Secrets Gone South (Crimson Romance) by Alicia Hunter Pace

to be a lot longer. Not that Will wasn’t proficient in that department. Oh, no, he was very, very proficient. She just had the feeling he was going to be unwilling.
    “Evelyn?” Arabelle asked to stop the groaning.
    “Oh, sorry,” Lucy said. “Evelyn works for Miss Caroline, Brantley’s grandmother. Though Miss Caroline says it’s really the other way around.”
    Arabelle could have pointed out that she might not know all the ins and outs of Merritt like they did, but she
did
know who Caroline Brantley was. Everyone did.
    “If Miss Caroline was going to answer to anyone, it would be Evelyn,” Missy said. “Nobody crosses Evelyn. Not even me.” And they all laughed, as Lucy ushered them to the dining room table.
    And so it went. They ate, talked, drank, and laughed. Arabelle didn’t pay much attention to the particulars. She was too busy watching her cell phone for a call from Will. Maybe she should call, or at least text. It was time for Avery to go to bed. Had she told Will what time? For sure, she hadn’t told him Avery had to have a pacifier in his mouth and another in his hand.
    Just as Lucy set a piece of chocolate cake as big as a raft in front her, she reached for the phone. Then she hesitated. Maybe she would just go home. She’d been here almost an hour. That was long enough.
    “He can handle it, you know,” Missy said.
    “What?” Arabelle looked up. “Are you talking to me?”
    “I am. Will can handle it.” There was some sympathy in her voice, which was unusual. “At first you think they can’t, but they can.”
    “I should go.” Arabelle rose. She did not need to sit here and be lectured by Missy Bragg.
    “Oh, Arabelle,” Lanie said. “We haven’t talked about Saturday at all. At least eat your cake. Did you talk to Gail?”
    Defeated, Arabelle sat back down. Lanie was smart. She knew to end with a question. Polite people answered questions and Arabelle was polite.
    “I did talk to Mother. And Daddy.” She took a bite of the cake. Might as well. She almost gave an involuntary little groan of her own. It was moist, fudgy, and the icing was studded with toasted pecans. It was the best thing she had ever tasted. “Mother wasn’t delighted with the timing, but I told her I didn’t want any fuss.”
    That conversation had been just about as dandy as the one she’d had with Luke, but she’d stood her ground and, in the end, it had been easy enough to get them on board. First, Daddy liked Will. Second, they’d been worried about her since Sheridan’s death and they chose to take this as a sign that she was in a better place.
    If only they knew.
    “I almost forgot,” Arabelle went on. “She was going to call you, Lanie, but I told her I’d tell you. She’ll be here tomorrow. She said to call if it’s not okay for her to stay at the farm. Daddy will be here Friday.”
    “Of course it’s fine,” Lanie said. And wasn’t it just? There wasn’t one thing in this universe that wasn’t fine with Lanie. “Wonderful, in fact. We have lots to do!”
    Arabelle almost asked what and then she remembered. Lanie thought they were going to make a real wedding.
    “What can we do to help?” Lucy asked. “I’m pretty good at decorating.”
    “I could make some food,” Missy said. “Are you having a whole meal or just finger food? What time? Will the reception be at the farm? If it’s early enough, a brunch would be nice. I can handle that all by myself.”
    Tolly said, “I’m no good at cooking or decorating but I’m great support staff and I’ll help in any way I can. So will Nathan. We can run errands.”
    And to be sure there would be lots of errands if this were a real wedding. Arabelle knew all about that. There had been so much to do for Carrie’s and Sheridan’s weddings. And there had been parties, cake tastings, and dress fittings. But there would be none of that.
    Then something else hit her.
    These people thought they were coming to this wedding. Not going to