The Wedding Wish

not just talking the body. I mean the mind, and the great sense of humor, and the way you can make almost anybody feel at ease. It’s definitely not you.”
    Isabel appreciated that her friend was being so kind, but if it wasn’t her, then what was it? Only one explanation remained. Okay, maybe two.
    Cindy widened her eyes. “He’s not…? I mean, could it be he’s simply not into women?”
    Isabel sighed. “I don’t get that vibe from him at all. In fact, the vibe I get is that he is into me. Only he never wants to act on it.”
    “Hmm.”
    “Yeah. It’s strange.”
    “Well, this can’t go on forever,” Cindy told her. “You know how relationships are. They either move forward, or they blow apart.”
    “Unless he thinks of us as just friends.”
    “You just said you didn’t get that vibe.”
    “No.”
    “Maybe there is someone else.”
    “Yeah.”
    “I think you should come right out and ask him.”
    Isabel felt a twisting inside her telling her that if she did, she might not like the answer. The more time she spent with Robert, the more she realized she liked him. Liked maybe even wasn’t the right word. Robert was smart, generous and fun to be around, and, goodness knew, unbearably handsome. The hard fact was Isabel was becoming desperately attracted—and way too attached to the idea of forming an involvement with him for more than just the short term.
    When she’d been a young girl, spending her life with Robert was all she could dream of. Someday they’d no longer be kids. They’d be grown-ups, with real jobs and big plans. Plans that concerned them settling down and building a family together. Each time her mom had dragged her to another neighborhood wedding, little Isabel had come home with a piece of wedding cake to tuck under her pillow. Superstition said that the man you dreamed of was the man you would marry. But Isabel only ever dreamed of one boy. She’d forgotten all about those dreams and early feelings until she’d started getting to know Robert again. And now that those old emotions had returned, they’d arrived in full force. Isabel could no more stop her heart from falling for Robert than she could halt a runaway train. “But what…?” Her lips trembled. She pressed them together to steady them. “What if he says that there is? That there is someone else?”
    Cindy laid a hand on her arm to comfort her. “Then, it’s better to know now. Don’t you think?”
    Isabel met her best friend’s eyes, knowing Cindy was right. “It really stinks being a grown-up sometimes.”
    “I know it does,” Cindy said, leaning forward. “But at least we can be grown-ups together.” Her face was etched with sympathy. “And if he gives you bad news, I don’t want you to think your world has ended. Because, let’s face it, Isabel, you’re a great girl. Plus, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you… A career. A future. And someday, yes, someday, you’re going to find a way to share it with the perfect guy.”
    Isabel felt like she’d already found the perfect guy. Perfect for her in so many ways. The only question was, did Robert feel the same way about her?

    Early the following Sunday morning, Isabel found herself at the shore with Robert. They’d spent a wonderful evening having a picnic in the park before an outdoor movie screen. They hadn’t watched an action film or a chick flick this time, but rather a classic oldie instead. It had been a fun and refreshing story, one of those old wartime love stories from long ago. As the last scene faded, closing on a couple kissing on a beach, Robert had taken her hand. “Let’s go somewhere,” he’d said. “Do you want to?”
    “What do you have in mind?” she’d asked him. And when he’d said the beach, Isabel had found it impossible to say no. She loved the majesty and romance of the seashore and always had since she was a kid. It was a four-hour drive, but she didn’t mind, as long as she was taking it with him. They’d driven mostly in silence, listening to funky jazz tunes on the radio that caused her heart to pulse in rhythm just at the thought that he was still holding her hand. She had to brave the question, and she knew it. As soon as they got to the shore, she was prepared to ask him. But then they’d gotten there, and everything had been so beautiful as he led her across the dunes and down to an empty stretch of sand.
    “You know what I like about being here?” he asked her. “I like the fact