Page 27 of The Marriage Deal
“That’s his name.” Dad snaps his fingers. “Honey, you nearly burned the school down.”
“It was a test tube fire. You’re exaggeratingagain.”
“You were a girl distracted by a pretty boy.” Dad weasels his way closer to Mom, plucking a cheese cube from the bowl. She swats at him as he pops it into his mouth, washing it down with beer.
“Now you’re distracted by a pretty man.” Mom intercepts Dad’s attempt for another cheese cube, handing him a square of red pepper instead.
He shoots her a look of betrayal, ignores thepepper, and says to me, “I’m pretty sure The Tasty Rise had its best day this year. After rumor spread about yours and Briggs’ appearance there this morning, figure the whole town stopped in for a tongue wag.”
I groan. Again.
Dating in a small town is like going from a frying pan into a fire. It’s impossible to live outside the sizzle of the small-town frying pan, where information jumps from one hot tongue to another. When you’re one of the town’s own and you fall for an outsider who is currently splashing big waves, you skip the frying pan and land straight in the flames.
Currently, I’m covered in heat. As I’ve agreed to Briggs’ shenanigans, I’m going to be sitting in the hot seat for some time.
I resolve myself to it with a sigh. I mutter, “Can’t complain about business.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” Mom dips her head to the stack of plates on the table. “Take those outside for me, honey.”
“We’re eating outside tonight?”
“Of course.” She shoots me a wicked smile. “May already has her wine poured out on the back deck. We need to give her something to chat about over coffee tomorrow morning.” She winks. “Business, remember?”
I laugh, lift the plates and start for the door. “Of course.”
Dad pullsthe steaks off the barbecue—he splurged for dinner with Briggs—and slides them onto a plate.
“Looks good, Martin,” Briggs compliments. “Thank you for having me.”
“You brought wine.” Dad peers at the bottle, adding loud enough for May to hear on the other side of the fence. “The good stuff, too.”
“For my woman and her parents, only the best will do.” Briggs slides an easy arm around my waist, tucking me close like he’s been tucking me close like this for years. It’s surprising, the easy way he makes this feel real. Too real.
I’m still stiff and unsure. Unlike Briggs, I don’t know how to act the fake girlfriend.
That makes me wonder if he’s done this before. I want to ask, but of course, I can’t. Not in front of Mom and Dad, and especially not somewhere May can hear. Even now, I can see her white hair bobbing between the slats in the fence as she shimmies her chair closer to listen in.
Mom slides into a chair at the patio table, finger waving between the two of us. “I still don’t know how this happened.”
“I’ve told you, Brandy. It was that wink he shot her up on the stage.” Dad chuckles. “Hook, line, and sinker.”
“Oh, please.” Mom rolls her eyes. “It takes more than a wink to sink Lilah’s heart.”
A distressed sound escapes me. Briggs chuckles. “Actually, I first met Lilah on the cliffs overlooking the falls.”
Mom and Dad are quiet as we settle in our chairs. Then Dad asks dryly, “She jumped, didn’t she?”
Briggs grins. “She did. I swear, I felt my heart splash into that cold water with her.”
“And you’ve been hooked on her ever since?” Mom sighs, like it’s the most romantic story ever to be told.
I’m pretty sure I hear May harrumph.
Briggs slides his eyes to me, looking at me like—goodness, looking at me like I’m everything to him. “She’s not easily forgettable, that’s for sure.”
I feel pink heat my cheeks.
Oh, the man is good.
