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I watch as Lincoln gets up and approaches our server. She gestures for him to follow her to the cashier’s station where she hands him a bill from the stack next to the register. He hands her his black credit card without looking at it. She prints out a receipt, and he writes in a tip and signs it, handing it back to her.
He comes over to me and kisses the top of my head, and I smile. I will never not smile when he does that. “Are you ready to go, or is there somewhere else you want to visit?” he asks.
My sisters sigh like lovesick fools at the action, and I look up at him. “No, I think I’m ready to back to the room. I’m kinda jetlagged, especially with the two-hour time difference.”
“Okay,” he says. Then, he gives my sister Leanna a look I can’t quite decipher.
She nods so slightly I would have missed it if I hadn’t been watching her like a hawk.
When we first got to Rudy’s and I’d made the introductions, they’d all hugged him. My mom had linked her arm through his and had grilled him for no less than ten minutes about his life and our relationship. She’s a bossy, nosy-ass hen and the reason I like my grandmother more than my own mother.
Then after he’d met everyone, he sort of sat with everyone briefly for a chat to get to know them. He’d chatted with Leanna a bit longer than the others but I’d paid no mind. Now, I was wondering.
“What were you and Leanna chatting about?” I ask him in the Audi on our way back to Gulf Shores.
“Nothing much. She was just telling me how she’s an elementary school teacher and her husband’s a prison guard. It’s unfortunate I couldn’t meet him since he had to work.”
“Yeah, his schedule is crazy. She hated it so much at first, but now she’s used to it. He actually makes good money with all the overtime.”
“I can imagine those jobs are difficult to fill,” he says.
“They are,” I reply. “So that’s it, just talking about her?”
He glances at me. “Yes, why?”
He’s not going to answer me, so I change the subject. “What did you think about the rest of my family?”
“You were right. Zero personal space boundaries.” He chuckles.
I grin. “I told you.”
We chat about the evening and the plans for tomorrow when they’re all going to come visit us in Gulf Shores. I can’t wait. I love my family so much and I’ve missed them immensely, along with the South in general.
***
After some delicious morning sex and an even more delicious breakfast, where, yes, I did eat shrimp with my grits because seafood is all I plan to eat while I’m here, we go back to our room to get ready for my family to come.
“My folks say thanks for paying the bill last night. They were surprised,” I comment as I rub lotion on my face.
He spits toothpaste in the sink. “No way was I letting anyone pay the bill. Even if that place had no good brews. We should think about expanding nationwide.”
“I was actually thinking that myself. Silver Breweries in every state? Man, that would really put us on the map.”
“You’re not wrong,” he says, rinsing his mouth out with water.
“Let’s talk about work later. Do you think we rented enough chairs?” I ask as I brush out my hair and then secure it into a high ponytail on the top of my head.
“We rented more than enough. There’s a chair for every person there and I believe a few left over.”
“What about snacks? My family likes to eat,” I say, clipping the bikini behind my back and pulling it down so it’s even over my breasts.
“I’ll go pick up a late lunch for everyone. Pizzas or something,” he says flippantly after rinsing out his mouth from toothpaste.
He’s acting weird today. Something’s off. Maybe it’s because he’s out of his element. Maybe someone in my family said something rude or weird to him?
I grip his bicep. “Hey, is everything okay?”
He wipes his mouth on a washcloth and smiles down at me. “Of course, little dixie. Why wouldn’t it be?”
