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Lee followed her gaze toward the clock on his dashboard and nearly swore. “Yes,” he said instead. With reluctance, he slipped his hand away from hers and merged back onto the street.
“What are we doing there?” she asked.
Glad they were on safer topics, Lee pressed harder on the accelerator. “They’re doing a taste-test this afternoon. Starts at four.” If he hadn’t been late leaving the farm, he wouldn’t be in such a rush right now. Lee hated nothing more than being late, and he dang near took the next corner on two wheels. “They’re rolling out a couple of new menu items this summer, and we get to help them decide.”
“Wow,” Rosalie said, her voice a bit too high.
He looked over to her, finding her fingers now gripping the handle above the door tightly. “Sorry,” he said. “I swear I’m not always a crazy driver.”
“You’re zero for two,” she joked, her smile radiant and kind. Lee chuckled, but he didn’t let up on the gas pedal. He did not want to be late for the taste-testing, not when Mama had called in the favor specifically for him.
They arrived at The Southern Bakery, and Lee hurried the two of them inside. Thankfully, they still had at least two minutes before the clock would strike four, and he found the woman he needed to hug and say hello to only three steps inside the front door of the bakery.
“Miss Mildred,” he said, moving into her instantly. Hugging her was like getting a good, hearty hug from Mama, and Lee closed his eyes and grinned for all he was worth as the older woman’s arms came around him.
“Mister Leland Cooper,” Miss Mildred said. “How very good to see you, young man.” She laughed in her elderly tone as she stepped back. She always wore a string of pearls around her neck, and today was no exception. Her pink and yellow tank top boasted a lot of flowers, and she wore a flowing, straight white skirt with that. She was a picture-perfect summer afternoon in the South, and Lee kissed both of her cheeks.
“It’s wonderful to see you, ma’am,” he said, remembering all of his proper Texas manners. “Mama sends her best regards. She misses you so.”
Miss Mildred cupped his face in one hand and smiled at him the way only grandmothers can do. “You tell her I’ll come out this week and bring some of her favorites. Is she on lemonade, sweet tea, or that herbal stuff she likes?”
“With the weather the way it is, she and Daddy have broken out the lemonade,” Lee said, chuckling. “I’ll tell her.”
“Jenni-Lynn is around here,” Miss Mildred said. “Are you sure you two can’t go out on just one date?”
Lee shook his head. “No, ma’am.” He stepped back and made room for Rosalie. He claimed her hand in his, bringing her forward. “This is Rosalie Reynolds. We just started seein’ one another.” He beamed out all of his shininess at Rosalie and then Miss Mildred.
“My, my.” Miss Mildred dripped her gaze down the length of Rosalie. “Aren’t you a pretty thing?” She looked at Lee without a trace of kidding anywhere. “A bit out of your league, Mister Cooper.”
“Shh,” Lee said, starting to chuckle again. “She doesn’t know that yet, Miss Mildred.” He nodded toward her. “Rosalie, Miss Mildred. She and my mama go way back to Georgia.”
“Lee,” another woman said, and he turned to find Jenni-Lynn only a couple of feet from him. The bakery held a lot of people, and she had to squeeze past someone to arrive in front of him. He laughed as he hugged her too. His mama sure had been disappointed when there had been zero spark between him and Jenni-Lynn. Her mama too, if Miss Mildred’s constant reminder that her daughter was still single meant anything.
“Howdy, Jen,” he said. He hugged her quick and stepped back, once again bringing Rosalie to his side. “Jen, this is Rosalie Reynolds.” He glanced at Rosalie, whose smile hadn’t moved a single millimeter. “Rosalie, this is Jenni-Lynn. We’ve known each other about five decades now.”
“Please,” Jenni-Lynn said, her voice one of royals and dignitaries. “I am not fifty years old yet, Lee.”
“You’re not fifty, are you, Lee?” Rosalie asked.
“No,” he said with a scoff. “Just a joke our mamas used to say. That we knew each other before we were born.” He edged closer to Rosalie so she’d know he didn’t want to be with anyone but her. He released her hand and slid his along her waist, bringing her even closer. “Where do you want us, Jenni-Lynn?”
“Table six,” she said. “So lovely to meet you, Rosalie. We need someone to tie Lee down again.”
“It’s our second date,” Lee said. “And y’all are makin’ me regret I brought her here.”
Jenni-Lynn gave him a knowing look, and Lee definitely should’ve made a better decision for this afternoon’s time with Rosalie. The Southern socialite missed nothing when it came to relationships, and she’d been the one to tell Cherry that Charlie Mortimer simply wasn’t into her and would never ask her to be his wife.
“Mother, we need to begin.” She turned in her sleeveless sundress, and Lee nodded Rosalie toward table six, which sat in the back corner of the bakery.
“See you at the wedding, Jenni-Lynn.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” she drawled out. Her mama followed her toward the front of the bakery, where the refrigerated cases sat, and soon after, all the chatter in the room quieted.
“Welcome to The Southern Bakery,” Jenni-Lynn said. “Thank you for coming to be part of our journey today.”
Rosalie looked at him, and Lee ducked his head closer to her so she could whisper in his ear. “Not that I care, but how old are you?”
Lee tilted his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He’d had this question for weeks now, after he’d read her bio on her company website. “Forty-two,” he said under his breath. He didn’t want to cause a problem during the taste-test, that was for sure. Mama would never forgive him if he made a scene. “I’ll admit I’ve wondered about you,” he whispered. “I read your bio on the Curious Kids site.”
