Page 29 of Meant for Me (Magnolia Bay #3)
seventeen
“F un party.” Elisa stood on the dock holding her woven picnic basket, a slight smirk on her face. The aroma of crawfish pies and salt water drifted over them.
Zoey followed her gaze to the end of the pier, where Linc and Noah secured the boat.
Dusk settled over the bay, and she shivered a little in her tank and jeans.
Owen, Cade, and Rosalyn had already cleaned up the party trash and left, and now she and Elisa waited under the glow of the security light for the guys.
“It was fun…but somehow I get the feeling that’s not really what you mean? ”
“I’m talking about you and Linc. The PDA, the adorable meet-cute story…”
Oh, that. Zoey winced.
Elisa pursed her lips. “Don’t worry, you two have everyone fooled—to the point you’re fooling yourselves.”
“What do you mean?” But Zoey knew. She knew exactly.
Elisa shifted the basket to her other hip. “Come on now, sugar. Don’t try to convince me that while you’re actually married, you’re just pretending to be in love.”
“Some of us more than others.” Zoey groaned.
“You love Linc.” A soft statement, not a question.
And it wasn’t a question. Hadn’t been for a long time. Zoey nodded, watching to make sure the guys stayed out of earshot. “I’ve always loved Linc.” She huffed a breath. “Maybe since that moment he put a Band-Aid on my finger.”
Elisa shot her a knowing look. “And now he’s put a ring on your finger.”
Zoey looked down at it, twisted her hand so it caught the glow of the overhead light. “You know it’s not that simple.”
Elisa hugged the basket. “It could be.”
“Not if he doesn’t feel the same.” Zoey clenched her left hand into a fist, hiding the evidence. “I agreed to our terms.”
“Terms? Marriage isn’t a contract.” Elisa winced. “Well, okay, technically it is. But you know what I mean. It’s so much more than that.”
“But I committed to this, the way it is. So I have to see it through.” Zoey unfisted her hand, stared again at the gold band. “At least for now.”
“Giving yourself an out isn’t going to solve your problem.”
“I’m not giving myself an out.” Stars began to prick through the gray sky above. From the dock, Noah laughed at something Linc said. “It’s more the fear that Linc’s going to give me one.”
“Then you should talk to him. Tell your husband how you feel.” Elisa’s tone, gentle but firm, pierced Zoey’s convictions. But easy for her friend to say—she had the fairy tale. Zoey had…well, she had Papa Bear and cold porridge.
“You don’t understand. If I tell Linc I want the real thing with him, and he doesn’t feel the same way…it’ll ruin everything. We wouldn’t be able to stay together. Then all that we’ve done for Amelia, all her progress and security, would be gone.” Zoey’s heart cramped at the mere thought.
“Back up a minute.” Elisa finally set the basket down at her feet, planted her hands on her hips. “You said we wouldn’t be able to stay together .”
“Right.”
Her eyes took on a knowing sheen. “ That’s what you’re afraid of. You think the only way to stay with Linc is to keep denying your feelings for him. To hold him at arm’s length.”
“So?” Zoey huffed. “I don’t exactly see him coming any closer.”
“You two sure looked cozy on the boat tonight.”
“He was just putting on a show for you guys. Keeping suspicions at bay.” Zoey waved one hand in the air. “I have zero proof that tonight—or the dance in the kitchen—was anything more than him doing what we agreed to do.”
“Dance in the kitchen?” Elisa’s brows shot higher. “You skipped that part.”
“It’s nothing. He was just being sweet, letting me have a wedding dance.”
“Linc.” Elisa squinted. “Being sweet . And you say you have no proof?”
Zoey cast another look at the two shadowed figures leaving the boat. “I know he cares for me. I’ve always known that.”
The fact that he’d let her—and basically no one else—stick around all these years was proof enough of that.
She lowered her voice. “But that’s not romantic love or passion. That’s not the grow-old-together kind of stuff that lasts. It’s just friendship. Loyalty.”
Elisa sighed. “I think you’re overthinking this because you’re scared.”
“And I think you’re under-thinking this because you’re happy and want me to be too.
” Zoey reached over and took Elisa’s hand, drew it up to her own throat in a begging posture.
“Please, I’m begging you. My wedding is over.
Let’s focus on yours, okay? Don’t I have a bridesmaids fitting this week?
” Not that she had any idea how she was going to pay the balance.
Elisa rolled her eyes, but squeezed Zoey’s hand in return, allowing the subject change. “You do, and you better not be late or I’ll put shoulder pads in yours.”
Zoey released her and clapped. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Coming from you, that’s a threat.” Elisa grinned. “Honestly…I am getting excited.”
“As you should be. It’s going to be a great night.” Whew, just in time. They were striding up the dock now, Linc’s shadow significantly more hulk-sized than Noah’s.
“Ready to go?” Linc called toward her.
Oh, this part could go to her head too. Being a couple, a team. Belonging.
“Ready when you are.” She thought about throwing a ‘babe’ at the end of it, but her heart had been through enough confusion for one night.
“They’re probably talking wedding stuff.” Noah grinned at his bride-to-be. “That’s usually what I catch her doing these days.”
“Speaking of, don’t worry.” Elisa winked as she picked up the picnic basket, handed it to Noah. “I changed your name in the program to Zoey Fontenot.”
Her stomach swirled. “Great, thanks.”
“And your title to matron of honor, instead of maid of honor.”
Zoey knew what she was doing—exposure therapy. Tossing around words to make Zoey remember she was married. Trying to make it feel normal.
She cast Linc a look as they waved goodbye to Noah and headed for his truck. Normal was one thing. Anyone could eventually get used to something, to consider it normal.
But would it ever feel real?
Fifteen minutes later, she and Linc were on their way home, just the two of them, windows down, radio turned low.
He hadn’t touched her since their impromptu story time in the boat, when she’d sat in his lap.
But she could still feel his fingerprints on her arms, her knee, her waist. Like tiny tattoos, permanent claims. She’d always be his, for better or for worse.
And not just because she spoke those words at a courthouse.
“Mama D is bringing Amelia home?”
Linc’s deep voice broke the silence, making Zoey jump.
“That’s right.” She cleared her throat, hating how stiff her voice sounded.
Could he sense her tension? Would he guess why?
Obviously he had no issue being close to her like that on the boat, probably didn’t think anything more of it than the hugs and high fives she’d bestowed over the years.
She might just give up her beignet business all over again if she could remain as naive to the chemistry as he seemed to be.
Or worse yet—maybe he wasn’t naive. Maybe it simply wasn’t there for him.
And that’s why he could easily marry his best friend.
Mama D’s car was waiting in the long drive as they pulled up—thank goodness. Zoey didn’t want to be alone with Linc a moment longer. Not until she got her head on straight.
Amelia got out of the car, arms loaded with shopping bags.
Mama D slid out the driver’s side, shielding her eyes from Linc’s headlights as he swung the truck into reverse and parked.
She wore a floral blouse over hot pink pants—the exact shade of her lipstick.
Zoey could tell from here. Another new color experiment?
“Have a nice date, lovebirds?” Mama D grinned as they climbed out.
Linc grunted. “All you liars. Can’t just invite a guy to hang out.”
“Not when the guy always says no.” Mama D grinned bigger. “You’re welcome.”
Amelia said nothing, stared down at her bags.
Hmm.
“We had a good time.” Zoey shot Linc a pointed look. “Why don’t you help Amelia with her haul?”
Linc glanced between her and Amelia before taking the hint, fisting most of the bags out of her hands. “What’d you get?” He led the way up the stairs to the porch, good-naturedly nudging her with an elbow. “These better not be a bunch of crop tops.”
The screen door slapped shut behind them. Zoey turned to Mama D. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh, we had a lovely time.” Mama D reached up, fiddled with the cross necklace dangling from a silver chain around her neck. “Went shopping and to the Burger Barn for dinner.”
“Not Magnolia Blossom? Wow.” Zoey grinned. Maybe she’d misread the tension earlier. She was full of her own right now, it wouldn’t be unlikely for her to?—
“There was just the one incident.” Mama D’s hot pink lips curled downward.
So she hadn’t misread. “What happened?”
Mama D cast a quick look over her shoulder at the lights glowing inside the house. “She ran out of money pretty quick, as you can see from all the bags. She bought mostly clothes, though I think she found some cheap jewelry too. A ring, was it? Or earrings…”
“You’re stalling.”
“I am.” Mama D wrung her hands. “I hate to get her in trouble, because she put it back. But I thought you should know.”
“Put what back?” Then the implication registered. Her stomach clenched. “Wait. Did she steal something?”
Mama D nodded, so slight her head barely moved. Her gray brow furrowed. “A floor model cell phone.”
“ A cell phone ?” Oh, Amelia. Zoey briefly closed her eyes, sighed. Linc was going to hate this. After all the progress they’d been making…
“She put it back, like I said.” Mama zipped the cross faster along the chain. “I saw it immediately in her purse, thank heavens. She grumbled a little about no one using it, and it going to waste—but put it back without further issue.”
Was that supposed to be comforting? That she didn’t fight Mama D in the middle of a store?