Daniel woke to the ding of his cell phone. Rolling over, he saw it was a text from Melinda. He smiled.
Good morning! Meet me at breakfast in 15 min?
He had barely seen Melinda the day before and had missed her more than he’d thought he would. Daniel pulled a shirt on and ambled down to the poolside restaurant.
Melinda was already sitting at a table with her parents, Bree, and Mark. Daniel felt a twinge of disappointment. He had hoped for a little alone time with her. It seemed they were always surrounded by people who were intent on pulling them in different directions.
"Good morning," he said, sitting in the empty chair next to Melinda
"There's no way out," Melinda groaned. She was sitting next to Daniel on a lounge chair by the pool, drinking her fifth complimentary piña colada. "I mean, seriously, my parents have trained their children to be nothing but mindless, obedient puppets.""Isn't that a bit harsh?" Daniel asked, lifting his sunglasses.Man, he had amazing eyes. Melinda's gaze drifted down to Daniel's chiseled abs. That was the beautiful thing about swimming pools…men could take off their shirts without ulterior motives, and Melinda was enjoying every minute of it.Focus."Not at all. I've been stuck at the family business with no way out because no one else wants the job. I could leave
Daniel wondered how long he'd have to fake the limp he'd adopted since their sledding disaster that afternoon. After that amazing kiss, and then blowing it, he needed some space. Melinda's family had seen them ride back though, and, after Mrs. Garrett chastised them for skipping out on their couple’s massage, she had sent him back to his room with an icepack. She wanted him feeling better for the wedding rehearsal and dinner that evening.With a groan, Daniel turned off the TV and shoved his pillow over his face. When had the weekend become so complicated? All he wanted was to be back in Amor, with Melinda, without all the lies and the pretending. If Daniel were being honest, he would have kissed Melinda even longer and harder than he had. He hadn't wanted to stop, but knowing it was all an act—his heart couldn't handle that. Except no one el
Melinda's phone burst into song, startling her from where she sat in the stairwell, Daniel's arm still wrapped around her. Despite the cold concrete, she hadn't been that comfortable in a long time. She pulled her phone out of her purse and saw that it was her mother."I better take this," she told Daniel, and unraveled herself from the floor. She stepped back into the hallway to avoid the echo in the stairwell. "Hi, Mom. I know we should have been there ages ago," she said. "We had a wardrobe malfunction and—""None of that matters now," her mother said in a voice that was unusually shrill, even for her. "Your sister, it appears, has come down with something—she's 'puking her guts out,' as
Melinda knocked on the door and waited for Bree to answer. When she didn't come right away, Melinda knocked again. "It's just me," she called.The door opened and revealed Bree wearing a bathrobe, her hair in a ponytail. She held a tissue in one hand, her eyes red and puffy. She didn't say anything but motioned for Melinda to enter.Once the door had shut behind Melinda, Bree started crying again. She sank into the closest couch, her sobs escaping like machine-gun fire. "Apparently Mark has told everyone that I'm sick and unable to make it to the dinner tonight. Mom called to see if I was all right and Grams called to make sure I wasn't planning on ruining the weekend for everyone. She said I better be standing at the altar tomorrow, because she can't come out to my wedding twice."
Daniel held Melinda's hand as they waved goodbye to Bree and their mother. Dinner had been delicious, and despite the initial shock of Bree's appearance, everyone had seemed happy to have her there, with Mark and their grandmother being the exceptions. Even their father's business associates thought it was nice that Mark had found a girl who was so “down to earth.”“I can’t believe she didn’t tell them,” Melinda muttered under her breath as they left the restaurant. “That was the whole point, wasn’t it? She was supposed to show up in her bathrobe and declare the engagement over. After we ate up all the incredible food, of course.”“Do you think she is having second thoughts?” Daniel asked. Maybe the lavish lifestyle that
Daniel raised an eyebrow. He didn't like the sound of that. "You mean like…steal?""I wouldn't call it that," Melinda said. "It's just that we don't really have another option, considering that the office is closed, and we need one of their golf carts."Daniel didn't want to seem like the stiff who didn't do anything adventurous or risky. But he'd been there and done that, and it had only led to trouble. “I’m sure they lock up the keys. Let's just come back in the morning."Melinda laughed and pulled him toward the doors that would lead them toward the golf course. "You’re probably right, but let’s check it out for the fun of it. We would have the cart back before they knew it was gone. B
Melinda woke the next morning with a smile on her face. What had she been dreaming about? It must have been pretty good, because she felt like nothing in the world could bring her down. And then she remembered, it hadn't been a dream. It had been Daniel, lying with her in the sand under a full moon. She snuggled deeper under the covers, wishing it never had to end. But Bree was supposed to get married today. And then tomorrow, Melinda would be back in Amor. If there were only a way to convince her mother to stop listening to Grams and allow Melinda to move on with her life.Except, nothing was how it was supposed to be. The elation Melinda had felt instantly vanished. Bree couldn't marry Mark, which meant there'd be no celebrating. And with everyone in such bad temper, there was no way they would agree to sell the diner. A sense of dread washed over Meli
Daniel couldn't believe this was really happening. He stood in front of a full-length mirror, dressed in a tuxedo. He didn't realize people wore those things anymore."We don't have time to have it tailored," Mr. Garrett said, walking around Daniel as if he were an exhibit. "But for not being custom fit, that tux fits you quite nicely. How does it feel?""Like I'm glad I'm only getting married once," Daniel said, smiling.Mr. Garrett shook his head, apparently not appreciating Daniel's attempt at humor. "If you aren't comfortable, you are going to remember your wedding day by how many times you wished you could rip your tie off and by the number of blisters on your feet. And from the way you were looking at my daughter