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“Stop looking at me like that. You know how wretched it makes me feel when you frown. Blame Shelby.” Emma glanced around the patio for her mother-in-law. “Who seems to have disappeared. Coward.”
Torie poked him in the ribs. “Uh-oh . . . Your newest conquest is headed this way. With her father.”
Meg could swear she saw Ted frown, except all she actually saw him do was curl his mouth into one of his boringly predictable smiles. But before the Skipjacks could get to him, a shriek cut through the party noise.
“Oh my God!”
Everyone stopped talking and turned to locate the source of the noise. Kayla was staring at the small screen of her metallic red smartphone while Zoey stood on tiptoe to peer over her shoulder. A tendril of hair tumbled from her casually arranged updo as she lifted her head. “Somebody just raised the last bid by a thousand dollars!”
Sunny Skipjack’s crimson lips curved in a satisfied smile, and Meg saw her slip her own phone into the pocket of her tunic.
“Dang,” Torie grumbled. “Topping that is going to put a serious dent in my discretionary income.”
“Daddy!” With a cry of distress, Kayla left Zoey behind as she dashed through the crowd to her father. Just that morning, Meg had served Bruce Garvin an orange soda and received zero tip in exchange. Kayla grabbed his arm and engaged him in a furious conversation.
Ted’s lazy smile wobbled.
“Look on the bright side,” Meg whispered. “The dear little babies of Wynette are that much closer to curling up with the new John Grisham.”
He ignored her to address Torie. “Tell me you’re not really bidding.”
“Of course I’m bidding. Do you think I’d give up the chance for a weekend in San Francisco away from my kids? But Dex gets to come with us.”
An overheated arm settled around Meg’s waist, accompanied by the cloying scent of heavy cologne. “You don’t have a drink yet, Miss Meg. Let’s take care of that.”
The plumbing king looked like Johnny Cash, circa 1985. The silver in his thick black hair shone, and his expensive watch glittered in a nest of wrist hair. Although most of the men wore shorts, he had on black pants and a designer polo with a small tuft of hair visible at the open neck. As he maneuvered her away from the others, he rubbed his hand across the small of her back. “You look like a movie star yourself today. That’s a beautiful dress. Did you ever happen to meet Tom Cruise?”
“I never had the pleasure.” It was a lie, but she wouldn’t let him trap her into a discussion of every star she’d met. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sunny give Ted her bold smile and watched Ted smile right back. A fragment of their conversation drifted her way.
“ . . . and with my software,” Ted said, “communities improve their power efficiency. Dynamic load balancing.”
The way Sunny licked her lips made her response sound like soft-core porn. “Optimizing their existing infrastructure. That’s brilliant, Ted.”
They soon formed a foursome. Sunny, Meg observed, was the whole package. Sexy, smart, accomplished. Her father obviously adored her, and he went on ad nauseum about her accomplishments, from her GRE scores to the design awards she’d won for the company. Ted introduced them to everyone, which turned out to be surprisingly entertaining, because even Birdie, Kayla, and Zoey had to be polite to Meg in front of the Skipjacks. She’d never been around so much sucking up in her life, not even in Hollywood.
“Wynette is the best-kept secret in Texas,” Birdie trilled. “This is God’s country for sure.”
“Just walking down the street, you can run into Dallie Beaudine or Kenny Traveler,” Kayla’s father said. “Name another town where that could happen.”
“Nobody can match our scenery,” Zoey offered, “and people in Wynette know how to make strangers feel welcome.”
Meg could have debated that last point, but a hand that didn’t belong to Spence gave her elbow a warning pinch.
By the time the barbecue was served, Sunny was treating Ted like a long-term boyfriend. “You have to come to Indianapolis, doesn’t he, Dad? You’re going to love it. The most underrated city in the Midwest.”
“That’s what I’ve heard,” the mayor replied with all kinds of admiration.
“Sunny’s right.” Spence gave his daughter a fond look. “And I guess Sunny and I already know just about everybody in town.”
Kayla came over to flirt with Ted and announce that the bid had gone up another five hundred dollars. Since she seemed happy about it, Meg
suspected “Daddy” was responsible. Sunny didn’t seem threatened by either the higher stakes or Kayla’s blond dazzle.
When Zoey joined them, Ted introduced her to the Skipjacks. Although she wasn’t as obvious about it as Kayla, her gazes at Ted left no doubt how she felt about him. Meg wanted to tell both Zoey and Kayla to get a grip. It was obvious Ted liked them and just as obvious his feelings didn’t stretch any further. Still, she felt more than a little sorry for both women. Ted treated all females—Meg being the lone exception—as infinitely desirable creatures, so it was no wonder they continued to hold out hope.
Sunny had grown bored. “I heard they have a beautiful pool here. Would you mind showing me, Ted?”
“Great idea,” he said. “Meg’s been wanting to see it, too. We’ll all go.”
