Mac wanted to know what had happened to the Hollis Channing who’d dropped her wet towel on Mac’s clothes in the locker room after PE, forcing her to go to history class looking like she’d taken a shower with her clothes on. The one who ran for class president just so she could lobby for full-length mirrors in the girls’ bathroom.
When Ethan’s sister had marched into the church nursery, Mac was sure she was about to be fired. Hollis’s unexpected appearance had been as disconcerting as the hug that followed.
Over Hollis’s shoulder, Annie had given Mac a see-I-told-you-people-can-change smile.
Mac wasn’t sure about that. Until Hollis had shown up at Mac’s door that morning, her ponytail threaded through the back of an old baseball cap and not a speck of makeup on, her celebrity fiancé in tow.
“Well,” Mac said slowly, “when it comes to wedding stories, everyone wants to know how you met.”
“At a hospital fund-raiser . . . What? You look surprised.”
“I thought you were going to say you met at a club or a swanky party.”
“No swanky parties for me.” Hollis chuckled. “Running your own business doesn’t give you much time to socialize. I’d been away on a business trip, previewing a new clothing line for Crush—that’s the boutique I own—so I was late for the dinner.
“Ethan never mentioned he’d met Connor, let alone that they’d become friends. He squeezed in another chair at the table and Connor and I . . .” Hollis paused, searching for the right word.
“Clicked?”
“More like rubbed each other the wrong way. Connor was so standoffish. Whenever I tried to start up a conversation, he would get this strange look on his face.”
“What kind of look?”
“The look a person would have if a window mannequin started talking,” Hollis muttered.
Mac laughed and Hollis joined in.
“Poor Ethan.” Hollis shook her head. “He couldn’t understand why we weren’t getting along.”
“So you’re saying it wasn’t love at first sight.”
“More like second sight. I decided to throw a party for Ethan when he finished his residency at Midland Medical, and he put Connor’s name on the guest list.
“I’d spent weeks planning it, but the day of the party, everything went wrong. A freak storm buried the city in about a foot of snow. The caterer’s delivery truck slid off the road on the way to my condo and ruined everything.”
“No.” Mac pulled in a breath, imagining Hollis’s reaction.
“It gave a whole new meaning to the term fusion cooking, that’s for sure. I thought I’d have to cancel the dinner, but at about two o’clock someone knocked on my door. It was Connor, looking like the abominable snowman.
“He’d raided his pantry and managed to convince a very reluctant taxi driver to drop him off a few blocks from my condo. We made spaghetti and canned green beans and garlic bread out of hot dog buns for the people who braved the weather. By the time Connor served those little frosted animal cookies for dessert, I was already halfway in love with him.”
Mac knew their subscribers would love that story. “How did he propose?”
To Mac’s astonishment, Hollis blushed. “I . . . um . . . I kind of proposed to him.”
“You proposed. To him.”
“It was obvious Connor wasn’t going to do it,” Hollis said candidly. “So I decided the situation called for extreme measures.”
“He didn’t want to get married?”
“Of course he did. It just took a little time to get him to come around to my way of thinking.” Hollis flashed her cheerleader smile. “When Connor finally said yes, I didn’t want him to change his mind . . . hence the very short engagement.”
“But . . .” Mac was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Hollis had proposed. “How? What did you say to him?”
“I’m afraid it wasn’t the most romantic proposal,” Hollis confessed. “I told Connor he was being an id—stubborn—and that I was afraid of the future, too, but as long as we were together, it would be perfect.”
Perfect.
Mac had her perfect future in mind too.
Red Leaf would be a place to take a creative break from her career as an award-winning journalist, not her permanent home.
Her gaze strayed to Ethan, laughing with Connor as their canoe cut a straight line through the center of the lake. He’d made his mark on the football field in high school and now he’d returned to Red Leaf as a doctor. A doctor. While Mac was still writing about the secret life of tomatoes.
Hollis’s cell phone chirped and her face lit up when she looked at the screen. “I’ve been tracking my wedding dress, and according to this message, it’s scheduled to be delivered at ten o’clock. I want to surprise my mother, so I should be there to sign for it.”
“That’s all right.” Mac felt a stab of disappointment. “We can finish the interview later. I should get back to work too.”
“You are working! Ethan said something about your editor wanting all the prewedding details. I would think a sneak peek at the wedding dress would qualify.” Hollis leaned forward and rested the canoe paddle across her knees. “Trust me. You’re going to want to see Mom’s reaction when I show her my wedding gown.”