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Ozzy tipped his head toward her. “Name’s Shay.”
“Well, hello, Shay! What a great name!” Teddy jutted out his hand and when Shay took it, he curled both of his around hers instead of shaking it, and introduced himself. “Theodore David Bryson, owner of the best salon in Manning Grove called Manes on Main. But all my lovers call me Teddy.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Ozzy and shot him a bright smile.
The cop choked on a mouthful of food. After clearing his throat, he said, “Just to be clear, he only has one lover.”
“Ah, yes. And he’s a good one.” Teddy winked. “I think I’ll keep him. Aaaaanyhooo, Shay,” he flipped a long-fingered hand across the table, “this is my very hot, very handsome, very hun—”
“Teddy,” the cop growled in warning.
Teddy rolled his eyes. “I was going to say hungry. Well, anyway, you get the picture. This is my hubby Adam.”
Adam jutted his hand out toward Shay. “I’m Adam Bryson—“
“Pig,” Ozzy grumbled under his breath as she shook it.
Without even skipping a beat, Teddy quickly continued, “We’re just trying to squeeze in some date nights before our little munchkin comes storming out of our surrogate’s hoo-hah to take on the world.”
“Munchkin?” Ozzy asked.
“Oh yes! Didn’t Jet tell you all that we’re pregnant and she’s going to be an auntie? Adam and I are gonna be poppas!” He did a finger snap with both hands. “Fabulous ones, no doubt.”
“Congratulations!” Shay said. “I’m sure you’re thrilled.”
“Nervous. Thrilled. Already having sympathy contractions.”
Adam turned his head toward Shay, sighed and shook it slightly.
“Even putting on a few extra pregnancy pounds,” Teddy said, patting his flat belly. “So, anyway, welcome to Manning Grove!”
“She’s just visitin’.”
Teddy’s very animated face fell. “Oh. Well, that’s a damn shame. I’m dying to dive my fingers into that head of hair.” He leaned closer to Shay. “I might’ve mentioned this already… I own Manes on Main just a few doors down from here. My salon is the only place to go to get your hair done right in this one-horse town.”
“Don’t believe him,” Adam said with his fork halfway to his lips. “This isn’t a one-horse town, there’s actually about a dozen. He tends to exaggerate.”
Teddy waved his hand around, dismissing his husband’s comment.
Shay swallowed a giggle. “I remember when it used to be a one-traffic-light town. I grew up around here.”
“You did?” Teddy’s green eyes went wide, then narrowed on her as he checked her out from head to toe. “Why don’t I know you?”
She shrugged. “I left immediately after graduation.”
“Oh, girl, I know that song and dance. So did I. I couldn’t wait to escape this—”
Adam cleared his throat sharply. “I work for this town and you have a lot of clients who live here. Let’s keep our voices down if you’re going to insult it.”
Teddy rolled his eyes again. “Well, anyway… It’s much better now than it used to be.”
It sounded like Teddy enjoyed growing up in Manning Grove as much as she had. “Did you graduate from Manning Grove High?”
“Not fast enough.”
Shay rolled her lips under at his response before saying, “Girl, same.”
Teddy’s eyebrow shot up for a brief second, then he bounced in his seat and clapped his hands. “Oh, I like you already. No wonder this handsome hunk of man-meat is taking you out on a date.”
“Ain’t a date.”
“It’s not a date,” she said at the same time as Ozzy.
Teddy tucked his chin into his neck and gave them both a look. “Uh huh.”
Adam’s portable radio sitting on the table next to his plate squawked with a call. He tipped his head to listen to it, then reached over to turn it down and continued eating.
Shay had to assume the call wasn’t for him or wasn’t important enough to interrupt his dinner break.
During the conversation, Ozzy’s hand slipped from the small of her back to her right hip. His fingers tensed and dug into it during the radio chatter.
She wondered why he wasn’t dragging her away from the table and to their own. If he didn’t like the cop, why didn’t he end the conversation and leave?
His next comment to Teddy gave her an inkling why. “Maybe you knew her parents since you grew up around here, too.”
She didn’t remember Teddy. He seemed to be a few years older than her and he would be hard to forget. Unless, when he was younger, he hid who he was and packed his true personality down tight. Back then, she wouldn’t be surprised if he had.
“What were your parents’ names?”
“My father was Marshall Graham,” Shay answered the salon owner.
Teddy shook his head. “I don’t remember anyone by that name but like I said, I left right out of high school and didn’t come back to open my salon until years later. Once I realized the grass is still brown and weedy on the other side of the closet, too.”
