She lifted both brows. “Do you want me to take the cookies back?”
“No ma’am,” he said solemnly.
Cecily stood to one side, her hands clasped in a death grip since she no longer had the basket of biscuits to keep them occupied. Reed reached over to tangle her fingers with his, giving her a squeeze that was, no doubt, meant to be comforting.
His mother beamed. “Cecily, it’s good to see you again.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Campbell.” God, was that stiff and formal tone really coming out of her mouth?
“Oh no, there are far too many of those in this house. Anita. Y’all go ahead and get some cookies. I’ll just be helping Mama in the kitchen.”
Reed bent to Cecily’s ear. “Relax. You know everybody here. They already like you.”
“I wasn’t dating you before,” she murmured.
“Even better. Then you know they like you and aren’t just pretending because you’re attached to me.”
Oh, like that helped anything?
They stepped into the living room. “Hey, hey, the gang’s all here!” Reed exchanged fist bumps with his cousins Mitch and Cam, hugs with his other cousin, Miranda, and his Aunt Liz and Aunt Sandy, and a firm handshake with his Uncle Pete. Cecily was proud she actually remembered who all of them were. She gave her own greetings and made a beeline for Norah.
Reed went to the sideboard to pour them both drinks. “Where’s Dad?”
“Manning the grill,” Mitch replied. “His turn on rotation.”
“Who’s got the fire extinguisher?” Reed asked, offering Cecily a glass. “Here. This will help.”
Cecily shot him a look of gratitude as she accepted the wine and took a hefty swallow.
“I heard that. I’ll have you know I haven’t burned anything in a month,” Jimmy protested, coming back inside, a pair a tongs still in his hand.
Uncle Pete grinned. “We have backup timers set.”
Reed mimed wiping his brow. “Oh good. Then we’ll all still get to eat.”
Norah intervened before the teasing escalated into an argument. “Well, now that you’re here and adequately armed, I call for a celebratory toast. The Madrigal Theater is officially back on track.” She lifted her wine glass and clinked it with Cecily’s.
“Here’s to that. How was the party?” Cecily leaned back against the arm of the sofa, crossing her feet and wishing her bitch boots made her feel more confident.
“It was great. And really more of a gossipfest. Tyler and Brody were supposed to be the guests of honor—the structural damage to the theater couldn’t have been fixed without them—but Tyler called to say they’d be late, then they didn’t show at all.”
“Really?” Cecily punctuated the question with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.
“Brody’s truck wasn’t collected from the job site until this afternoon,” Cam reported.
“Dude, you’re such a girl,” Reed told him.
“Hey, they’re two of my best friends. I have a stake in them getting back together. If it doesn’t work, I have to kick his ass for breaking her heart again.”
Reed snagged Cecily around the waist, pulling her into him. “What’s your interest in this? You barely know Tyler, and have you even met Brody?”
She curled her fingers through his belt loops and grinned up at him, the contact doing what the alcohol had not and dissipating the nerves. “Are you kidding? Living in a small town is like being in the middle of a soap opera. I’ve been following the will they/won’t they second chance romance of those two for weeks. So much better than Days of Our Lives.”
“Stupendously intelligent, talented, classy, and a soap opera addict?”
Cecily narrowed her eyes. “None of those things are mutually exclusive.”
“Of course not. It’s just unexpected and…very humanizing.”