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“Yeah,” Jed said, keeping his voice even. “What if I want to call you?”
“Why would you want to call me?”
“To gossip about Lee and Rosalie,” Jed said with a grin. “Tell you what Chris and Deb are going to do with those terrible twins.” He shrugged like he wouldn’t use her number at all. “I don’t know. Feels like it might be safe to have it, that’s all.”
Cherry didn’t immediately jump to give him her number. She pushed cake around on her plate and didn’t take a bite of it. “I barely know your name.”
“Not true,” Jed said. “We’ve known each other for years.”
She tilted her head and gave him a look that said,Really, Jed?
He chuckled again, liking the fire inside her. There was something intriguing about her, and Jed wanted to peel back every layer until he understood the woman beneath the perfect makeup, the silky hair, the peachy perfume, and the glamorous gown.
“Do you own any sweat pants?” he asked.
She opened her mouth to answer, then snapped it shut. “I have no idea what’s going to come out of your mouth.”
He grinned at her again. “I’m just wondering if you’re normal or not.”
“Of course I’m normal,” she said, shaking her head with a look of disgust in her expression. “I don’t wear a dress while gardening. This is a wedding.”
“I once dated a woman who wore her platform heels to weed her rose garden,” Jed said. “It happens.”
“I think that’s on you,” Cherry said, not missing a beat. “Where do you even meet a woman like that?”
“Bingo night,” he said instantly, liking her wit and intellect.
“Wow,” Cherry said. “I thought I was older than you. Bingo night?” Her eyebrows went up, and Jed found he couldn’t erase his smile.
“I went with my nana,” he said. “Maisee was calling.”
“Wow, Maisee,” Cherry said, lifting her glass of wine to her lips. She took a delicate sip before adding, “She sounds like one of my college students.”
Jed laughed, though he’d not taken a single sip of alcohol that evening. “I think she was in college, actually.”
“I mean, you can’t pick the name you’re born with,” Cherry said. “It’s not like I enjoy introducing myself as Cherry.”
“No?” Jed sobered slightly. “What would you name yourself if you could?”
She blinked at him again. “I don’t know.”
“Come on,” he said. “You’ve obviously thought about it.”
Cherry remained silent for several moments, gazing out at the dance floor, where all of her brothers danced with their significant others. Jed wondered what sat in her head and what pricked at her emotions. He could see himself so well inside Lee, and he suddenly wanted to be dancing too, the pretty Cherry Cooper in his arms and smiling at him the way Lee’s date did.
He looked back at Cherry. “Do you want to dance?”
“That’s a no,” she said, bringing her eyes back to him. “No offense. I just don’t want the spotlight on me at all.”
“Weren’t you the class VP?” he asked.
“Your memory is iron-clad.” She swirled her wine but set the glass down without taking another drink. She got to her feet, and Jed looked up at her expectantly.
“Will you walk me back to the farmhouse?” she asked. “I’ll take you home.”
Jed’s heart pinched against his ribs, but he didn’t argue. She’d answered his other questions with quickness, though he realized as he stood that she hadn’t even told him which college she worked at.
He once again wanted to take her hand in his but refrained. Outside, the sun had set a while ago, but plenty of lights illuminated the pathway to the parking area that had been roped off on the farm.
