The Perfect Match (Blue Heron #2)(61)

“Such a romantic,” she said, adjusting his collar.

“You’ll see,” he said, cuffing her fondly.

When the sun began to set in shades of peach and lavender, the group adjourned to the cask room, where cheese and hors d’oeuvres had been set up. Honor went through her paces, talking about wine pairings and flavors, the bouquet of each wine, the body, the texture and finish. Spike stared adoringly at Lorelei, who gave out doggy treats at the bakery, and Pops and Carol flirted.

Dana and Brogan always seemed to be touching.

In all the years she’d known Brogan, she never remembered him being in love. He certainly seemed to be now.

By the time Jessica had herded the participants upstairs to the shop, where they would hopefully buy vast quantities of the wines they’d just tasted, it was almost eight and nearly dark. Honor picked up Spike and snuggled the dog under her chin, then stood on tiptoe to peek out of the narrow windows that ran along the top of the stone wall.

The cobalt sky still held streaks of red and purple at the horizon. Lights were on in both the Old and New Houses, and a wave of homesickness washed over Honor. She missed home, the big, comfortable living room and aging kitchen, her gorgeous bedroom with its pale blue walls and soft white rug. Her sitting room, where she had spent so many happy hours watching Bizarre Tales from the E.R. and Diagnose This! with Jack or Mrs. Johnson.

Maybe she and Tom would move into the New House someday if they decided to get married (and stay married). But not yet. She couldn’t see living there under false pretenses. Home was too precious to sully with a fake relationship.

A real relationship—with Tom, anyway—seemed a bit impossible. In ten days of living together, she had yet to see him smile. And you know...it was his smile that had done her in. A smile like that hinted at all sorts of wonderful things. Where was that smile now? Because his somber face wasn’t nearly as appealing as his goofy, sweet, smiling face. In fact, Tom sometimes looked a little intimidating.

“So I hear you’re getting married,” came a voice. Dana stood in the other entryway, her arms folded.

“Yes,” Honor said. Spike, whose brain was about the size of a cashew, barked and wagged, the faithless cur.

Dana didn’t bother looking at the little dog. “Yeah, it’s all over town. Weird that I had to hear about it from Laura Boothby. And you haven’t even said if you’d be my maid of honor yet.”

Seriously? Granted, Dana had always been the type who seemed only to tolerate another person’s stories, just waiting for the chance to bring the conversation back to her. God forbid that anyone else have something going on. Had that always been the way? Kind of, yeah. Dana’s life was full of drama, fights, betrayals, triumphs. Honor’s life, on the other hand, had always been pretty normal. And happy.

“Well, it’s been a busy time,” she said, setting Spike in her purse, where the dog immediately curled up in a ball.

“Kind of a coincidence, don’t you think?” Dana asked, studying her engagement ring. “I mean, I didn’t even realize you were seeing someone.”

“It just happened,” Honor replied. Same as you and Brogan, she didn’t say.

Her former friend looked up. “Interesting, the timing and everything. I mean, if you were really in love with Brogan, enough to throw wine in my face, I’d think you wouldn’t be engaged all of a sudden.”

Honor raised an eyebrow. “Was I in love, though? I mean, you told me it was just a crush, remember?”

“Whatever,” Dana said. “Look, if you don’t want to be my maid of honor, that’s probably best. My sister—Carla, not Penny—really wants to. By the way, I’m thinking of booking the Barn for the wedding.”

There was no way in hell Dana Hoffman and Brogan Cain were going to get married on Blue Heron land. Nuh-uh. “Give Jessica a call. She handles that now. We’re pretty heavily booked, though.” That was true. Faith’s renovation had made quite an impression on event planners throughout western New York.

“Then again, the Barn might not be big enough. You know how his parents are, right? We’re trying to keep the number under five hundred. Anyway, with all the sports celebrities who’ll be coming, we need to have something really fabulous. I mean, the Barn is cute and all, but...we’re going for elegant. Because if we’re going to have, like, Derek Jeter and Jeremy Lin, it has to be amazing. And we’d like to do it before the baby comes, of course.”

“Uh-huh.”

Well played, the eggs said from behind their quilting frames. They had a point. Lack of interest was always the thing that infuriated Dana the most.

“Anyway, I guess we were really surprised when you turned up engaged.”

“Well, as you said yourself, Dana, when it’s right, you just know it.”

Dana crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “So me and Brogan getting engaged, that had nothing to do with it.”

Brogan and I, for the love of God. “Can’t see why you’d think that.”

“Oh, please!” Dana threw her hands in the air. “You expect me to believe that you’re not getting married out of jealousy? Brogan and I get engaged, and then look at this! A month later, Honor’s engaged, too! I mean, I have to wonder where you dug this guy up, because it sure feels like some kind of stunt to me.”