But I tried not to think about that too much. My mom had been younger than my dad by a couple years, but nothing like this. There was a…twenty-one year age gap between the two of them. I mean, who was I to judge, but itwasa little weird thinking that my future step mom could basically be my sister.
“You think he’ll have a kid with her?”
I gasped. “Oh my God, Whit! Stop!” My words held laughter in them, but it did little to hide the trickle of worry that sprung to life anytime I thought of this engagement. Was that why they were getting married so quickly? Oh God, please no. I couldn’t have a sibling that was young enough to be my kid. No. I just…Ew.
I hoped,prayed, that my dad was smart enough not to have a kid with her.
Whit gave me one of her sorry-not-sorry looks. “What, it could happen?”
“Next subject,” I demanded, even while urging a smile to my lips. “Like, I saw you flirting with that cowboy at the baggage claim.”
“Girl, don’t even get me started. I don’t know what it is about a cowboy hat and boots, but that guy looked so delicious I could eat him up.”
“Oh my God.” I laughed. “You’re too much.”
She shrugged, a devious little smirk lighting up her face. “No, what’stoo muchis how long you’ve gone not sleeping with someone. You and Devin broke up, what…like, five months ago?”
I bit back a groan, keeping my eyes forward instead of facing the weight of her scrutinizing stare. “It’s actually been six.”
Just the thought of Devin made me wither up and die a bit more inside. I’d been with him through most of college. Things had always been a bit of a struggle. He had no sense of responsibility and was quick to anger, but I could be indecisive and hated making waves or causing problems. It took two to have a relationship. I wouldn’t—couldn’t blame him fully for our breakup. Then add in the lack of intimacy, and, well, it was a miracle we’d lasted three years.
What made absolutely no sense, though, was that he had a new girlfriend in a week, after telling me that he needed to, quote un-quote, work on himself and his intimacy issues. Turned out that working on himself was just code for working on getting under someone else. They were engaged now, by the way. Yeah…I’d been convinced he was going to propose to me this past Christmas, but nope. I was probably—no, definitely better off for it, but he’d been my first adult relationship, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still dealing with the emotional scars his relationship left.
“Six months? Quinnie, you give him too much power over you.”
I nodded, loosing a deep sigh. She was just preaching to the choir at this point. But I couldn’t help it. I hadn’t had any luck finding anyone worthwhile yet. And I didn’t like the idea of just casual dating. If I was gonna date someone, spend time with them, I wanted the potential for a future. That only seemed to scare guys off.
“That’s it!” She clapped her hands together, her words dripping with determination.
“Oh no,” I huffed. “Whatever you have planned, just…no.”
Her devilish grin was enough to make my nerves wind tighter. “We’re going to find you someone. A distraction. A rebound. A way to get your toes wet and back in the game.”
“I don’t need anyone. I’ve got that job starting next month at the new wedding venue. It’s all the distraction I need.”
“I’m not saying you should settle down, but testing the waters wouldn’t be so bad. Besides, these cowboys sure are yummy to look at. Bet they taste just as sweet.”
I rolled my eyes, even as a traitorous smile threatened to spread across my face.
The entire drive toThousand Trees, Whit tried to wear me down, bit by bit. She was tenacious, relentless, I’d give her that.
“Hey, mind stopping at this grocery store called H-E-B really quick?” she asked as we came into town. “I saw on—”
“Let me guess, Tiktok?” I grinned when she playfully smacked my shoulder.
“Actually, it was on my Reels!” She shot back, sticking her tongue out at me before continuing. “Apparently they have this peach tea that is, like, to die for!”
I shrugged. I didn’t mind stopping. I probably should pick up a bottle of wine or something as a congratulatory present formy dad’s engagement after all. Following the new navigation, we stopped in a spot and made our way toward the entrance to the grocery store.
I noticed a chocolate brown dog just outside the front of the store.
“Aw, I wonder if it’s lost,” Whit said as we passed by.
“I don’t think so.” It didn’t look lost. Its coat was shiny and it wore a collar—not that those necessarily determined if it was lost or not, but it was like the dog was waiting. No matter how many people walked by, it just sat there obediently. Someone had spent either a lot of time or a lot of money on training it—probably both.
The glacial blast of air that greeted me as I walked into the grocery store was a godsend. I swear, I’d only been out of the car for thirty seconds and I was already sweating. Whit had grabbed a cart and ambled up the first aisle. It would be a hot minute until she was ready—she never could go in for just one thing. Shopping with her was at least a half hour ordeal. And talking to her would only be another source of distraction, prolonging us even more.
Better to just leave her be.
