Page 68 of Love Off-Limits
“You know you could just talk to him,” Kelly said from where she sat beside me, our empty dinner plates on the table in front of us. “People wouldn’t care if you’re just talking.”
“No way. Perry already thinks I’ve been slacking off work to text him all the time.”
“Why? Because you’ve been slacking off work to text him all the time?” she said dryly.
I threw a potato chip at her, hitting her left cheekbone. “I have not been slacking off. But Perry has an uncanny ability to turn anything into ammunition if given the chance. I’m not going to make it easy for him. Especially since Dad’s here.”
“Okay. Fair enough. I still think it’s weird you’re avoiding each other. Especially since your family all know there’s something going on between you.”
“They don’tallknow.”
She leveled me with one of her patent Kelly stares. “Olivia. I’ve been watching them watch you both all night. It’s like they’re at a ping-pong tournament, their eyes darting back and forth from you to him to you again. It’s been highly entertaining, honestly. Ridiculous, but entertaining.”
“Let’s talk about you!” I said, smiling sweetly. “That sounds like fun. Why aren’tyoutalking to Joe?”
“I could be talking to Joe,” she said. “Except I don’t want to be. So really, it’s an entirely different situation.”
I looked to where Joe leaned against one of the pavilion posts, his arms crossed over his chest as he talked to Perry. “He looks nice tonight.”
Kelly lifted one shoulder. “Meh. If you like the type.”
“One of these days I’m going to figure out why you’re playing so hard to get. He’s a nice guy and you know it.”
She pursed her lips. “Heisa nice guy,” she finally said. “And maybe that’s the problem. Joe Bailey will play for keeps. He’s looking for a wife—he doesn’t date around, Liv. I’ve asked everybody I could think to ask, and he doesn’t, and I’m just...” She finally took a breath. “What if I’m not ready for all that?”
Sothatwas the issue. “What if by the time you finally are, he’s found someone else?”
She swung her strawberry blonde ponytail over her shoulder. “Then I’d wish him well with whoever she was.” She sniffed. “The little tramp.”
“Kelly!”
We laughed together until Lennox approached and dropped his arm across my shoulders. “Want to take a walk?” he asked. “I need to burn off the five thousand calories of ribs I just ate.”
“You walking all the way to Bailey Farm?” Kelly asked.
Lennox stood tall and patted his stomach. “It might take that far.” He looked at me. “Or maybe just to the farmhouse and back.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Felicity?”
“Fawning over Flint. I think he’ll keep her occupied for a little while.”
I caught Tyler’s eye as we moved out of the pavilion, and he smiled, warming my heart and making my stomach swoop.
“Does that bother you?” I asked Lennox as we walked up the sidewalk away from the pavilion. “The fawning?”
“Nah. I trust Flint, first of all. So even if she were stupid enough to try something with him, he’d never go for it. Second of all, I...just don’t really care that much.”
I pulled my hair back and piled it on top of my head as we walked, enjoying the breeze hitting my neck. The air was thick with humidity and the temperature warmer than normal, even for July. “I don’t know if I should be annoyed or impressed.”
He lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe if I thought Felicity was actually the one, it would bother me more.”
“You’re sure she’snotthe one, and you still brought her to a family picnic?”
“It’s not exactly a family picnic. There are a hundred people here.”
“A hundred people that include your entire family,” I said.
“Meh. She was excited to meet Flint. And we can still enjoy each other’s company even if we never go out again.”
