Page 24 of Make it Real
My eyes shot to his, and I witnessed up-close the realization break over his face.
I pointed a finger at him. “Forget you heard that.”
“Oh, it’s already locked away in my mind.” A smug smile curved along his mouth like he was plotting all the ways he could use my middle name against me.
“I’m sorry, Gran, but we need to be on our way.” Hearing its cue, my stomach growled into the silence, letting everyone know the nibbles I’d stolen from their snack assortment wouldn’t tide me over much longer.
“I’d love to keep chatting, but I should probably take Callie to dinner.” Jed smiled away at his adoring fans. “Ladies, it was a pleasure meeting y’all.”
They seemed unwilling to let us go, but we finally made it out the door and into the yard. I figured we shouldn’t talk about anything too close to the house for fear someone had an ear to the door, so I kept my mouth firmly shut as we walked across the grass. Jed went straight to the passenger side of his big black truck to open it for me. An older model, the inside smelled of lemony cleaner and something earthy. Mostly, though, I noticed the big jump from the ground to the passenger seat.
“Sheesh. Glad I didn’t wear a skirt.” The hike up would have exposed several extra inches of thigh. “This thing is a beast.”
“It isn’t lifted or anything.” Jed’s voice held way too much amusement as I gauged the least embarrassing method for climbing in. “I think you’re just petite.”
Making good use of the grip inside the door, I hauled myself into the seat. Wasn’t the most ladylike way anybody’d ever gotten into a vehicle, but I made it. Once settled, I glared at him.
“I prefer to think of myself as fun-sized.”
His smirk set off a wild fluttering in my chest.
“I’ll just bet you do.”
Closing the door for me, he walked around the cab and climbed in the driver’s side. He watched me for a second, twirling the ignition keys on a finger. “Not bad for a first foray into this fake dating thing.”
“Still think you’re up for it? That was just the beginning.”
The grin he flashed made me want to crawl across the center console and snuggle right up to him for the drive into town. A crazy thought…but a tempting one.
“Darlin’, I hate to tell you this, but your grandma and her friends don’t scare me. They’re going to love me.”
He started the truck, its engine rumbling to life in the night.
I sighed, recalling their dreamy-eyed stares. “Pretty much guaranteed.”
Just wasn’t sure now if that would make things easier, or infinitely harder.
EIGHT
jed
I’d never beena fan of awkward silences, but Callie Matheson seemed downright allergic to them. She talked the whole way into town, filling my truck with non-stop conversation.
“My gran is pretty much the Dorothy of theirGolden Girlsgroup: she can be stern, but she’s practical to the core. She balances out her realism by being extra fanciful about my love life.” She forced a laugh for emphasis. “Carmen is kind of the Sophia—she says what she wants and doesn’t think too hard about whether or not people want to hear it. Linda was a teacher like me. She’s extra supportive of me because of that, and I think of her a bit like Rose. Kindhearted and a little bit innocent.”
Reminded me of someone else I knew, in this very truck next to me.
“And Rita, as you can guess, is the Blanche. She can be shameless so, you know—watch out. I hope your hand’s recovered from all of her groping.”
“I’ve had worse.”
She laughed again, softer than before. “Sorry, I’m babbling on about my gran and her friends.”
“I need the intel. Although, I feel I should tell you, I’ve never seenThe Golden Girls.”
She spun her head around to goggle at me. “Are you serious right now?”
“It’s not on my must-watch list.”
