“One minute, Mom, then I have to go.”
“Word has spread fast. Our phone is blowing up. The latest is Mary Cobb. She wants to know if you are going to bring Nick with you to the fall festival. Says if so, she wants to have a little parade. Went as far as to ask for a special invite to lunch to meet him and bring her family.”
I want to hurl at the thought. Leave it to my town to make a circus out of this. “First off, I’m not sure Nick could or would come to the festival. Let’s remember he plays professional football for a living, and that usually means every single weekend. Secondly, absolutely no parade. And lastly, you can tell Mary Cobb to keep her meddling, nosy, good for nothing questions to herself. It is none of her business who or what Nick and I are doing. If she gives you lip, you remind her about finding her granddaughter with her skirt around her waist with the last guy I invited to an event.”
“Grace Rae!” Mom tries to sound offended, but her giggle gives her away.
“Mom, you know it’s true, and that’s your way to shut her up. Remind her of Pledge, and she’ll back off.”
Now my mom is outright howling into the phone.
“Can I go now?”
“Yes, darling. I won’t bother you again, and I’ll keep your grandpa from the phone, too. But I had to share with you the gall of Mary. Thought it might add some humor to your night.”
“Love you, Mama.” I disconnect and take a deep breath. Realization hits me. That wasn’t my mom using her powers of guilt; that was her way of knowing exactly what I needed to ease the nervous anxiety of coming to Nick’s for the first time.
I’m not paying attention and give a little shout when I bump into something solid. Immediately, I smell the familiar scent of Nick and know the solid wall is not actually a wall. His arms encircle my waist, and I peek up, praying he didn’t hear any of our conversation.
No such luck. His lips are twitching.
“How much did you hear?”
“Enough to know you’ve ended my dreams of having a parade and that Mary Cobb’s a meddling, nosy, good for nothing with a granddaughter who sounds like a slut. But I should probably thank her for exposing Pledge for the asstool he was.”
“So you heard it all?” I mumble, pounding my head on his chest.
“Not yet.” His hands gently rub my lower back.
“Well, you heard most of it.”
“I didn’t hear you invite me to the festival. I may play professional football every weekend, but if I got an invite to this festival, I’d do my damnedest to get there.”
I snap my head up with my mouth hanging open, and then I check his forehead for signs of a fever. He has no idea what he’s saying. “You want to come to a dinky festival in Thomasville?”
“Are you going to be there?”
“Yes, Logan and I are kinda expected to be there.”
“Well, then yes, I want to come.”
“I’m afraid you’ll be swarmed, and no one will respect your privacy.”
“Why don’t you invite me and let me worry about the rest?”
“And my family is crazy. They have no boundaries.”
He starts to walk backwards, taking me with him. “I know about crazy families with no boundaries. Tomorrow, you get to meet mine.”
“Yes, but this is different. South Georgia and South Florida might as well be two different countries. Crazy down here has its own level of sophistication. Thomasville crazy is a different world.”
“I can’t wait to experience this level of crazy.” He leads us into a door and kicks it shut when I’m cleared.
“You seriously have no idea what you’re in for.”
“You’re killing my ego here, Sweet Peach. Don’t make me invite myself.”
“I’m trying to save you from potential mayhem. These people remember you from your college days. Wanting to throw a parade is the tip of the iceberg. The second you step foot into town, we’ll be bombarded.”