“Well, to be fair, I think he tuned out most of what we were saying. But oh, how his eyes lit up whenever we mentioned your name.”
Yeah, lit up with annoyance. “Mrs. Landry, this is very nice of you, but Danny and I really want to do this our own way.”
“I know you do, but…” Mrs. L.’s petite body deflated and Olivia hated that. “My daughter eloped, and I’d so wanted her to get married here in White Strand. This town has been my home for sixty years and it would mean the world to me to do something special here before I move away.”
Olivia took in every detail about Mrs. Landry’s face, from her light eyes and thin lips, to her wrinkled skin. But her best features were the warmth and sincerity Liv would have to be blind to miss. This is what motherly affection feels like. She hadn’t felt it since her nana was alive, and even then only sparingly because Liv’s mother had kept them apart more often than not.
“I asked Danny about your mother and he said she wasn’t quite on board yet.” Mrs. L. put her small, weathered hand on Liv’s arm. “We want to take your wedding dreams and make them a reality. Honor is all for it, too. She’s the party planner around here, after all.”
Olivia’s nerves relaxed a tiny bit at the mention of Honor. “This is an awful lot to take in.”
“That’s why we want to help.” Mrs. L. smiled sweetly and another piece of Liv’s defenses crumbled. Nana had passed away five years ago and talking with Mrs. L. brought back a wave of emotions. Nana had had the same spark Mrs. L. did. “How about we talk more about it this weekend?”
“O-okay,” Liv said, caving in to the kindness and memories. At the very least, Liv owed it to Mrs. L. to talk further after lying so horribly to her.
“Hey,” Danny said, taking Liv by surprise as he walked toward them.
“Hi!” Relief filled Liv at the interruption.
“I’ll let you two get going,” Mrs. Landry said. “See you later, Olivia. Bye, Danny.”
Danny narrowed his eyes. “What did she say to you?” he asked, his voice full of concern, but carrying a hint of unease, too. Yep, she’d gotten them into another pickle. “She brought up the wedding, didn’t she?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was hoping she’d forget about it.”
“I guarantee you that woman’s got a better memory than I do.”
“Why does she care so much?” His sunglasses hid his eyes, for which Liv was grateful. If she could see them right now, she might cry.
“Because her daughter eloped and”—she dropped her gaze to the ground—“it doesn’t matter. You don’t want a wedding.”
“You do?”
She glanced up at the sound of his genuinely baffled tone. “Of course not,” she lied. How dense could he be? Every girl wanted a wedding. Apparently even one very different from what she’d always imagined.
He waited a beat, his mouth set in a tight line before saying. “You’re lying.”
“Yes.”
“Liv, I don’t think…” he trailed off, looked somewhere past her.
“It’s okay. I get it.” She waved him away. “I’ll see you later. I’ve got an appointment to get to.”
“Right. Come on.”
Liv frowned at his back before following beside him. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to see Dr. Silver. It seems when my fiancée made her appointment she included the home phone number and I heard the message confirming your appointment for today at eleven.” He opened the passenger door for her.
She paused. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it. I just figured—”
“No more figuring on your own, okay? We’re in this together.”
A giant knot of emotion lodged in her throat. He’d always given his unwavering support and now would be no different. She put her arms around him. “Thanks. I’m really glad you’re going with me.”
He hugged her back, and she could have stood like that all day. Reluctantly, she let go and climbed into the car.
When they walked into the doctor’s office ten minutes later, Danny garnered quite a bit of attention. From the other women sitting in the waiting room, from the receptionist, from the nurse when she called for a patient. In typical Danny fashion, he didn’t notice. He kept his nose buried in Architectural Digest.
After several minutes of his leg bouncing, though, she put her hand on his thigh. “Hey,” she whispered, “if you’re nervous you can wait outside. I promise I’ll tell you everything afterward.”