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Sturdy knees are overrated.
Nick’s kisses are not.
“I don’t know why Nash is being weird,” I say as he starts the car and aims the Midget toward the lake.
Nick called late Sunday night and asked me not to say anything to my family about our decision to start dating, at least not until he can convince Nash not to flip out about it. I agreed, though a tiny voice inside me wonders why Nash would flip out, and why Nick is so eager to keep our new relationship a secret.
“You know why.” Nick glances my way, his green eyes bright in the sunlight reflecting off the dashboard. “Upon occasion, I can be a huge, hairy asshole.”
I laugh. “Gross. True, but gross.”
“And he doesn’t know about Sarah Beth,” he adds in a more serious tone. “He doesn’t know a lot about me. He’s been so busy the past few years, making captain and helping build Mom and Dad a new house and generally being the golden child of the family… It’s like he works three full-time jobs.”
“I’m sure it’s not always easy for him.” I put a hand on his thigh as he drives, needing to touch him in a way that’s foreign to me. Foreign but nice and not an impulse I’m inclined to resist. “Being the golden child isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I can tell you that from experience.”
“And why’s that?” Nick asks with what sounds like genuine curiosity. As if he’s truly trying to understand what it might be like to be something other than the black sheep.
I like that about him. That he’s curious and willing to listen, even if he doesn’t always agree with my point of view.
“Well, people always expect you to be the peacemaker.” I sigh. “To go along with what the rest of the family wants and not make waves. And people really don’t like you to veer off the expected course or, heaven forbid, change your mind. Changing your mind is not allowed.”
He laughs beneath his breath. “What did you change your mind about that got the Marches all worked up?”
“A few things, actually. Mom and Dad weren’t happy when I decided to go to culinary school instead of majoring in pre-law.”
“Lark went to culinary school before you, though, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but…” I pause, trying to think of a diplomatic way to put it. “Lark is really smart but not in a school kind of way, you know? She didn’t have the best grades in high school and had trouble at community college. She just couldn’t handle all the homework and tests without getting overwhelmed.”
He hums knowingly. “But that wasn’t the case with Melody the magnificent, was it?”
I shoot him a narrow look out of the corner of my eye to find him smirking but not in a mean way. “I wouldn’t say I’m magnificent.”
“I would,” he says, making me laugh self-consciously.
“Whatever. But yeah, I did get good grades. Really good grades. I had a full ride to any four-year school in Georgia. Daddy wanted me to go into business law, and Mama wanted me to go into family law. But they both agreed it would be nice to have a lawyer in the family.”
“But you didn’t want to be a college girl?”
I smile a little sadly, though I know I made the right choice. Still, it wasn’t easy letting my parents down or feeling as if I hadn’t lived up to my potential. “No, I didn’t,” I say. “I didn’t want to do the school thing anymore. It felt too abstract. I wanted to learn how to really do something, instead of memorizing facts and writing papers for years before I got around to what I was interested in doing for a career. And I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I know someone needs to fight for justice, but I just want to make people happy. Make them feel good with amazing food. It’s simple, but it’s…me. Does that make sense?”
Nick nods. “All the sense. I feel the same way. But as the black sheep, no one really cared that I went into tattooing instead of heading for community college like the rest of the kids. Dad is just glad I have a job, and Mom’s glad I’m not in prison.”
My eyebrows lift. “Was that ever a possibility?”
“No, my parents are just pros at overreacting,” he says with a snort that I find unexpectedly sexy. “I used to get in trouble in high school, yeah, but it was harmless stuff. I skipped school a few times a semester, smoked pot, and stole my parents’ beer every time they turned their back, but it was mostly because I was bored to death in this town.”
I sigh. “Yeah, I wasn’t bored in high school or when Lark and I first started the business, but there have been times lately when I’ve felt a little…stuck.”
