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I fully expected Nona to start spreading the word since she lives across the street, I just wasn’t expecting it to happen so fast. Deacon has literally only spent the night once, last night.
At least I had the foresight to call my mom this morning and tell her she was going to start hearing rumors about the boy I was dating. Predictably, she sputtered and made several false starts at an objection, too shocked to form a coherent response when I mentioned Deacon’s name. And I had to remind her that this wasn’t a case of me asking permission so much as telling her what I—an adult—was doing with my life.
She’s worried for me, I can tell. But she didn’t lay into me with disastrous what-ifs, probably because she undoubtedly called Cade’s mom in a panic and got reassurance that Deacon really is a decent guy. Plus, she trusts me deep down and is making an effort not to impose her fears on me.
“Stop stalling.” Lennon crosses her arms across her chest. “Putting aside the fact that you should know better, you need to have a good explanation handy, or Cade will kill him and lock you up in your parents’ house.”
“I have a great explanation. Deacon’s my boyfriend.” It takes all my restraint to keep my smile sweet instead of devious.
Lennon’s mouth bobs up and down as she tries—and fails—to form a response. That makes my grin stretch from ear to ear.
“What’s the date today?” She pulls out her phone and checks the screen, muttering to herself. “It’s not April Fools…”
“Nope.” I pop the last syllable. “It’s actually May. Nearly June.”
“I don’t get it.” Lennon scrolls through her phone. “There’s no holiday or festival or any reason at all for you to pull a prank.”
“No prank.”
“Is it a costume thing? Is this how Ally is announcing what she picked for us to dress as for the annual bike race? She’s paired you and Deacon together somehow and you’re acting the part?”
“No act. Deacon and I have been together for a few months.”
Lennon studies me skeptically. “It’s a good hoax, I’ll give you that. Still not sure why you’re going to all the effort, but you better make sure to give Cade the heads up so he doesn’t get the wrong idea from whoever else Nona tells.”
“Cade knows.”
“He’s in on it?” Lennon’s eyes grow wide. “Now I’m really confused. Are you just prankingme?”
“I told you, there’s no joke. Deacon was leaving my house this morning because he stayed the night there. We’re together.”
Lennon continues to stand there and blink at me for at least a solid two minutes before she abruptly starts pecking away at her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling an emergency intervention. Right now.”
“An inter-what? And who are you calling?”
“Don’t play dumb, Tiff.” She types away. “I’m getting the girls over here STAT.”
“Fine.” I roll my eyes to the back of my head. “I know what an intervention is, I just don’t think it applies in this scenario.”
“You don’t think hooking up with the town’s most notorious bed-hopper warrants our concern?”
“Dating, not hooking up. And no, seeing as how we have Cade’s blessing, I wouldn’t think you need to be concerned.”
Twenty minutes later I’m surrounded by five sets of concerned eyes and one pair that holds the same stoic look as mine: Cora’s.
“Breaking out the wine already?” Cora tilts her head in Lennon’s direction.
“Trust me, this definitely calls for wine.” She fills everyone’s glass.
“Okay Lennon,” Sloane sighs as she swirls the liquid by the stem of the glass, “you dragged us all here for an urgent lunch. What’s going on?”
“Tell them, Tiff,” Lennon instructs me.
“Deacon and I are dating.”
