Page 15 of Sipping Seduction
“Anything I can do to help?” Reluctantly, I released her and studied her face. She looked tired. The first week of school was always an adjustment, but there was something else going on.
She shook her head. “Not unless you know of a short-term rental that will let me bring a dog.”
“Why do you need a short-term rental?” I slid my beer across the table. She looked like she could use a sip or two, even with the gluten.
“Thanks.” She lifted the glass to her lips and gulped down a swallow. “Let me fill you in on my plumbing situation.”
Pappy brought over an order of deviled eggs on the house. Then Frannie launched into a convoluted explanation of what her landlord told her and why she needed to relocate for at least thirty days.
“That’s ridiculous. Is he going to put you up somewhere?”
She shook her head. “No. He gave me a super sweet deal on my rent since both of his grandsons are students at Beaver Bluff Elementary. There’s nothing about that in my lease, and I can’t ask him to cover my rent on something short term. That would cost him a fortune, and he’s already having to pay to replumb a whole house.”
That was Frannie. She always put other people first. Anyone else would be bitching and moaning about having to relocate, but she was worried about her landlord having to shell out the money for repairs on a house he owned.
“You can stay with me.” The offer flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to think it over.
“I can’t ask you to do that.” She shook her head, but I could tell by the hope that flashed through her eyes that she might seriously consider it.
It was the perfect solution. I’d get one-on-one time with Frannie and possibly be able to scare off whoever she’d been seeing. “Why not? I’ve got an extra bedroom. There’s plenty of space.”
Her head tilted back, and she stared at the ceiling. “I’ve got Pete the Dog to think about.”
“He can come too.” I wanted to do this for her, to be the man who came through for her in a time of need. I reached across the table and covered her hands with mine, pulling her attention back to me. “You’d do the same for me.”
She held my gaze. I stared into her eyes, wishing I could tell her how I felt about her, how I’d always felt. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Frannie deserved someone who could give her everything. Until I could be that man, I wouldn’t let on to my true feelings about her.
“There’s something I need to tell you, Evan. Something you’re not going to like.” She bit down on her lip and shifted her gaze to the table.
Pappy picked that moment to deliver our baskets of burgers. Frannie jerked her hands away from mine as soon as he reached the table. “Here you go. The whiskey burger and fries for you, and the lettuce-wrapped California burger for the lady. Y’all need anything else right away?”
“I think we’re set. Thanks, Pappy.” She gave him a grateful smile.
“Always a pleasure, darlin’.” He scurried off, unaware that he’d picked the absolute worst time to interrupt the conversation.
I wasn’t about to let the subject change. “What were you saying about something you need to tell me?”
Frannie picked up her pickle spear and set it in my basket, just like she did every Friday night. “Let’s eat before our food gets cold. I’ll tell you after dinner.”
I wasn’t okay with that, but I’d let her handle things at her own pace. While my mind raced with dozens of possibilities, we made small talk about her first week of school. Then I filled her in on the latest news from the lab. We wouldn’t hear back about whether the new lab had determined the strain of yeast our ancestors used for a little while yet, but Cole was hopeful he’d get some answers on how to recreate Devil’s Distinct.
Finally, after I’d downed my burger and Frannie had finished as much of hers as she could, I leaned back against the booth. “It’s time. Tell me what’s on your mind, Frannigan.”
She smiled at the nickname I’d been calling her for the past twenty years and slowly lifted her gaze to meet mine. “I’m just going to say it, okay? Once it’s out there, we can talk about it, but just let me get it out without interrupting me.”
I nodded encouragement, though the whiskey burger I’d just inhaled plunged to the bottom of my stomach like a giant boulder. What if I was way off base? What if she’d been diagnosed with something awful? What if she got a new job and was moving away?
“I’ve started seeing someone. He’s really nice, and we have a lot in common.”
My cheeks went ice cold, then flipped to blazing hot as I focused on keeping the hurt out of my voice. “That’s great. Why would you think I’d be mad about that?” Besides the fact that she belonged with me, which I wasn’t comfortable sharing quite yet.
“Evan…” She glared at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “I asked for you to let me finish before you said anything.”
“Sorry.”
She looked away. Her gaze flitted to the wall, to the ceiling, to the bar where Pappy was entertaining a few out-of-towners, and finally back to the table. “His name is Andrew. Andrew Stewart.”
It took a moment for the name to sink in. I didn’t know an Andrew, but… fuck me sideways… “You’re dating a Stewart?”
