Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
I’m in trouble.
“Tell me about your family.” He smiles, and that’s how we spend the rest of our lunch. He talks about his brothers’ wives and their kids, and how they all compete to be the favorite uncle. Some of it I’ve heard before. Jordyn and I talk when the boutique is slow. His sisters-in-law, his brothers, and his parents have also been there while I was working. They’re not strangers to me, but the situation we’re in is odd at best.
“They’re not going to hate me, are they?” I ask him, as we stand to head to the counter to pay our bill.
Merrick places his hand on the small of my back and his lips next to my ear. “I don’t know a single soul on this planet who could hate you, Court. Least of all my family.” He guides me to the register where Tammy, a girl we both went to school with, checks us out. She was a year ahead of me, so a year younger than Merrick.
“Merrick Kincaid,” she purrs. “When are you going to take me on that date?”
I’m embarrassed for her, but also for myself. She knows that we’re together, and in her eyes, there is no way that Merrick could be with me in a romantic sense. She doesn’t have to say the words for me to understand the meaning of her hitting on him right in front of me.
“I think my girlfriend might take offense to that.” He turns to look at me. “Right, baby?” He leans in and presses his lips to my temple.
“Girlfriend?” Tammy asks. More like spits, but I’m trying to be nice. “Since when?”
“A while now,” Merrick answers. He takes his change and shoves it back into his wallet, dropping the few coins into the small tray on the counter.
“Well, when you get bored, you know where to find me.” She sneers at me before turning her slimy smile to Merrick.
My mouth drops open in shock and a little squeak falls from my lips. I can’t believe she just said that.
“Apologize.” Merrick’s voice is stern.
“What?” Tammy acts as if he just told her to kick his puppy.
“Apologize to my girlfriend.”
My heart squeezes in my chest at the way he so easily refers to me as his girlfriend.
“Merrick, is everything okay here?” Dorothy, the owner of the diner, asks. She smiles at me. “Hello, Courtney.”
“Hi, Miss Dorothy.”
“We were just leaving, but Tammy here was just apologizing for hitting on me in front of my girlfriend.” It’s not the whole truth, but close enough.
“Tammy,” Dorothy scolds. “You may be my niece, but I will still fire you. How many times have I told you to stop hitting on customers?”
“Whatever. I’m sorry,” Tammy grumbles.
“You’re done. Get your stuff and go home. You’re done for the day, possibly forever. I haven’t made up my mind.”
“But I need the money for that weekend trip I’m planning next month,” Tammy whines. She sounds like a toddler.
“You should have thought of that before you insulted Courtney and Merrick. Go.”
Tammy rolls her eyes but turns to walk to the back of the diner.
“I’m sorry. Your next meal is on the house,” Dorothy says, trying to make up for the rude behavior of her niece.
“Oh, Dorothy, that’s not necessary. I’m sorry to cause a scene,” I tell her, keeping my voice quiet.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’ve been on her for weeks to stop constantly hitting on the male customers.”
“That’s not on you,” Merrick tells her.
“It is if I continue to let her work here. She’s my sister’s kid, and just as big of a pain in the rump as her momma. I hope this didn’t ruin your day.”
Merrick slides his arm around my waist and pulls me into his chest. “Nah, it’s going to take more than that when I get to spend the day with my girl.”
Dorothy’s eyes light up when she looks at me. “You caught a good one, dear.”
One arm is hanging at my side, while the other rests on his chest, trying to make it believable. I glance up at Merrick to find his eyes already on me. “Yeah, I know I did.”
Again, his lips find their way to my temple as he turns, and with his arm still around my waist, he leads me out of the diner. He doesn’t let me go until he reaches the passenger side of his truck and opens the door for me.
Once I climb inside, he pulls out the seat belt, offering it to me, and when I’m buckled in, he closes the door and walks around the truck. He’s quiet as he climbs behind the wheel. Guilt weighs heavily on my shoulders, knowing that because of his willingness to help me, a spectacle was made in the diner.
I want to tell him I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to find the words. He heads to the outskirts of town, and I don’t know where we’re going until he pulls into his driveway. Without a word, he parks his truck, steps out, jogs around to my side, and pulls open my door. He offers me his hand and helps me down. His fingers are entwined with mine as he leads me inside.