Page 46 of Moonshine and Magnolias
The question caught Wendy off guard. “No, sir.”
“Oh. I thought we were meeting here, and I’m late. Do you know where she is?” A beeping sounded from his back pocket and he took out a flip phone. It looked tiny in his hand, and Wendy held back a smile at the dated technology. He stared at the message then nodded. “She changed the place. I better get going, since I’m already late.”
Wendy managed to not ask why they were meeting. Mr. Mitchell wasn’t dressed in rags, but he wasn’t young and didn’t look like the smooth, affluent men Brandi gravitated to. Besides, he wore a wedding ring, and her cousin had some standards. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“You, too. You take care now.” He gave a half-wave, then left the shop.
“Was that weird, or is it just me?” Jordan asked once the door closed.
“Right?” Wendy asked.
“It’s obvious she doesn’t want us to know what’s going on, or she would have said something.”
“So we should respect that.”
“Absolutely.” Jordan nodded, then picked up a paper from the table.
“Do you think they’re…” Wendy trailed off, knowing her friend would fill in the blank.
“He’s so much older than her normal.”
“And he’s married, if the ring on his finger is accurate.”
“We should stop speculating. I would have expected her to hook up with one of your single male guests.” Jordan glanced over at the counter and raised her brows. “Speak of the devil.”
Wendy followed her gaze to Rob Upshaw ordering something at the counter. Her insides both tensed up and melted. As much as she would have loved to avoid seeing him today, meeting in a public place was good. In front of Jordan was good. Getting his dysfunction out of her head was good.
He turned, hesitated when he saw her before approaching their table.
Jordan was right about the altercation. Reddish bruises circled half his mouth and his lip was cut. Although the color was more vivid compared to where she had clocked him with a peach, it didn’t look like he needed any kind of medical care.
“Well, this is a surprise, Dr. Upshaw.” She kept her voice personable and upbeat. “How was the tour? Did one of the kids beat you up? Your lip looks bruised.”
His eyes glided over her as if assessing her well-being. “I think I had as much fun as they did. I can email you something if you want an official report.”
“That sounds good. Are you here because your brother consumed all the coffee?” Good. Be smooth. She even showed how cool she was by casually leaning back in the booth, ignoring the swirls in her stomach and fighting the gravitational pull of his crotch and his situation.
He grinned and gave a quick laugh, the sound relaxing her nerves. “Nothing so earth-shattering. He’s following up on some research and we’re going to meet here when he’s done.” He gestured around Cuppa Joe’s. “Your aunt told us about this place, claimed the coffee was good enough to calm even Hal’s caffeine beast.”
“Oh.” Wendy’s heart bounced around in a way it had never done before and she caught her breath. Damn the man. Her body screamed for his to be pressedagainst her and she willed herself to be still. She stuffed a bite of pound cake in her mouth.
“I should—” Jordan started to rise from her chair but Wendy opened her eyes wide in protest. She wasn’t ready to be alone with him. She had to prepare, figure out what to say and plan her comeback to his responses.
Her friend saved her and finished a different sentence. “—get started on my spreadsheets.”
Wendy spoke quickly to keep her real thoughts from being voiced. “This is my friend, Jordan Shoenover. Jordan, Dr. Upshaw.”
“Call me Rob. Dr. Upshaw is a mouthful and I’m tired of hearing it.”
“Well, then, Rob.” Jordan emphasized his name, shooting Wendy an amused look. “Why don’t you sit down and join us. Did you walk into a peach tree earlier? Do you need something for those scrapes?”
It’s a good thing she was sitting out of Wendy’s range. Kicking her friend seemed a viable course of action at this moment. “Unless you have something else to do.”
He didn’t take the hint and slid into the booth next to her. Even with the longer seat, she felt comfortably trapped between his fresh scent and the wall. She waited for the onslaught of nerves to take over in a panic but they never appeared.
Huh.
Rob gently touched the cut on his lip. “I’ll be fine. What are you guys doing?”
