“What are you talking about?”
“Like it didn’t kill you to let me put it in the truck yesterday? I practically had to pry it out of your hands. And I know you’re worried about it now.”
“Do you realize how much it would cost for me to replace everything in that case?”
He stared her down and plowed right through her poor excuse. “Really?”
She sighed. “The whole reason I’m here is to help Vivien have the wedding of her dreams. They’ll be taking pictures of this moment, pictures they’ll hang up in their home and have for the rest of their lives. I just want everything to be as beautiful as it possibly can be.”
He looked over at her, and they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. A rhythmic sound of rocking waves and ice dancing on the shore carried over. Her own heart thumped a little faster as Duke turned to her, his stare so intense she couldn’t turn away.
Yes, the man had special powers.
“I’ll say it again. You really don’t need the makeup. And maybe what some consider flaws are really the things that make someone unique. A different kind of beauty.”
The soft, solid stillness in his voice made her believe it. But really, what did he know?
“You don’t believe me.”
She sipped her cocoa and looked away from his too observant gaze. “I know you’re talking about my scars, but let me tell ya, there’s nothing beautiful about them. They’re ugly. And most people can’t handle the ugly. Certainly not any of the men I know.”
Especially since Duke Lowry had only seen a glimpse of them, not the whole package.
“I see the ugliness of society every day in my job. So I’m kind of an expert at it. And I can tell you this, Zuri. Real ugliness can’t be covered up. You can’t make a dump heap not stink no matter how much you try to make it look nice on the outside.”
“Are you really comparing me to a dump?” Please, change the subject. “How romantic.”
But he didn’t smile. “All I’m saying is, the scars on your skin can’t deter from the true woman you are inside. And even though we just met, I haven’t seen anything ugly about you yet. Annoyingly chipper, maybe. But not ugly.”
She laughed, probably too loud, because oh, how something inside leaped at Duke’s words. This wasn’t fair. Even though she’d set out to burrow past his icy shell, he was turning the tables on her.
Which only smacked of another broken heart for her when he discovered the truth.
CHAPTER 5
THURSDAY, 9:03 A.M.
It was official. Duke was the worst best man ever.
He’d lost the ring.
The weak sun streaming in the window shone a spotlight on the clothes strewn all over the cabin while he searched. When Duke checked the pockets of the pants he’d worn yesterday and came up empty once again, dread pooled in his middle.
How were Vivie and Boone supposed to get married without the ring?
He’d had it when he grabbed the tuxes and when he picked up the Mustang yesterday. He’d double-checked after showing Megan and putting the velvet box back in his inner coat pocket.
He sank down to the bed. It had to have fallen out of his coat when he threw it in the passenger seat of the Mustang on his way back to Evergreen. It was the only place it could be. Probably sitting on the newly vacuumed floor mats under that front seat.
Duke texted Cole. Any word on the Mustang?
Sorry. Not a thing. But we’re all keeping an eye out.
But it wasn’t their job. It was his. He tossed his phone on the bed and scrubbed his hands down his face. How had he messed this up so badly? Boone was going to kill him.
For some reason Zuri’s hopeful face came to mind. But now was not the time to think about how she’d slipped past his defenses. How he actually enjoyed walking around town with her.
Now was the time to start asking around the resort and see what kinds of clues he could kick up. But that meant talking to people. And for that, he needed coffee. He grabbed his coat and keys and drove to the Java Cup. Hopefully it would be open this time.
It was open, all right. Apparently, everyone else in Deep Haven wanted coffee too, because the line wound around the coffee shop.
Duke sighed as he stood behind an older man in a green parka, who reminded him a little of Harrison Ford. He turned around and offered a sympathetic smile. “Long line,” he said with a shrug.
The way everything was going, Duke should be used to it. “Yeah, I really don’t have time for this, but if I don’t get some caffeine, I’ll never make it through this day.”
The man nodded like he got it. “You can go in front of me if you want.” He stepped to the side, letting Duke take his spot.
Wow. People did that? “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Now that he took a closer look at the man’s build and coat, he looked familiar. “Do I know you from somewhere?”
“Probably not. I’m here on vacation. Staying with my family at Evergreen Resort a little ways out of town.”
What do ya know? Something finally going his way. “I’m staying at Evergreen too.” Duke shook the man’s hand and introduced himself. And no better time to start canvasing the resort guests.
“Bob Brown.”
“Say, you didn’t happen to see someone around the resort driving a red vintage Mustang yesterday afternoon, did you?”
Bob shook his head. “No. I would’ve remembered seeing a classic like that. Is your car missing?”
“Something like that.” Not that Bob needed to know the logistics of it. “It’s not my car. It belongs to a friend and went missing from the resort garage yesterday.” Duke studied the man for a reaction. No flicker of panic or recognition flashed across Bob’s features. He didn’t know anything.
Instead, both men moved forward in line. Duke ordered his triple shot latte and waited at the other end of the counter for his drink.
So much for that.
He went to the small counter and was doctoring his coffee with a couple packs of sugar when Bob approached again.
“Have a little faith. Christmas is the time of miracles. One might show up where you least expect it.”
Oh good, another optimist. Duke kept his mouth shut and looked around for an open table.
But the older man must’ve sensed his skepticism. “It couldn’t hurt to ask for guidance. If you’re a believing man, send up a prayer. God is, after all, in the business of finding lost things.”
Yeah, right. The last time he prayed for a miracle, God was silent.
His mama had believed until the very end, though.
One way or another, I will be healed, Duke. Don’t stop believing just because I’ll be in glory. Goodness knows, with the life I’ve lived, that itself is a miracle.
But it wasn’t the miracle Duke had wanted.
Bob said it couldn’t hurt to pray. But he was wrong. It hurt to hope. To believe despite the odds. And it was downright agonizing to have hope extinguished when reality crashed in and those prayers went unanswered.
But walking around with Zuri last night, thinking of how his mother would’ve loved all the lights around town…well, he was tempted to try again. And he obviously needed all the help he could get. Maybe if God wouldn’t do it for him, He’d listen for Boone’s and Vivien’s sakes.