Page 21 of The Marriage Narrative
Brett began his spiel…and went suspiciously into enthusiastic detail every time she asked a follow-up question.
Hmm. As far as Jordan knew, she wasn’t a foodie. He moved closer, pretending to read the menu over her shoulder—and didn’t miss the way Brett’s gaze covertly, dismissively, slid to him.
“Do you know what you’re going to get?” she asked Jordan.
“Not yet.” He kept his voice low and just for her. “Help me choose?”
She turned to the waiter. “Sorry, we need more time.”
“Of course.” He smiled unmistakably, and only, at Zinnia. “I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
Jordan quietly scoffed. Most customer service workers were overly nice because it was their job. That wasn’t the case with Brett, just like it hadn’t been with Spark at Tantivy.
“So, what are you in the mood for? I looked up the menu online. It’s pretty safe to say I mostly have it memorized, but their specials change every day.” She glanced at him. “Sometimes Fiona gets anxious when we try new restaurants. This is how I help her feel as comfortable as possible. It’s a habit now, I guess.”
“I was worried they wouldn’t let you meet with me again. Actually, I fully expected them to be here too.”
She laughed nervously. “It’s fine. They’ll come around—it’s just a lot to take in. Everything is fine.”
Ah, the bad news. He didn’t have their blessing. “What about your parents? Do they know?”
“I told them I was a finalist to join a reality TV show, just not which one. My parents can be trusted but my mom might tell my grandma, who will tell the church. Also”—she paused, scrunching her face—“I’d originally planned to wait a year. I wanted to make sure my marriage was solid before I let my spouse meet them.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Oh. That’s…a long time. But if it’s really important to you—”
“It is.”
“Okay. I can’t promise a year, though. There’s always the chance someone could spoil or leak something and once the season trailer drops, that’s it. Secret’s out because you’ll definitely be in it.”
“Right.” She nodded, suddenly looking a little nervous. “When it’s trailer time, I’ll be ready.We’llbe ready.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Negotiating with Zinnia felt like standing on a dock, ready to board and sail off into the sunset together. No expectations for anything more than what was agreed upon. He almost couldn’t believe how lucky he’d gotten.
Zinnia
Fiona and Grace weren’t outliers. Her parents would’ve tried to stop her from marrying Jordan so soon too. They’d sit in the family room, her mom’s concerned scowl balanced by her dad’s weighty pout.
“She has to live her life, honey,”she’d say.
“Not like this! Encourage her about something else!”he’d shout.
Zinnia had really put her family through it growing up, but they never failed to give her what she needed. She’d turned out fine, free spirit and confidence intact, thanks to them.
Jordan wouldn’t even be allowed to see their pictures until she wholeheartedly trusted him. He finally stopped pretending to look at her menu and used his own.
“What sounds good?” she asked again. “What do you want?”
“You.”
“Stop making that joke.” She laughed anyway.
“Stop setting me up for the punch line. And I’m not joking.”
Yeah, that was the problem. She couldn’t tell if he was flirtingwithher orather. Maybe it just came naturally to him, and he didn’t know how to turn it off.
“Will you please pick something before he comes back?” she asked.
