Now, he struggled to make eye contact at all.
“Are you leaving?” she asked, even though that was fairly obvious.
He shrugged, glanced at her briefly. “Doesn’t seem like I’m needed here anymore.”
“But…” She wasn’t even sure what excuse to give, or what she could say in this moment to keep him here. She wanted to say that she wanted him here, but she didn’t know if that was what he wanted to hear. “But our arrangement—”
“Tonight wasn’t part of the arrangement, though. Was it?” He looked at her long enough for her to drop her gaze to the ground. She kicked at a piece of gravel. She didn’t know what tonight was supposed to be. She just knew that it had been nice…at first.
“Candy set that guy up with me. I told you that,” she said.
He nodded, then tipped his head. “And from what I saw, you enjoyed his company.”
“He caught my chair from falling,” she explained. “And—”
“And he made you laugh. And you made him laugh. And he’s single, handsome, and seemed more than a little interested in you.”
Gabby hesitated, only because she didn’t know what to say to that, or what he wanted her to say. This was the man who had made it clear that he didn’t want the same things she did. Who thought weddings were expensive, frivolous parties, and that marriages could end over an argument about toothpaste.
“It’s fine, Gabby.”
Only it wasn’t. Somewhere over these past few weeks, she’d developed feelings for him, ones that shouldn’t be there, ones that would only let her down. She wanted him to stay, she wanted to talk with him through dinner. She wanted to finish giving him a tour of the land, and she wanted shared secret smiles and nudges at the expense of her matchmaking soon-to-be aunt.
But she and Doug were just friends. He’d made that part very clear.
He gave her a little smile. “I can see it’s time for me to go.”
“No, Doug!”
He held up a hand, stopping her. “Gabby, you know what you want. And maybe tonight you found it.”
She stared at him, trying to think of what she could say, and knowing that there was nothing.
The man sitting at the table wasn’t right for her—once she might have thought so, sat a little straighter, laughed a little louder, been stiff and nervous and anything but herself. And tonight, for reasons she didn’t know why, but she could sense it—he wasn’t the man for her.
But the man standing in front of her wasn’t either.
Chapter Fourteen
Gabby finished tying the pink satin ribbon around Candy’s bouquet and startled when the shop door jingled. She’d been jumpy all morning, even though she knew that it was just her mother coming in to help transfer the arrangements into the van.
“Everything okay?” Her mother was a little breathless, but her eyes were alert.
Gabby held up Candy’s bouquet. It was a struggle with one hand, that much was for sure. “What do you think?”
Miriam tipped her head into a smile. “Oh. It’s lovely, Gabby. But I wasn’t talking about the flowers. Everything you put together is wonderful. It’s you that I’m not so certain about.”
Gabby sighed and carefully set the bouquet into the box with the others. “I’m fine.”
Her mother didn’t look convinced as she came around the counter and got to work. “You were quiet last night at the rehearsal dinner after Doug left.”
Quiet, a little embarrassed, more than a little hurt. A whole lot confused. A part of her had wanted to go after Doug rather than stay at the party, but the other part of her knew that there was no sense in that. She’d gotten swept away…something that she was often accused of doing over the years.
“It’s been a busy few weeks. There’s nothing to talk about. I’m fine, really.” Only she wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Once, she’d thought that she would know the right man for her when he came along. Now, she was back to thinking that he might never show up. Or that she wouldn’t recognize him if he did.
“I know you usually talk to your sisters and cousins about these things,” her mother continued. “But I also know a thing or two about matters of the heart. And I know love when I see it.”
Gabby held up her hands in exasperation. “Why is it that everyone else can spot love when they see it?”
“Are you telling me you didn’t see the way that Doug looked at you? You were the center of his focus last night for the brief time he was there. Why, the young man practically lit up every time you spoke.”
“I didn’t realize you were paying that much attention to us last night,” Gabby muttered. She wished she hadn’t finished the bouquets so that she could keep her hands busy, make an excuse to end this conversation and stop thinking about Doug once and for all.
“Oh, I wasn’t only talking about last night,” Miriam said. “I was talking about all those years ago, in your debate club. The boy loved nothing more than getting your attention.”
“Please.” Gabby rolled her eyes, even though she was starting to wonder if it was true. She shook that thought away and began cross-checking her list to make sure that everything was accounted for and ready. “That was years and years ago.”
“And last night, he never took his eyes from you. I watched him, watching you, when you spoke to that other guy.”
Gabby closed her eyes and groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“It was the first time I saw the light come out of his eyes when you were ever around,” Miriam commented. She gave Gabby a slightly hopeful look. “I assume when he didn’t come back that you weren’t able to patch things up?”
Gabby shook her head and tucked the itemized list into her handbag. “No, and maybe there was nothing to patch up. Doug has made it very clear that he isn’t looking for love.”
Miriam
