Page 234 of Romeo

I stared at the screen.

Me: I liked you better before you became argumentative.

Ma Belle: No, you didn’t

She was right.

The Fiona I’d met in December had been careful with nearly everything she said. The sarcasm had been there from the beginning, but she used to pause before letting it loose, as though she needed to decide whether the person on the receiving end could handle it.

That caution had disappeared with me.

Now she insulted me regularly, called me on my bullshit without hesitation, and had apparently decided exposing my lack of agricultural experience was tonight’s entertainment.

I fucking loved it.

Me: Not even a little.

Ma Belle: Granny says you can’t be trusted.

Me: Granny liked me last time I was there.

Ma Belle: She didn’t know about your tomato deception

Me: I’ll win her back.

Ma Belle: How?

Me: Southern charm.

Ma Belle: She’s immune.

Me: Nobody’s immune.

Ma Belle: I am

I started the truck and let it idle while I looked at that blatant lie.

Me: Baby, you kissed me.

Her response took longer.

Ma Belle: That proves nothing.

Me: It proved several things.

Ma Belle: You’re impossible.

Me: And yet you’re still here.

I pulled out of the lot and set the phone in the console. The clubhouse wasn’t far, but the last message stayed with me during the drive.

Still here.

For months, I’d tried not to put too much weight on that. Fiona could’ve stopped answering at any point. She could’ve decided the distance was hard, the age difference was too much, or having a biker constantly inserting himself into her day was more trouble than it was worth.

Instead, she kept answering.

More than that, lately she’d started reaching for me first.