I tilted my head up at him, my eyes narrowing. “You’ve been spending an awful lot of time in Savannah in the last year. Something going on you want to share with the class?”
He flushed and looked over my shoulder. “Maybe.”
“Oooooh, someone’s got a boyfriend!” I sang the words.
Alex shook his head, but his mouth curved into a smile, almost as though he couldn’t help himself. “Not quite. Not yet. But . . . maybe. Someday.”
“I want to hear all the dirt.” I took his hand and pulled him into the enclosed part of the stand. “Sit there.”
Alex dropped into the folding chair we kept next to the register, and I hoisted myself onto the citrus display table, pushing a few bags of oranges out of the way first.
“There’s not so much to tell. Not yet. I met him last year, when I came over for meetings. He’s an art dealer with one of the galleries there. We hit it off, but he wasn’t looking for a relationship. We were just friends. But we started chatting on line, and texting, and whenever someone had to take a meeting in Savannah, I volunteered.” He shrugged. “Things are heating up a little, but we’re both being . . . cautious. He got out of a long-term relationship a year ago, and it didn’t end well.”
“Awww . . .” I hugged my arms around my middle. “Romantic! What’s his name?”
“Ah-ah-ah.” Alex wagged his finger at me. “That falls under the category of me to know, you to find out. Maybe.”
“Oh, come on. I won’t tell anyone. I pinky swear.” I held up my little finger.
“Nope. I don’t want to jinx it. But if anything gets more certain, you’ll be the first person I call, okay?”
“Hmmm.” I pouted. “Fine. And I want to meet him, too.”
“So you can tell him all my deep, dark secrets? I don’t think so.”
“You’re no fun at all.”
“That’s not whathesays.” Alex wiggled his eyebrows at me until I giggled. “So enough about boring old me. What’s happening in the exciting metropolis that is Burton, Georgia?”
I lifted one shoulder. “Oh . . . you know. Same old. It’s been slow here today, so I was just about to close up when you stopped. Nothing’s really going on.”
“And how about Sam and Meghan? Things still hot and heavy there?”
Almost involuntarily, I rolled my eyes. Alex narrowed his as he looked at me.
“Is that a yes or a no?”
I sighed. “It’s a yes. As in . . . yes, they’re still groping each other any time Bridget’s out of range. PG kissing whenever sheisaround. It’s disgusting.” I couldn’t help a smile, though. My big brother and the pretty art teacher from Florida had taken the long road to love, fighting their attraction to each other and then refusing to believe it meant anything more than a summer fling. No one was happier than me that they were officially together now.
“Isn’t Meghan still in school?” Alex leaned an elbow against the counter.
“Yeah, technically. I mean, during the week, she lives in Savannah and goes to classes, and then she stays here with us from Friday night until Monday morning. But now that her roommate’s moved, Sam worries about Meghan being alone in the big city. So she usually comes down here in the middle of the week, too. Oh, and Sam’s gone up to stay with her a few times this winter, when nothing was going on with the farm.”
“I’m glad for them.” Alex tilted his head, studying me. “But . . . ?”
“But nothing. I’m happy for them, too. Thrilled.”
“Oh, yeah, you sound it. I guess it’s just you’re worn out from turning somersaults in joy.”
I laughed. “No, really. I am. I love Meghan like the sister I never had, and believe me, Sam’s a much nicer person to live with these days.”
“Getting laid regularly will do that for you.” Alex nodded.
“I wouldn’t know,” I snorted. “Anyway, the point is, there’s nothing I’d change. At the same time, though, I see the handwriting on the wall. I know what’s coming. Meghan graduates in May, and then she’ll start working here in town full-time in the fall. Sam hasn’t said anything, but he’s got to be planning to pop the question soon. And even if he doesn’t, she’ll be living with us all the time. It’s going to be an adjustment for me.”
“Yeah, you’ve been queen bee of the farm for a long time now. I can’t imagine it’ll be easy to share that throne.”
I swallowed over a sudden lump in my throat. “It’s not about power or control. It’s more . . . just a reminder that I don’t actually have a place, you know? Sam would never kick me out of the house. Technically, it was left to both of us, but I know it’s really his. I’m okay with that, but where do I go? Do I move into Grandma’s bedroom and just settle into life as the old spinster aunt?”
