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knows you well enough to guess that this has nothing to do with any of those things, does it?”
    No, Rose thought, Anne wasn’t the only one. RJ would have spotted it pretty quickly too.
    Of course, that thought didn’t make her feel any better.
    “There it is again,” Anne insisted, “the frown that hasn’t quit since your wedding shower. What’s going on? I want to help.”
    “Have you been taking investigating lessons from Gareth? How is he, anyway?”
    “He’s great. But changing the subject won’t work today.”
    Rose didn’t know what to tell her best friend. “It…it’s crazy.”
    Anne put a hand on her shoulder. “Whatever it is, it’s not crazy if it’s upsetting you.”
    Finally, Rose gave in and admitted, “It’s RJ.”
    Anne didn’t say anything for a long moment. “What about him?”
    Oh God, Rose couldn’t believe what she was about to say...but she had to tell someone or else she was going to burst.
    “I almost kissed him yesterday. And last Valentine’s Day, I did kiss him. And it was good. Really good. I…I’ve been thinking about him a lot.” She paused for a moment before admitting, “I can’t seem to stop thinking about him, actually.”
    “Well, obviously.”
    Rose paused at that. “What do you mean, ‘obviously’?”
    Anne gave her a knowing smile that had Rose wondering if she and RJ had been fooling anyone?
    “Sparks have always lit between the two of you. And he obviously cares a great deal for you.”
    “I care for him, too,” Rose said, “but I’m marrying Donovan. I can’t keep thinking about another man.”
    Anne was quiet for a few seconds, like she was trying to work out whether to say something. “Can I ask you a question without you getting angry?”
    “You’re my best friend. Of course you can.”
    “Why are you marrying Donovan?”
    Rose’s brain felt like it emptied out and then filled back up again too fast. “Why wouldn’t I marry him? He’s a great guy. He works hard in a business that helps people. He’s handsome. And he makes me feel safe. With Donovan, I’m never going to end up with the life my mother has.”
    “But do you love him?” Anne asked her.
    “Of course I do,” Rose shot back. Maybe just a little too quickly.
    Anne looked out the window to see that RJ was back, measuring up the ground outside the chalet. “It seems to me that a lot of the qualities Donovan has also apply to other people.”
    “No,” Rose disagreed. “Every time I’m in the same room with RJ lately it feels like the world is disappearing out from under me. The last thing I feel is safe with him.” She looked around at the hall, turning her back on where RJ was working because she couldn’t look at him without the knot twisting tighter in her stomach. “I can’t feel like this right before my wedding, Anne. Please, just tell me that it’s all going to be okay.”
    If there was one thing that she could rely on the world’s biggest optimist for, it ought to be that.
    “It will be okay,” Anne promised her. “Of course it will. Because if you really love Donovan, and if he’s the one your heart aches for every time he’s not there, then when you marry him everything will be fine.”
    And as Anne gave her one more hug before heading back to the dress, Rose tried desperately to pretend that her stomach hadn’t sunk further with each word her friend had said.

Chapter Seven
     
    RJ finished taking measurements out in the garden while watching Rose through the windows as he worked. She looked incredibly lovely in the wedding dress Anne had created.
    By the time he went back inside, she was in her skirt and blouse again. With her hair tied back, the whole ensemble looked just a little too formal, the way so many of Rose’s clothes did these days when he hadn’t persuaded her to work with him in the garden. With her sleeves rolled up or dirt-stained overalls on, she always looked so beautifully natural.
    Today, however, she looked so tense that