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wait-before you go, come see Lexie’s ring.”
The ring. Women the world over loved to ogle the ring, even more than they loved saying the word fiancée.
Rachel walked over. With her auburn hair and reedlike figure, she was as appealing as ever, although Jeremy thought she seemed more tired than usual. In high school, Rachel and Lexie had been best friends, and although still close-it was impossible not to be close in a town this size-they’d drifted apart when Lexie went off to college. She eyed the ring.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “Congratulations, Lex. And you too, Jeremy. The whole town’s been in a tizzy since they found out.”
“Thanks, Rach,” Lexie said. “How are things going with Rodney?”
Rodney, a local deputy sheriff with a penchant for weightlifting, had pined for Lexie since they were kids and hadn’t been all that happy when Lexie and Jeremy became an item. Had it not been for the fact that he started dating Rachel soon afterward, Jeremy was pretty sure Rodney would have preferred that Jeremy stay in New York City.
Rachel’s gaze faltered. “They’re going.”
Lexie watched her, knowing not to push. Rachel brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat, but it’s a zoo out there. I have no idea why you let the mayor use this place for these meetings. People get crazy when it comes to hush puppies and bingo. See y’all later. Maybe I’ll have some more time to chat.”
As soon as she left, Lexie leaned toward Doris. “Is she okay?”
“Oh, it’s her and Rodney,” Doris said. She waved a hand as if it were old news. “They had some sort of spat a couple days ago.”
“Not on account of me, I hope.”
“No, no, of course not,” Doris assured her, but Jeremy wasn’t convinced. Despite the fact that Rodney was dating Rachel, Jeremy had no doubt that he was still sweet on Lexie. Crushes, even in adulthood, were never easily forgotten, and the argument seemed to coincide with the news of their engagement.
“Well, here you are!” said Mayor Gherkin, interrupting Jeremy’s thoughts. Gherkin, overweight and balding, was color-blind when it came to clothing. Tonight he wore purple polyester pants, a yellow shirt, and a paisley tie. The consummate politician, he never seemed to draw a breath while speaking. And speak he did-the man was a veritable typhoon of words.
Not surprisingly, Gherkin was still going on.
“. . . hiding away in the back . . . why, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were making secret plans to elope and deprive this town of the ceremony it rightly deserves.” He lumbered over, grasped Jeremy’s hand, and pumped it up and down. “Good to see you. Good to see you,” he said almost as an afterthought, before continuing on. “I’m thinking the town square under the lights, or maybe right there on the library steps. With enough hoopla and a little planning, we might be able to get the governor to swing by. He’s a friend of mine, and if it coincides with his campaign, well, you never know.” He stared at Jeremy with his eyebrows raised.
Jeremy cleared his throat. “We haven’t even discussed the wedding yet, but actually, we were thinking about something more low-key.”
“Low-key? Nonsense. It’s not every day that one of our town’s most prominent citizens marries a genuine celebrity, you know.”
“I’m a journalist, not a celebrity. I thought we’d been over this-”
“No need to be modest, Jeremy. I can see it now. . . .” He squinted as if he actually could. “Today, columns for Scientific American; tomorrow, your own talk show, beamed to a worldwide audience from right here in Boone Creek, North Carolina.”
“I highly doubt-”
“You’ve got to think big, my boy. Big. Why, without dreams Columbus would never have sailed to the New World, and Rembrandt would never have picked up a paintbrush.”
He slapped Jeremy on the back, then leaned down and kissed Lexie on the cheek. “And you are even lovelier