Wow. Carson hadn’t wasted any time.
“That’s wonderful!” Annie gushed. “Congratulations!”
“Congratulations,” Riley repeated. “He’s a lucky man to have you.”
Olivia held up her hand to show off a large diamond. Apparently finding the right type wasn’t as hard as Riley had supposed.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Olivia trilled. “It’s loose, so we have to resize it. I almost don’t want to because I don’t want to take it off my hand.”
She went on to tell them how she and Carson had been out to dinner, and he ordered some apple pie for dessert. Apple pie had becometheirdessert because of an inside joke. The diamond ring sat on top of her slice.
“I practically launched myself over the table to hug him,” Olivia said. “Everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing and clapped for us.” She laughed, her eyes lit with the memory. “He really shouldn’t have sprung that on me in a public place. I had to walk out of the restaurant with an ice cream stain on my dress.”
Annie clapped her hands together. “I’m so excited for you.”
“So am I,” Riley said. And she was. She absolutely was. But another part of her couldn’t help marveling that if things had worked out between her and Lucas, Olivia and she would’ve been sisters-in-law, proudly standing with the Clark family in the annual Christmas card photo.
Riley didn’t have any sisters. A sister-in-law was the best she could hope for.
But someone else would be Olivia’s sister-in-law.
Would Olivia become so busy with her new family and friends that little by little she’d stop caring about her Lark Springs roots? Would Riley be just someone that Olivia outgrew?
“When’s the date?” Riley asked. Her chest felt too tight, like something was pushing on it—impending reality, probably.
“Either January thirtieth or February fifteenth.” Olivia gave her ring one last appreciative twist and lowered her hand. “We have to be flexible on the off chance the Broncos go to the Superbowl, but no one expects them to this year, so probably January thirtieth.”
January thirtieth was only three months away. Was it possible to plan a wedding that quickly? “This January?” Riley asked.
“Yes,” Olivia said. “Carson doesn’t want to wait. We’ll have something simple in Lark Springs. A church ceremony with family and a few friends. Good thing he can afford to pay for rush delivery on a wedding dress.”
This meant Riley had less than three months to find a date for the event. How was she going to manage that? Well, she probably wasn’t, and Lucas would know that no decent guys were interested in her. She was the type of woman who had to rely on a roommate to set her up with guys who had sketchy backgrounds.
Was that the type of woman she actually was? Pathetic and unappealing. Hopeless.
Her future spread out before her in dismal detail. Her friends would find love and settle down. Riley would spend her life at work, come home to an increasing number of stray animals, and then die alone.
Olivia stopped in the middle of describing their honeymoon plans in the Caribbean. “Are you okay, Riley? You look like you’re crying.”
Riley had hoped that the tears about to spill over her lashes weren’t noticeable over the video call. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just so happy for you.”
Olivia cocked her head in question. “Are you sure?”
“Yep,” Riley said. “This is what happiness looks like.” She wiped her eyes.
Annie put her arm around Riley’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “Riley’s just had a lot of, um, happiness tonight.”
That didn’t even make sense, but Riley nodded and tried to smile. She didn’t want to tarnish Olivia’s moment.“You andCarson are the perfect couple. The wedding is going to be so beautiful.” She wiped her eyes again.
Annie patted Riley’s shoulder and sent Olivia a wide-eyed look. “Sometimes you have to practice crying for the event beforehand. I’ll probably break into tears soon myself.”
Nice attempt at a save.
Olivia didn’t buy it. “What’s really wrong with Riley?”
“It’s nothing,” Riley said. “You’ve got great news, and that’s what I want to talk about. I have nothing to complain about except for a stupid bad date. We shouldn’t waste one minute discussing that.”
“How bad was it?” Olivia asked.