Chapter Thirty-One Olivia
After watching Zack disappear around the bend, taking the trail that cut across the island to the yacht club, Olivia had continued her search for Marigold, picking Natalie up along the way.
Olivia wasn’t quite ready to forgive her sister’s duplicitous maid of honor, but they’d deal with that later, after they found the missing bride.
But without the ability to go off-roading, there’d been no way to follow Marigold into the woods.
After a fruitless search of the shoreline, they’d decided that Olivia would drive Natalie (and Marigold’s wedding dress) to the yacht club just in case…
well, just in case someone pulled off a miracle.
And then Olivia would drive to the cottage to continue the search for Marigold herself.
“Are you sure you have enough battery to get home?” Natalie asked, surveying the golf cart’s power meter warily as she slid out of the passenger seat, clutching the dress.
“Yes, it’ll be fine. There’s always a buffer,” Olivia said. “Now go look for Marigold inside and report back.”
Olivia clutched her phone for the entire fifteen-minute drive back to the cottage, sighing when Natalie texted, still no sign of her.
I have to talk to her, Olivia thought, glancing up at the sky as if looking for something to pray to.
She had to apologize for what she’d said about Lulu, for stamping on Marigold’s already-bruised heart on what was turning out to be the worst day of her sister’s life.
As Olivia approached the cottage’s gravel driveway, the cart sputtered to a stop in the middle of the road.
“Goddammit.” Olivia hit the steering wheel, then climbed out and began to jog up the driveway.
She’d deal with it later. Right now, all that mattered was finding her sister.
But as she scoured the cottage, calling Marigold’s name, she was met only by silence.
Marigold wasn’t there, nor were Lulu or Bill.
She trudged back out onto the front porch and leaned against the doorframe.
She was out of options. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and called her mother.
“Hey… I’m looking for Marigold.”
“She’s with us,” Lulu said in a tone Olivia couldn’t fully read.
She sounded tired but not particularly tense.
Had Marigold confronted her about stopping treatment?
Was Lulu angry that Olivia had broken her promise not to say anything?
And what had Marigold told her about her fight with Jonathan? “We’re on our way to the yacht club.”
“Okay…” Olivia said slowly. “Should I… meet you there?” It was the closest she could come to asking, Is the wedding still on?
Lulu paused. “Yes, but there’s no need to rush. Marigold has a few things she needs to take care of.”
“Is she okay?”
Another pause. “Yes, I think so.”
“Are you okay?”
Lulu’s voice softened. “Of course. It’s just a party, Livvy. Everything’s fine. We’ll see you in a bit.”
“Okay. I’ll start walking. The cart is out of charge, and I—” The sound of crunching gravel caught her attention, and she looked up to see a man in tuxedo pants and a white dress shirt pushing a golf cart up the driveway, the back of his shirt drenched in sweat.
It was Zack, looking more ridiculous and undignified than should even be possible in a (rented) Armani suit, but weirdly also sexy as hell.
She couldn’t imagine Andrew pushing a golf cart like that in the midsummer sun, let alone in his wedding finery.
And suddenly, she realized she didn’t want to imagine Andrew doing anything anymore.
This was what Paula was talking about when she said, “That’s the kind of love you want, sweetheart. That’s all that really matters.”
This was the type of person she was talking about. A man who sent his friend’s future mother-in-law care packages in the hospital. Who acted with dignity and kindness even after being rejected by the woman he’d been crushing on.
“I gotta go. I’ll see you in a bit.” Olivia hung up, descended the front steps, and began to cross the lawn. “What are you doing?” she called.
“It was just sitting in the middle of the road. What if someone needed to get by?” Zack said, panting slightly as he pushed the cart up the final rise before letting it come to a stop by the charger next to the cottage.
“Ninety percent of the island is at the yacht club, waiting to see if this wedding actually happens. Trust me, no one’s walking away from the scandal of the century.
” Olivia watched him produce a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his forehead, then continued, “Have the guests figured out anything’s wrong? ”
“I’m not sure. But Carol is freaking out. Jonathan called me and asked me to swing by the cottage for some of Lulu’s Xanax. I passed the golf cart on my way over and figured I shouldn’t just leave it.”
“That was very thoughtful of you. Though probably not worth ruining your shirt for.”
Zack shrugged. “Any item of clothing that can’t withstand a little sweat isn’t worth holding on to.”
“What’s that? A quote from Chairman Mao?”
To her relief, he laughed. “How long will the cart take to charge?”
“About fifteen minutes, and we’ll have enough power to get to the club. Why don’t you head inside and get some water? I’ll grab the pills.”
Olivia headed upstairs to her mother’s bathroom, found the Xanax, then made her way down to the kitchen.
It was the only room in the cottage that looked entirely the same as it had in Olivia’s childhood.
Lulu couldn’t bear to remove the faded yellow wallpaper with its little white flowers, or replace the deep, old-fashioned sink, or purge any of the knickknacks on the counters and windowsills: the weird milk jug that held decades-old dried baby’s breath, the yellow-and-white antique cookie jar that never seemed quite clean enough to store actual cookies, the random soap dishes and vases that had been in the same spots for so long, they seemed more like barnacles on a ship than items that could be easily moved around.
Zack stood at the sink, gulping down a glass of water. He swallowed, refilled the glass, then kept drinking. “Sit down a sec.” Olivia took his arm and started to guide him over to the long wooden table that bore the scars of countless art projects and baking attempts gone wrong.
Zack hesitated. “I should get going. I don’t want to leave Jonathan alone for too long.”
“It’ll take you longer to walk there than it will to wait for the cart to charge.”
Zack followed her to the table, and they both took a seat on the vinyl chairs, the only items of furniture Lulu had taken from their pre-Bill apartment. “Pretty nutty day, huh?” Zack said, taking another, slower sip.
“Did you know there was something going on between Jonathan and Natalie?” Olivia asked.
“Jonathan swore nothing had happened before.”
“And you believe him.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“I don’t know what outcome I’m even hoping for at this point.” Olivia certainly didn’t relish the thought of her family facing two hundred bewildered guests, but that was a minor inconvenience, all things considered. “Going through with the wedding doesn’t feel like the right move, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. They’re both great people, but something about their relationship never felt organic to me. What about you?”
Olivia paused, considering this. “I don’t think I gave it enough thought, to be honest. I was so relieved Marigold had found this amazing guy to take care of her, I didn’t stop to think about whether she seemed happy.
” She gave Zack what she hoped was a meaningful look.
“We’re not always good at figuring out what we really want. ”
He raised his chin to meet her eye. “It’s never been a problem for me.”
Olivia felt herself blush. “I guess I’m not as evolved. Or self-aware. Whatever, who cares. All that matters is that I was a huge idiot. I’ve had a crush on Andrew for so long, it became a kind of habit. And it kept me from recognizing who I had real feelings for.”
“That Dylan guy, right? The guy from the bonfire?”
His delivery was so deadpan, it took her a beat to realize he was joking. “Nailed it. How could you tell?”
“Oh, the loathing in your eyes was a clear giveaway.”
“Loathing?”
“Yeah, the more you act like you despise someone, the more you secretly want to sleep with them. At least, that’s what I think… or what I hope.”
It’s not too late, Olivia thought. I haven’t ruined everything.
“I’m sorry I acted like last night was a mistake. I was confused and embarrassed and… I panicked. I never should’ve sent that email.”
“Yeah…” Zack rubbed the back of his neck. “That was a pretty rough thing to wake up to. But I figured you just didn’t want to ruin your chances with Andrew.”
“I wasn’t thinking about him at all,” Olivia admitted. “I think I was worried about messing things up with you.”
“Oh yeah? What things?” Zack cocked his head expectantly.
“Come on, are you really going to make me say it?”
“Say what?” Zack said, biting back a smile.
“Oh my god! I like you, okay? I really, really like you. I made a huge mistake. I don’t care about Andrew at all and I’m sorry for dicking you around.
It was unfair and unkind, and there’s no reason you should forgive me, but I’m hoping it’s not too late to…
” She trailed off and looked away, too embarrassed by her undignified speech to gauge his reaction.
She braced for him to respond with a joke, or worse, to sigh and explain that she’d missed her chance.
But he said nothing. Instead, he leaned forward, cupped the side of her face, and drew her toward him until their lips touched.
Olivia had never felt herself respond to a kiss like this before.
In an instant, every remaining ounce of tension in her body disappeared as a tingling warmth spread through her.
Zack wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer, kissing her more deeply.
Olivia shuddered and, overwhelmed by the intensity of her sudden need for him, leaned back with a laugh. “I guess I’ll take that as a yes, then?”