Page 100 of Save the Date
He gave her that crooked little grin that always used to work, back in the day. “Another thing to add to my list of regrets. You went and got a dog without me.”
Enough, she thought.
“Look, Leo. I have to go. I actually do have a wedding tonight, and every second I stand here with you puts me that much further behind.”
“I know, I know,” he said. “Tick tock, right? You’re quite the career girl these days, from what I hear.” He leaned in again, and before she could stop him, he was kissing her, a lingering brush on the lips.
“Happy anniversary, Cara Mia mine. I’ll call you.”
She was just about to close the door.
“Cara?” Jack stood in the hallway entrance to the shop. He strode to her side and glared at Leo.
“What the hell?”
Leo glared right back, then pointed at Jack. “You. The guy in the towel. Last week.”
“Yeah. That was me. And you were the guy in the truck, cruising down the lane.”
Cara looked from Jack to Leo. “You two know each other?”
Leo shook his head. “What? You’re sleeping with this guy?”
Jack put an arm across her shoulder. “Thisis your ex? The dude is stalking you, Cara. He drove down the lane twice last week while you were gone. Hell, the way he stared at me, I thought he was getting ready to proposition me.”
“In your dreams, towel boy,” Leo sneered.
“That’s enough, kids,” Cara said. She gave her ex-husband a not-so-gentle backward shove. Then she closed and locked the door. And pulled down the shade.
***
“What was that he called you?” Jack asked.
“Cara Mia. Mia is my middle name,” Cara said. “What’s your middle name?”
“Joseph. John Joseph. But back to you. So, your name is Cara Mia, like the song?”
“Yep. Jay and the Americans. My mom was a big fan.”
“Mine too,” Jack said. He jerked his head in the direction of the front door. “What did he want? Besides to suck face with you?”
“He seems to think it’s our anniversary.” She looked down and realized she was still holding the flowers and candy he’d thrust into her hands. Cara walked over to the trash can and dropped them in.
“He’s a tool,” Jack said. “And the next time I catch him driving by here, I’m gonna take my pry bar and put a big ol’ dent in that pretty-boy Lexus of his.”
“Ooh. Drama,” Cara said. But she was smiling when she said it.
40
It had taken Cara two weeks of calling, emailing, and texting, but she’d finally gotten Brooke and Harris to agree to meet for lunch and go over wedding plans.
But when Brooke arrived in the lobby at Johnny Harris, the iconic barbecue restaurant on Victory Drive in midtown, she was alone. She was dressed in a black and white herringbone checked suit, with black pumps and a pink silk blouse, and to Cara’s shock, the bride’s long, lustrous dark hair had been chopped off at chin length.
“Harris’s flight from New York didn’t come in,” Brooke said. “Anyway, he pretty much said he’s fine with whatever we decide.” She caught Cara staring at her hair, and she pushed a strand behind one ear.
“You don’t like it, do you?”
“It’s just… different,” Cara said. “Usually my brides are trying to grow their hair out before the wedding.”
