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Marcie eyed with me raised eyebrows, a look that told me she wanted to know everything as soon as she possibly could. She put our coffees down and, with one last glance, excused herself to another table.
Brantley’s lips twisted in amusement. “She’s not very subtle, is she?”
I grimaced. “About as subtle as a nuclear bomb.”
He laughed quietly, opening the sugar packets she’d brought and pouring a couple into his coffee. “How much do you want to bet she’s going to call your mom and tell her we’re both here together?”
“Fifty says she’s already on the phone.” I snorted. “Whatever. People are already talking. It doesn’t matter.”
“It really bothers you, doesn’t it? The gossiping.”
“It doesn’t bother you?” I questioned, then shrugged. “I wouldn’t say it bothers me. I’m used to it. I do wish people could keep their nose out of my business, though.”
“I guess I’m still at the stage where I’m charmed by this small town and all its little idiocies.”
“Little idiocies.” I laughed, finally pulling my mug toward me. “That’s one way to describe it.”
“Well, they are. They’re kind of charming, in a really weird way. The gossip is…unusual, to me. I’m not used to everyone knowing everything.”
“Yeah, well, you started that with us when you told everyone I’d stayed late or whatever it was you said.”
He frowned for a moment. I watched as realization dawned, and he laughed hard. “Oh, god. I never told you.”
“Never told me what?” I narrowed my eyes.
Brantley scratched the back of his neck. “I never said that. It was a joke. I was fucking with you.”
I leaned over the table and smacked his arm. “Oh my god. All that stress, and for what? You ass!”
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t look sorry at all. “I forgot I never said.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
This time, his laughter was silent. “Well, there you go. Now, you know.” He sipped his coffee, eyes shining with mirth. “I did actually want to talk to you about something.”
“I should have known there was a catch with this lunch thing,” I said. “Does that mean it’s not a date?”
“It’s a half-date,” he replied.
“I think I can deal with that. What did you want to talk about?”
He paused.
And I knew. I knew exactly what he was about to say.
“You heard my conversation with Ellie, didn’t you?” I beat him to it.
He nodded. “I was coming up to check she wasn’t being a pain in your ass. I don’t think I heard it all, but I heard enough.”
I swallowed. God—what if he thought I’d overstepped my bounds? Had I overstepped? Should I have just not had that conversation with her at all?
“I’m sorry,” I started. “If I shouldn’t have talked about it with her, but I didn’t know what to say.”
His brows twitched into a frown. “What? No—it’s not that all. I wanted to, first, thank you for how you handled it. I could tell she came at you from left field with her questions.”
I blew out a long breath and slumped back a little in my seat. “Honestly, yeah. And I knew what she was fishing for, but…” I trailed off, looking away.
“But that’s not what you want,” he finished for me.
Not coldly, not sadly, not anything. Just a statement.
One that was true.
Or one that was.
Was…
Maybe.
I picked at my napkin. “I don’t know how to respond to that,” I admitted quietly. “I don’t know, Brant. That would have been true even a week ago, but I don’t know how I feel right now.”
He raised his eyebrows, surprise glinting in his turquoise gaze. “That wasn’t what I was expecting you to say.”
“Well, I…” I sighed. What the hell could I say? How could I explain feelings I didn’t understand? “I don’t know what to say to you.”
He rested his forearms on the table and leaned forward. “You don’t have to say anything to me. You don’t owe me any kind of explanation, no matter how much I want one for that vague-ass answer.”
I half-smiled. “There are a lot of things in my head right now. I’m basically arguing with myself a whole lot.”
“Careful. I don’t want you to think too hard and hurt yourself.”
I stared at him flatly.
He grinned at me. A real boyish grin that sent butterflies through my stomach. “I still just want to say thank you for the way you handled her. She notices a lot, and…it’s not always a good thing. For the record, you already know that what she said is true.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I know.”
He took a deep breath. “And I like you, Kali. I like you a lot.”
My heart skipped.
“I know it’s hard and it’s complicated, but I wanted to make that clear to you.” He paused, then scratched at his jaw. “The last thing I expected when I moved here was to find someone like you.”
