Mac felt a blush coming on and turned away, carefully transferring her sleeping charge into one of the cribs that lined the wall.
What she’d described—the floating lanterns, centerpieces made up of lacy-white hydrangeas, and twinkling lights—had been the wedding she’d spent hours dreaming about as a teenager. Only in those dreams Ethan had been the groom.
She checked on the rest of the babies before dropping down on the colorful square of carpet again. “Hollis will probably nix everything. I’m surprised she even wants an outdoor wedding.”
In fact, when it came right down to it, everything about the Channing-Blake wedding was a surprise. Like the way Ethan had reacted when he’d found out his mother had contacted the newspaper. And Hollis returning to Red Leaf—the town she hadn’t visited in years—to marry a celebrity.
An Internet search had sparked even more questions about Hollis’s groom. Sure, Dead in the Water was the actor’s first movie, but aside from the trailer and a few publicity shots taken with the other cast members, Connor Blake seemed to go out of his way to avoid the spotlight.
“You’re doing it again!” A plastic doughnut sailed through the air and bounced off Mac’s arm.
She blinked and Annie’s face came back into focus. “Sorry. I just don’t understand a bride who is too busy to oversee the details of her own wedding. The Hollis I knew in high school was a control freak with pom-poms.”
“You said you haven’t seen her for ten years. People change.”
“Their mother hasn’t,” Mac muttered. “You should have seen Lilah’s face when she looked at the yard—and that was after we’d cleaned it up!”
“I think I might have seen Ethan when I picked up cinnamon rolls at the bakery yesterday,” Annie mused. “What does he look like?”
“About six two. Broad shoulders.” Really broad shoulders. “But he’s not one of those muscle-bound guys with no neck,” Mac added. “He has dark hair . . . and there’s always one swatch that hangs in his eyes.”
“Mmm. What color are they?”
“Light green. Like a willow leaf.”
“A willow leaf.” Annie grinned.
It occurred to Mac that she’d probably gone into more detail than what was required. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“You tell me. You’re the one who’s blushing.”
“I’m not—” She was. Mac could feel her freckles beginning to glow. Which reminded her of the whisper-soft brush of Ethan’s finger against her cheek. “You asked me for a description.”
Annie leaned forward, careful not to disturb Isabelle. “Ethan’s an old flame, isn’t he?”
“An old . . . no,” Mac sputtered. “Ethan Channing was on the varsity team when he was a freshman. He was also the most popular guy in school. Dated the most popular girls.”
“You weren’t popular?” Annie looked so astonished that Mac burst out laughing. Sometimes she forgot her friend had moved from Madison to Red Leaf only a year ago.
“Not at all. Coach was allergic to stores that sold anything other than sports equipment, so I had no fashion sense. What made it even worse was that I didn’t know I was supposed to care about stuff like that.” Mac had had her own uniform in high school. Blue jeans and T-shirts. “I was either on the sidelines handing out water bottles or sitting on the bus next to Coach when we had an away game. The guys treated me like the team mascot instead of a potential girlfriend.”
“And Ethan was one of those guys?”
“He didn’t even notice me.” Mac strove to keep her voice light. “It was high school. Crushes and broken hearts, they kind of go with the territory.”
“Which one was Ethan Channing?”
“Both.” Mac shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
“I manage a bookstore. I love stories.” The flash of sympathy in her friend’s eyes released an avalanche of memories.
Mac had never told anyone what had happened after the homecoming game but suddenly, she was telling Annie everything.
The Red Leaf Lions had spent the days leading up to the game working on a strategy that would guarantee a victory, and Mac had been working on a plan of her own. She’d recently started her freshman year and it was time to break free from her cocoon. Show people she wasn’t just the coach’s daughter, content to remain on the sidelines. She was going to reveal a brand-new Mackenzie Davis.
She was going to reinvent herself.
She was going to wear a dress. Not just any dress. A sparkly here-I-am dress that would get everyone’s attention.
And maybe . . . just maybe . . . it would get Ethan Channing’s attention too.
Except the evening hadn’t gone quite the way Mac had imagined. Beetle Jenkins had gotten sick and Coach had asked her to wear the mascot suit. Mac hadn’t minded. There would be plenty of time between the game and the dance to get ready.