison repositioned herself to lean back against Ashley’s headboard. “You said he’s slow to confess how he feels about stuff. Maybe he loves you too and is waiting for the right time to tell you.”
“Maybe.” Ashley sat up and played with a loose thread on her sky-blue duvet. “When he told me he wanted to explore what was between us, part of me was ecstatic. But the other part was like, I don’t need to explore it. I already am sure of it. And I want him to be sure of it too.”
“Evan was sure about me before I was sure of him. Sometimes it just takes the other person a while to catch up.” A small smile flitted across Madison’s mouth. “And now, I can’t imagine loving anyone more than I love him.”
“I know I should just be grateful for this chance between us, but I still feel super guilty over the way it happened. And what about his vineyard?”
“Sounds like he will have to figure that one out. It isn’t up to you to fix it. And like you said, he never would have been happy with that arrangement.”
“I guess.” Ashley sighed. “There’s also a very small sliver of doubt embedded in my heart. I wonder if I’m just a rebound because Claire really did break his heart. What if I’ll always love him more than he loves me? All of these questions just keep pinging around in my head.”
“Ash, no. You have to stop thinking like that. If what you say is true, he was only with Claire to save his family’s vineyard.”
“That’s what he said.” Groaning, she rubbed the corners of her eyes. “Maybe I just shouldn’t go tonight. Give it some time. I mean, what will people think of me when they see me out with a guy who was just engaged?”
“People will always find something to gossip about, believe me. Just go on this date, keep talking this out. Tell him what you’re thinking, what you’re afraid of.” Madison stood and tugged Ashley to her feet. “But before you do any of that, you need to change. I may not be very fashionable, but I do know that you don’t wear that to Mimosa’s.”
Ashley gave a dry chuckle. “Okay, okay. You’re right.” Shoving her doubts aside, she and Madison perused her closet like two preteens before a school dance.
After they’d narrowed down the selections to two outfits, Ashley’s phone rang. She walked to her nightstand and picked it up, smiling. “Hey, Bells. I have some fun news to—”
“The invitations.” Her friend’s tone was clipped. “They’re wrong.”
“What?”
“I thought you proofed these. But the date on them says July thirteenth, not third.”
Ashley sank onto the edge of her bed. “I don’t—”
“I know I said I wouldn’t be a bridezilla, but even I have my limits. The email the printer sent was wrong, which means that either you didn’t look closely enough or you told them to make the change and they didn’t. Which is it?” Bella’s voice shook. “Ashley, this was the one detail that I actually cared about.”
The weight of the bed shifted as Madison sat down.
Ashley raked a hand through her hair, tugging when she reached the ends. “I don’t know how this happened, Bella.” Ashley mentally retraced her steps, trying to remember when she’d proofed the invitations. But everything blended together. “I’ll fix it. I promise.”
“How? I have almost two hundred invites with the wrong date. And they need to go out this week.”
“I’ll call the shop, get it fixed.”
“They won’t reprint them for free when it was our mistake.”
She said “our,” but she really meant Ashley’s. And she was right.
“Just let me worry about that. I’ll keep you posted.” Ashley said a few more soothing words, then hung up. “I have to fix this.”
Madison squeezed her knee. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll call the print shop and pray they’ll do me a solid. I’ve worked with Raul on several weddings, so there’s a chance they’ll do the rush order. But it sounds like it was my error. I’ll probably have to pay at least a percentage of it.”
She whipped her phone out, navigated to her email, and found the proof from the print shop. And sure enough, there it was—an extra one in front of the three. “How did I not see this?” But she knew. She’d been too distracted with Derek, with the Christmas festival, with every other thing she’d committed to.
And now she’d quite possibly ruined her brother’s wedding. At the very least, Bella had lost all faith in her. She’d never heard her future sister-in-law talk to anyone the way she’d just talked to Ashley—such tightness and command in her voice. Such anger. Such disappointment.
Ashley couldn’t let her down. “I’ve got to make this call.”
“I’ll show myself out.” Madison stood, then studied her. “What about your date?”
Right. The date. “This is more pressing right now. Derek will understand if I need to be a little late.”
Madison thumbed her ear, nose scrunched. “Couldn’t you wait until tomorrow to deal with this? It’s already four-forty-five. The print shop is probably closing soon anyway.”
“No, I’d just be worried about it all night. Hopefully it’ll be a quick conversation and then I can get over to Mimosa’s.” Her stomach lurched at the thought of having the tough conversation with Derek about where they each stood. But she couldn’t stand him up again—not after last time. She’d face whatever was between them head-on.
“Okay.” But doubt crept into Madison’s tone.
“It’ll be fine.” Ashley gave her friend a quick hug. “Derek has waited this long for our date. He can wait a little longer.”
Chapter 15
She hadn’t shown up.
Again.
Derek slumped against the back of the stone bench, fingers still locked around the
