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I shake my head, trying to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean. You know, I think I should check on Cecil,” but Millie’s grabbing my arm before I can even think of making an exit.
“Nope, no running away.” She’s using her stern voice, one she rarely pulls out for me, and it does the trick. I stop trying to escape and turn back to her.
“Alright. I’ll admit that I find him...moderately attractive,” I lie, more as a form of preservation than anything else, “but I wouldn’t do anything about it.”
“And just why the hell not?” Millie asks, sharply.
"For about a hundred reasons.” I tick them off on my fingers to make my point. “I’m not his type. He’s not my type. He’s probably only here for a few weeks anyhow. And that’s not even getting into the fact that he’s your brother.” I’m making a good argument. I know I am. But no matter how many fingers I’m holding up, Millie doesn’t seem to get it. So, I throw my hands up in exasperation and say, “Look, it doesn’t even matter. I’m not avoiding you; I just didn’t want to have a pointless conversation.”
“Yeah, about that,” she says, “he’s not going anywhere.”
“What?”
“He’s moving back home for good. He and Cash will be running the bar together now. Which means you won’t be able to avoid him forever.” She’s smiling in victory at her declaration, arms crossed as she awaits my reaction to that bombshell.
I can’t help it. I groan at this news. Because my situation really is hopeless now. But before Millie can grill me any further, the kitchen timer goes off.
“Let’s talk about this after dinner,” I say, and she agrees, pointing me in the direction of the salad fixings as she goes to pull the garlic bread out.
A few minutes later, we’re all seated around the table. Todd, who had only just arrived while we were in the kitchen, sits sandwiched between Millie and Cash. Which leaves two seats at the round dining table. One for me and one for Emmett. Right next to each other. I feel like I remember this table having six chairs before, but the spare is nowhere to be found.
After a few minutes when no one has imploded and it doesn’t appear as if Emmett’s even really noticing me, I relax. Everyone is already finished with their first rounds of food and is casually chatting about work and the bar. Millie and Cash carry on the majority of conversation by themselves, so I nod my head in all the right places and concentrate on not wearing my food and embarrassing myself further in front of the stoic and silent man beside me. With my luck, I’ll choke on a bite of garlic bread and end up needing Emmett to give me the Heimlich. The shame of that thought has me taking child-sized bites and chewing for longer than necessary. I’m sure the food tastes as good as it smells, but I wouldn’t know. My senses are in overdrive, noticing every detail of Emmett. How he looks. How he smells. How he sounds. A few times his jean-clad thigh accidentally brushes against mine and I’m thinking about how he feels. Or, more accurately, how he would feel.
Even with my thoughts hyper focused on all things Emmett, I haven’t drawn any attention to myself, and I begin to think I might just make it through this incredibly awkward dinner when Cash’s voice rings out loud and clear from across the table. “So, Charley! How’s your love quest going?”
I swallow the rapidly congealing food in my mouth and glare at Millie. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind if I told Cash about it.” Her expression is suitably apologetic, and I can’t stay mad at her. Plus, she’s right. If it weren’t for Emmett, I wouldn’t have cared about Cash knowing. I actually considered asking him for advice at one point. It would be interesting to get the male’s perspective on my situation.
Realizing I still haven’t spoken; I clear my throat and gulp down a drink of wine and consider my response. Turning to Cash, I say, “uh, it’s actually not going very well. I’m starting to think my goal might not be all that attainable after all.” I keep it brief, hoping that will be the end of it, but of course it isn’t.
“Love quest?” He hasn’t said much all evening, and my body instantly reacts to the husky sound of his voice coming from so close to me. When did I start finding voices sexy? Apparently right now.
“It’s nothing,” I brush him off, still not looking in his direction. I’m testing out the whole ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ theory. So far, it’s not working, even without my eyes following his every move, my entire body is aware of him in a way it’s never been for any man before. I shuffle in my seat, pulling at the neck of my shirt in an attempt to get some cool air circulating around my overheating body again. I’m aware of how ridiculous this is. He’s never even hinted at being attracted to me, but my body is in overdrive, reading his every action and inaction as foreplay.
“What do you mean, it’s nothing?” He asks, and without looking at him, I can tell he’s turned to face me. I can feel his eyes on me, like a caress.
I just need him to quit talking or looking at me, and maybe even quit breathing so my body will stop picking up signals he’s definitely not putting out. So, without much forethought, I spit out the truth. “It’s a mission of mine to find love before my thirtieth birthday.” I realize it sounds a little crazy when I say it out loud like that, but I straighten my spine and refuse to be embarrassed by it.
“Yeah, that’s what she was doing the night y'all met. Trying to escape a failed date,” Cash laughs and I wish he was the one sitting next to me so I could jab him with my fork. Hard.
“Yes, actually. But just because I’ve had a few bad dates doesn’t mean I won’t eventually find the right one.” My ire at Cash momentarily supersedes my overly sensitized libido.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” and Emmett’s whispered response extinguishes any remaining untoward thoughts burning through my body.
I turn to him now, no longer worried about throwing myself at him if I look in his direction, and say, “excuse me?”
His features are set in stone, and even in my anger, I can’t help but notice how his long, dark lashes frame his beautiful eyes. “I said that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Going on a quest to find love? Fairy tales don’t exist in the real world, Sunshine.” There’s no whispering now. His words are loud. His voice is harsh.
I should be mad at him, and part of me is, but the other part is stuck on the nickname. He called me Sunshine. I’ve never been a girl that likes pet names all that much, but the nickname falling off of his perfectly sculpted lips feels right somehow. I shake myself out of my stupor and try to focus back on the task at hand. Ah, right. He’s a pessimist.
“So, you don’t believe in love?” I ask, turning my entire body to face him now, my knee brushing his muscular thigh, but I don’t let it derail me from the task at hand. Well, not much at least.
He cocks an eyebrow at me in disbelief, “It happens, but not for everyone. And I don’t think it’s something you can plan for. Look at Todd and Millie,” he breaks our standoff long enough to gesture at our hosts and then turns back to me, “they didn’t have a plan to fall for each other. It just happened.”
“What do you mean, not for everyone?” I’m raising my voice now, but I can’t help it. How can someone so attractive be so infuriating? “You mean not for someone like me?”
Before he has a chance to respond and tell me exactly what’s wrong with me that’s going to leave me an unmarried spinster, Millie breaks in, “okay, I don’t think that’s what he meant. But how about we change the subject? Todd,” she stares at her husband desperately and it takes a minute for him to realize she wants him to redirect us.
I push my plate to the center of the table, my appetite suddenly non-existent, and stand to leave, “actually, I really should get going. I’m behind on my deadline. Thank you for dinner.” I wave halfheartedly to Millie and Todd. Turning to Cash and Emmett, I bite out, “It was nice to see you both again. Everyone, have a nice evening.”
