But Meg was right. It shouldn’t matter to her that much. She would just be careful not to upset Anne and Jake—particularly on their wedding weekend—so maybe she could just try harder with Justin.
She would be extra nice. She would be super-friendly and make sure he knew she wanted to be friends. She wouldn’t get offended if he said snarky things or treated her in a condescending manner.
This was her mission for the weekend. By the time the wedding was over, Justin Woodward was going to like her.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Raney saw Justin’s car pull into the parking lot. She’d been standing in the waiting area of the dentist office she worked for, looking out the window, but she walked outside when he pulled up in front of the building.
He drove an old Volvo, although she was sure he could afford something nicer. Just like she knew he could afford better clothes than the jeans and jacket he wore. He’d paired them with a tacky t-shirt and sneakers, so his workplace obviously didn’t require business attire.
His brother Jake had built his own surf store business and was never anything but professional. Justin was obviously made from different cloth than his older brother.
Justin returned her friendly greeting with an abrupt question. “What happened to your car?”
Raney held onto her smile. “I don’t know. I think it’s the transmission. It kept jerking really bad until it just stopped working.” She gestured toward her sedan, which she’d parked at the far side of the lot. “My stuff is in the trunk.”
“Hop in,” Justin said. “I’ll drive over so we don’t have to lug it the whole way, since I’m sure you’ve got a ton of stuff.” He was about the same height as Jake but not as big. He was rather on the skinny side, and he had lighter brown hair and hazel eyes instead of Jake’s steel gray. At the moment, he had a coolly amused look on his face.
It was getting harder for Raney not to frown at him. “Why would you think I have a lot of stuff?”
His hazel eyes rested on her face before he drove over toward her car. “Don’t you?”
“Well, I need a lot of stuff for the weekend. I didn’t over-pack for the fun of it.” She tried not to sound annoyed, but she was. He didn’t have to make it sound like something was wrong with bringing a lot to a wedding.
She got out of the car, her shoulders stiff, and she had to remind herself that she was going to make a point of being extra nice to him.
“So you’re saying you didn’t bring more clothes than you need this weekend?” he asked, startling her by getting out of the car too and reaching for her case and garment bag before she could pull them out of the trunk.
It was certainly more than she would normally bring for a weekend trip.
“It’s a wedding,” she said. “I have my bridesmaid dress and my dress for tonight and something for tomorrow morning and something for Sunday—plus shoes and all the other stuff I need to get ready. Did you expect me to fit it all in my purse?”
He seemed to be hiding a smile now—and it made him surprisingly attractive. His mobile mouth, finely drawn features, and intelligent eyes seemed to convey a lot more than was actually reflected on his face. “Of course not. Didn’t I just say I knew you’d bring a lot?”
She huffed and was about to snap at him for being patronizing when she remembered she was going to get him to like her. So she made herself smile instead. “Well, I guess you were right.”
He looked briefly surprised, but she kept smiling at him as he closed the trunk.
He was peering at her as they got back in the car. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said, beaming at him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know. Something seems strange.”
“Nothing is strange. We better get going, since we’re already running late. Thanks so much for picking me up.”
“Sure. Any time.” He was still observing her in quick looks as he started the car. “I’m surprised you don’t have a boyfriend to pick you up.”
Yet again, it sounded like he was judging her and finding her wanting. “Why are you surprised by that?”
He gave a half-shrug as he steered toward the entrance of the parking lot. ”I just assumed you’d have a boyfriend.”
Until the last few months, she’d always had a boyfriend. She’d had one relationship after another that she thought would work out but then had fallen apart, either when the guy lost interest or Raney discovered he just wasn’t what she’d thought. She was constantly getting crushed by how her romantic dreams weren’t coming true.