a sheepish grin. “My birthday is next week.”
His eyes widened in surprise and his hand dropped. She felt a strange sense of loss without it.
“Really?” he asked, shaking his head. “Blair doesn’t seem like the type of woman to care about that sort of thing.”
“She’s not. We were all nine when we made the pact.”
“And they seriously went through with it? That’s why they got married?”
She shook her head and released a sigh. “No. They forgot about it. It was purely coincidence that they planned their weddings when they did.”
“So they got married according to the pact”—his voice trailed off as his eyes met hers and held them— “and you felt compelled to do the same.”
She glanced down at the table. “Something like that.”
“Oh, Lib.”
“It was stupid, I know. Idiotic. Moronic. I’m the—”
“Stop. It’s so you. I love it . . . even if you picked the wrong guy.”
She narrowed her eyes, waiting for the but. “You’re kidding.”
“Libby, I’ve never met anyone with more gusto for life. I love your quirky ideas and beliefs, and I love that you believe in palm reading and pacts made by nine-year-old girls. It’s who you are.”
“But Mitch got caught up in this disaster. I literally ran away from the altar.”
“Come on. It’s Mitch. How broken up can he be? I’m sure he’ll be far more upset if the Razorbacks don’t make the Cotton Bowl.”
She shook her head. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but what I did was wrong.”
“Okay, it was wrong. You screwed up, but you’re owning it. If you’re worried about Mitch, why don’t you give him a call to apologize?”
“I don’t have my phone.”
“I’d give you mine, but it’s dead. And in my hurry to pack, I forgot my charger.”
She shook her head, remembering that he was supposed to be thousands of miles away. “Why aren’t you in Seattle? You told Josh you weren’t coming.”
He gave her a sad smile. “Just like you, I realized I’d screwed up. I raced to make my flight . . . only to discover it was delayed. That’s why I was late.”
She tilted her head. “What about Donna? ”
“What about her?”
“I thought you had a thing with her.”
He shrugged again. “I canceled it.”
“If you were planning to come to the wedding, where’s your tux? You told me you were going to pick it up in Seattle because you changed your flight.”
“It’s in a garment bag in the trunk of the rental car. You didn’t expect me to wear it on the plane, did you?”
She lifted her eyebrows. “You do realize you’re talking to a woman who’s wearing a wedding dress in the Golden Cowboy Café?”
He laughed and she couldn’t help but laugh with him. Still, while she could live with the embarrassment, she couldn’t live with the guilt of hurting Mitch. Her laughter faded and she grew serious. “I still need to talk to him.”
Noah was quiet for a moment. “Do you know his number? Or is it just stored on your phone?”
“I know it.”
He slid out of the booth and walked over to the nearby table. The family of five sat watching them with great interest as Noah approached him. “I have a huge favor to ask.”
The wife stared up at him wide-eyed and the husband murmured, “Okay.”
“Libby here,” he pointed his thumb toward her. “She needs to make a phone call. And she got so freaking excited”—he stopped and looked down at the three kids at the table—“oh, damn. I just said freaking in front of your kids. Oh shit. I just said damn.”
Libby started to chuckle and the wife waved her hand, her gaze shifting back and forth between Noah and Libby. “They’ve heard worse. Go on.”
“Well, she got so excited at the idea of eating at the Golden Cowboy Café that she literally ran off and left her phone in Kansas City. Could she borrow yours? If you let her go outside and make a call, I’ll stay here as her deposit.”
“You can borrow mine if you’ll sit with us as a
His eyes widened in surprise and his hand dropped. She felt a strange sense of loss without it.
“Really?” he asked, shaking his head. “Blair doesn’t seem like the type of woman to care about that sort of thing.”
“She’s not. We were all nine when we made the pact.”
“And they seriously went through with it? That’s why they got married?”
She shook her head and released a sigh. “No. They forgot about it. It was purely coincidence that they planned their weddings when they did.”
“So they got married according to the pact”—his voice trailed off as his eyes met hers and held them— “and you felt compelled to do the same.”
She glanced down at the table. “Something like that.”
“Oh, Lib.”
“It was stupid, I know. Idiotic. Moronic. I’m the—”
“Stop. It’s so you. I love it . . . even if you picked the wrong guy.”
She narrowed her eyes, waiting for the but. “You’re kidding.”
“Libby, I’ve never met anyone with more gusto for life. I love your quirky ideas and beliefs, and I love that you believe in palm reading and pacts made by nine-year-old girls. It’s who you are.”
“But Mitch got caught up in this disaster. I literally ran away from the altar.”
“Come on. It’s Mitch. How broken up can he be? I’m sure he’ll be far more upset if the Razorbacks don’t make the Cotton Bowl.”
She shook her head. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but what I did was wrong.”
“Okay, it was wrong. You screwed up, but you’re owning it. If you’re worried about Mitch, why don’t you give him a call to apologize?”
“I don’t have my phone.”
“I’d give you mine, but it’s dead. And in my hurry to pack, I forgot my charger.”
She shook her head, remembering that he was supposed to be thousands of miles away. “Why aren’t you in Seattle? You told Josh you weren’t coming.”
He gave her a sad smile. “Just like you, I realized I’d screwed up. I raced to make my flight . . . only to discover it was delayed. That’s why I was late.”
She tilted her head. “What about Donna? ”
“What about her?”
“I thought you had a thing with her.”
He shrugged again. “I canceled it.”
“If you were planning to come to the wedding, where’s your tux? You told me you were going to pick it up in Seattle because you changed your flight.”
“It’s in a garment bag in the trunk of the rental car. You didn’t expect me to wear it on the plane, did you?”
She lifted her eyebrows. “You do realize you’re talking to a woman who’s wearing a wedding dress in the Golden Cowboy Café?”
He laughed and she couldn’t help but laugh with him. Still, while she could live with the embarrassment, she couldn’t live with the guilt of hurting Mitch. Her laughter faded and she grew serious. “I still need to talk to him.”
Noah was quiet for a moment. “Do you know his number? Or is it just stored on your phone?”
“I know it.”
He slid out of the booth and walked over to the nearby table. The family of five sat watching them with great interest as Noah approached him. “I have a huge favor to ask.”
The wife stared up at him wide-eyed and the husband murmured, “Okay.”
“Libby here,” he pointed his thumb toward her. “She needs to make a phone call. And she got so freaking excited”—he stopped and looked down at the three kids at the table—“oh, damn. I just said freaking in front of your kids. Oh shit. I just said damn.”
Libby started to chuckle and the wife waved her hand, her gaze shifting back and forth between Noah and Libby. “They’ve heard worse. Go on.”
“Well, she got so excited at the idea of eating at the Golden Cowboy Café that she literally ran off and left her phone in Kansas City. Could she borrow yours? If you let her go outside and make a call, I’ll stay here as her deposit.”
“You can borrow mine if you’ll sit with us as a
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