Page 16 of Marry Me

“Oh no. Then it’s a good thing you came to Froman’s withmeforyour first time. I’ve saved you from utter coffee boredom. This is fun coffee. It’s why we live.” She pointed at the glasses. “For things like this.”

Megan laughed, feeling lighter than she had in quite a while. “I’ll try to keep an open mind. How do I get at this thing exactly?” She came at the drink from over the top and then from the lip of the cup, but both seemed pretty daunting.

“Tongue or spoon to start. Your choice. After that it reverts to a regular drink. Straw or not. Up to you.”

Megan picked up the plastic spoon Allison had delivered along with their order and dived in, a happy kid after school. “There’s something refreshing to setting aside your entire afternoon and diving into a damn dessert.”

“Damn right there is,” Allison said. “It’s still weird to me that I’m hanging out with you in Froman’s. A few weeks back you were a myth, a legend, and now you’re my wedding planner, fourth-grade speaking guest, and coffee date.”

“I’d like to think we’re becoming friends, too,” Megan said. “Aren’t we?”

“Well, I can’t get presumptuous. But maybe this is how it’s done. Do you stay in touch with many of your clients after they’re married off?”

“You make it sound like they’re my children, and I’ve finally convinced a good man to take ’em off my hands.”

Allison earned herself whipped cream on her chin when her spoon collided with her laugh. “Well, now that’s always how I’m going to think of your job.” She grabbed a napkin. “No, but seriously. Do you? I didn’t want to assume friendship. Maybe I’m just one of the masses.”

“Some of them become my friends, sure. When you work closely on a very stressful project with someone, you can’t help but bond a little bit.”

“Like us now?”

Megan thought on it. “Actually, no. We haven’t had to make any difficult wedding decisions yet. The trauma is ahead.”

“I was referencing public speaking in front of fourth graders.”

Megan’s eyes went wide, and she found herself confessing. “I don’t often share my weaknesses as a matter of principle, but this talk today had me up late. I’ve spoken at women’s groups, small businessassociations, even college entrepreneurship classes. But the idea of nine-years-olds blinking back at me was scary as hell.”

“And there we go. Cue the trauma bonding,” Allison said and obviously savored the whipped cream from the spoon in her mouth.

The more time Megan spent with her, the more beautiful she became, and she was already pretty. Cultivating a friendship with Allison Hale, soon to be Allison Carmichael, wasn’t a bad idea. The toffee atop the latte was that she actually liked Allison. A lot. A thought hit. “I’m hosting a little girls’ night out happy hour at Shakers. You should come. Let off some of that fourth-grade steam.”

Allison seemed surprised by the invitation. “Oh, you don’t have to do that, just because I announced our newfound bond.”

“Trust me. No one ever pressured or influenced me to do anything. I’m a pretty independent woman, and I’d love for you to come out with us. Have a cocktail or, in your case, a hot fudge sundae or four.”

Allison looked a little nervous, which Megan had come to understand was her built-in self-doubt. “I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough for a cocktail. I tried one recently with my sister, and it went straight to my head. White wine?”

“I hear they’re stocked with that, too.”

Allison shifted her lips to the side and a small smile appeared. Megan was captivated by the transformation. “You know what? Maybe I will come out.”

“I hope you do. I’ll send you the Evite. No pressure.”

Allison pointed with her spoon. “How’s that Toffee Crunch Dream working out for you?”

She sighed. “I feel guilty as hell, but I’m also loving every moment of it.”

“My favorite moments in life.”

“Think you’ll dream about it?”

Allison’s mouth fell open. “You’re making fun of my beach dream, but it was actually really nice. You need to trust me on this. We were in heaven.”

Megan laughed. “I was actually just referencing the name of the latte. A pun. But I applaud your wholehearted defense of our dream life together.”

“Oh,” Allison said and turned tomato red. It was a sight to behold, and Megan couldn’t take her eyes off the overt cuteness. In fact, herown face heated uncharacteristically, and she dropped her gaze to her drink to regain her cool-as-a-cucumber default. In the midst of it all, she was very aware of how much she was enjoying her foray into Allison’s world and struck by the fact that she didn’t even know Allison existed until a few weeks ago.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” Allison reached into her bag and pulled out a certificate with Megan’s name written in swoopy calligraphy. “A token of our fourth-grade appreciation. You’ll want to frame that.”

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