Ain't She Sweet (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #2) - Whitney Dineen Page 0,47
the Quick Mart to pick up a bouquet of flowers for Gwen. She wants to officially welcome her to Spartan and she doesn’t believe in showing up on someone’s doorstep empty handed.
“That’s because I haven’t been out in a while. How are you doing, honey?”
“Better now that Damian is gone again. James told me I should show him the door until I know he’s settled down.”
“I think that’s good advice,” Ruby tells her, “but just remember to make up your own mind. This is your relationship, not anyone else’s.”
“Will do,” the store owner tells her before asking, “Anything I can help you with today?”
“I just need some flowers for a friend. What do you have?”
“The bouquets are next to the apples in produce,” she says as the bell over the door rings to signal the arrival of a new customer.
Out of the corner of her eye Ruby spots Syd Byerly. She lets the strap of her purse go and quickly drop squats next to it where it lands on the floor. With her eyes peeking over the top of a display of honey crisp apples, she listens as Cheryl asks the man if she can help him find anything.
“I’m looking for some information,” he says.
“You need directions or something?” Cheryl asks.
“I was wondering if you knew anything about the new pastry chef at the Willamette Valley Lodge.”
Cheryl glances in Ruby’s direction and catches sight of her hiding behind the fruit display. Ruby shakes her head vigorously, so she answers, “I don’t know anything about her. You might want to check up at the lodge.”
“But you know she’s a woman,” he accuses.
“It’s a small town, mister. I suggest you ask your questions somewhere else.”
“There’s a hundred bucks in it for you if you have any information about her,” Syd offers.
“I can’t help you, sorry.” As Syd walks out the front door, two apples nearly hit him in the back of the head.
Ruby stands up and declares, “I need to work on my aim.”
James
“I got you a hundred thousand dollars. I think we can get more though,” Tara tells me as soon as I walk into her suite. It looks like I didn’t catch her in time to tell her about seeing Rachel and Syd together.
I plop down on the sofa in her living room. “A hundred thousand bucks just to pretend I’m your boyfriend? That seems excessive.”
“It’s a solid enough first offer. You want me to try to negotiate it up?”
“No,” I tell her. “That’s more than enough to update my plumbing, septic, and probably enough to fix the slant on my kitchen floor, too. When do we meet with the reporter?”
“Tomorrow morning at eleven. She wanted to talk today, but I told her I was out of town. I figure we could use some practice time.”
“Practice?” I ask, surprised. “What are we supposed to practice?” I picture some intriguing ideas, but I know she can’t mean those.
“I think we should rehearse what we’re going to say to her. You know, come up with a list of questions that she’ll probably ask and make sure our answers are the same. For instance, they’re going to want to know how we met.”
“We can tell them the truth there. You came to my farm to buy produce. I can tell her how mean you were to me.”
“Yeah, cause that’s what happened,” she says with a smile on her face. “Why not though? The closer we stay to the truth the better.”
“Where did we go on our first date?” I ask.
“We ate pastries in your truck in the parking lot at the lodge,” she says.
“That makes me sound like a cheapskate. What man worth his salt has a first date in a parking lot with his date making the food?”
“It sounds simple and romantic,” Tara tries to assure me.
“Clearly, I want the whole world to think I’m simple.” I know I sound offended, but I am.
“James,” Tara says, “it makes you sound lovely and sweet. It makes you sound like a nice guy, not a player.”
“But what if I want to sound like a player?” I ask petulantly.
She ignores me and wonders, “What if she asks if we’re in love?”
I pick up my mug of coffee off the table and take a healthy swig before answering. “I’m not sure how you could fall for a guy who didn’t take you out on a proper first date.”
She ignores me. “I think we should say that we’re in love. It will help sell the story that