Page 162 of Save the Date
“When Leo and I moved down to Savannah, I couldn’t wait to donate my wedding dress to Goodwill. But I kept this one.” She smoothed her hands over her hips. “It’s been tucked away in pink tissue paper all these years. Just waiting for the right moment.”
“And the right guy,” Torie said. “And here you are.” She reached for the velvet-lined box on the dressing table and carefully lifted a single strand of pearls from the satin lining and fastened it around Cara’s throat. “Here’s your something new. Jack’s dad gave me a set of pearls just like this the day I married Ryan.”
The bathroom door opened, and Meghan hurried into the room, dressed in bra and panties. “I’m late, I’m late, I’m late,” she singsonged, grabbing her deep coral dress from a hanger and slipping it over her head. She turned her back to Torie. “Zip me?”
Torie picked a piece of hay from her sister-in-law’s hair and held it up for Cara to see. “Can you guess where baby sister’s been and what made her late?”
“I don’t judge,” Cara said, laughing. She gave Meghan a wink. “What goes on in the barn, stays in the barn, right?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Meghan leaned into the mirror, a mascara wand poised in her right hand.
“Hey!” Cara said, grabbing Meghan’s left hand. She held it up to Torie.
“Whaatttt?”
“You’re engaged?” Cara asked. “Since when? I can’t believe it!”
Meghan smiled and flashed a set of dimples. “Harris asked Daddy’s permission last night, at the rehearsal dinner. But he didn’t bother to askme, until just now, in the, er, barn.”
Torie held Meghan’s hand and studied the ring with an experienced eye. She held her own left hand up to Meghan’s. “Baby girl, that is a serious ring. Bigger than my diamond, for sure.”
Cara held her left hand on top of the others. Her engagement ring was made up of a circlet of smaller stones, with a single raised one-carat cushion-cut diamond in a platinum band. “Mine too,” she said carelessly.
“Way bigger than the ring Harris gave Brooke,” Torie pointed out. “By at least a carat.”
Meghan frowned for only a moment. “This was Harris’s grandmother’s engagement ring. She left it to him in her will, but he bought a new ring for Brooke, because he thought that’s what she’d prefer.”
Torie gave Meghan an apprehensive glance. “Has anybody heard anything from, uh, her?”
Meghan laughed. “It’s okay. You can say Brooke’s name in front of me.”
Cara said, “We text. That’s the only way you can communicate with Brooke. She’s still down on Cumberland Island. I think the thing with Pete, the park ranger, is heating up, but she says she has no plans to marry anytime soon. She’s working for the Georgia Conservancy, and is still feuding with the Park Service over any issue she can think of. I think Brooke is finally in a good place.”
“I’m glad,” Meghan said earnestly. “Because of her, Harris and I found each other. And that’s the best place of all, for me.”
“This ring is beautiful, Meghan, and it’s totally you,” Cara said. She hugged Jack’s little sister. “I’m so happy for you. Have you set the date yet?”
“Nope,” Meghan said. “And I made Harris promise that he will not go around talking about it today at your wedding. Although I can’t promise he won’t, because he is so excited.”
“He should be excited,” Torie drawled. “After everything he’s been though these past few months. Have you told Libba and Mitch yet?”
“Libba caught me coming into the house from the barn just now. She admitted she knew something was up when Harris ‘casually’ asked her where his grandmother’s ring was last week.”
“I’ll bet she’s over the moon,” Cara said. “And Mitch too.”
“She was very, very happy,” Meghan admitted. “She wants us to have the wedding here, too, of course, and I promised her we would. Oooh. I almost forgot.”
She disappeared into the bathroom and came out with a small creamy satin drawstring bag, which she handed Cara. “Libba thought you might want to borrow these.” Cara untied the string, and a pair of diamond-and-pearl earrings dropped into the palm of her hand.
“Gorgeous,” Torie said, picking up one of the earrings. “And real, too.”
“I don’t know,” Cara said. “I’ve got my little fake pearls I was going to wear.…”
“No way,” Torie said, pushing her gently down onto the dressing stool. She handed the earrings back to Cara. “It’s just a loaner. I’ll be in charge of getting them back to Libba after the wedding.”
The bedroom door opened, and Frannie Finnerty stepped inside. She was dressed in a short sage-green velvet cocktail dress that accentuated her hazel eyes.
“My girls!” she exclaimed, beaming. “My three, beautiful, amazing girls!”
