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“Don’t judge them, young man.”
He held up his hands. “Wasn’t planning on it. I appreciate the hell out of the fact that I hail from a proud tradition of unconventionality.”
“Indeed.”
Linc studied the new display. “Is that carrot…”
“Yes,” Margret answered succinctly. “Dee is our award-winning lewd vegetable grower. Has been for years. We don’t know her secret, but we admire her talent.”
He tilted his head and knew that whatever was happening between the peppers wasn’t PG. “I guess the whole spring thing is in full swing, then.”
Margret nodded with enthusiasm. “When you have a chance, go see the windows of my daughter’s store. Lucy truly outdid herself.” She clapped her hands to her chest. “I think we’re going to receive a record number of compliments this year, along with complaints.”
“I’ll be sure to take a look before I head back to the house.”
Margret took a step closer. “So, what exactly are your plans?”
Respecting the matriarch’s need to know where things stood, he told himself there was no reason to feel uncomfortable since his shit was wired as tight as it had ever been. “It seems Desmond is looking to sell his house and move in with his son, so I offered to buy it.” He crossed his arms. “The house needs some love, but that’s something we can easily give it.”
“And who is this we?”
Link let out a chuckle. “A professional poker player like you already knows the answer to that question.”
“I suppose that I do.” She let out a long breath. “My granddaughter is a force all her own and marches to the beat of a drum only she can hear. That’s not for everyone, and it will take someone special to appreciate it.”
“Understood.” He took Margret’s bejeweled hands. “I admire a person with fire in their belly, and the more I get to know Lucy, the more there is to admire.”
“That’s just the answer I was hoping for.” She patted his hand. “Because love works out best when you don’t have a choice.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“What are you two plotting?”
Linc turned, felt his breath catch, and guessed there wouldn’t be a day when she didn’t make his heart beat double-time. “Nothing, sweetheart.”
“I doubt that.” Lucy kissed his cheek and then hugged her grandmother. “Operation friendship was a roaring success.”
“Of course, it was.” Margret smoothed out her hot pink caftan. “I am going to skedaddle since I have dinner plans.”
“Thank you for watching the store.”
“Of course.” She winked at Lucy. “I uploaded pictures of the new display to Instagram, so we should be swimming in controversy by tomorrow morning.”
“Excellent.” She blew her grandmother a kiss. “Love you.”
Margret caught the kiss and smiled. “To the moon, darling.”
Linc dropped his arm over Lucy’s shoulder. “Who are you friending these days?”
“Julie.” She tucked her hands behind her back. “I took her a box of books, and we had a lovely chat.”
“Really?”
“Why are you shocked? Did you think I would start a rumble and tell her to keep her paws off my man?”
“No,” he replied with a laugh. “And for the record, it’s great to know that you consider me your man.”
“Based on how we spent our Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, it shouldn’t be all that surprising.” She tapped her chin. “Unless you engage in naughty shenanigans with any random stranger that happens to stop by.”
