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cream parlor, bookstore, and antique shop. Pulling his truck to the curb across the street from the Wind Chime Café, he cut the engine and opened the driver’s side door.
    The beams of the front porch were covered in homemade wind chimes. They filled the air with a quirky combination of clinks, clangs, and rings as he stepped out of the truck. He waved to the pretty redhead sweeping the porch and made his way across the street.
    “You’re just in time,” Annie Malone said. “Della’s about to pull a cake out of the oven.”
    He ducked under a low hanging oak branch covered in bright green leaves. “What kind of cake?”
    “White chocolate almond with vanilla bean icing.”
    “Sounds fancy.”
    “She’s still testing out recipes for Becca’s wedding.”
    Right, Colin thought. The wedding. It was hard to come into the village these days without being reminded of the upcoming celebration. There was a sign on the sidewalk outside the ice cream parlor advertising “I Do” sundaes, “Meant to Be” milkshakes, and “Happily Ever After” waffle cones. The window display of Gladys’ Flower Shop had turned into an explosion of white flowers. Even the Sail Winds Bookstore had replaced its usual collection of nautical themed hardbacks for stacks of classic love stories and books on how to plan the perfect wedding.
    It wasn’t every day that someone on the island got married. He understood why everyone was making such a big deal about it. There was a time, not too long ago, when he’d actually enjoyed weddings.
    But after his own engagement had come to a grinding halt—and he’d had plenty of time to think about how easy it had been for his fiancée to give him his ring back and derail their future when he’d been laid up in bed for weeks recovering from surgery—he’d begun to view the entire institution as a joke.
    What was the point in spending so much time and effort on one day to celebrate a union that probably wouldn’t even last?
    Hoping to get a moment’s reprieve from the wedding fever this island had fallen under, he climbed the steps to the porch and peered through the open door of the café for a glimpse of whatever specials Will’s aunt, Della Dozier, had whipped up that day. When he spotted the counter and dining tables covered in white bows, boxes of silver bells, and reams of ivory lace, he groaned. “This whole island has gone wedding crazy.”
    Annie Malone laughed. “Becca’s insisting on doing everything herself. The least we could do was offer to help with the decorations.” She gave him a friendly hug, then stepped back, smiling. “But we might have gotten a little carried away.”
    Colin shook his head at the dining room filled with craft supplies. “I ran into Becca at the inn this afternoon. It was the first time I’ve seen her in months.”
    Annie reached up to adjust the strings of a chime that had gotten tangled. “How did she seem to you?”
    “She seemed okay.” He watched her closely for signs that she might have already heard about the threat to the school. “Why?”
    “She’s been pretty overwhelmed lately,” Annie said. “I know she’s got a lot going on right now with the wedding and the move, but I think it’s starting to take a toll. I’m worried about her.”
    Colin reached up, helping her untangle the strings that were too high for her to reach. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Moves are always stressful.”
    “True.” Annie stepped back, picking up the broom to finish sweeping the porch. “She’s been planning this wedding for so long. She probably just wants everything to be perfect.”
    He nodded, reassured that Annie’s concerns about Becca had nothing to do with the school. “So,” he said, leaning his shoulder against a whitewashed porch beam. “What’s he like?”
    “Who?”
    “Becca’s fiancé.”
    “Tom?” Annie glanced back up, surprised. “You’ve never met him?”
    Colin shook his head.
    Annie hesitated, then went back to