by Kim Law
But she had to figure this one out on her own. He needed her commitment to a relationship or they would never stand a chance.
“It won’t work,” she stated, her words coming out almost as a plea. “Haven’t you figured that out about me? No one in my family has had a relationship work.”
“There’s no such thing as a Bigbee Curse, Joanie.”
Round eyes looked at him with no emotion in them whatsoever, but he caught a hardness in her jaw that hadn’t been there before. He’d pissed her off.
“Maybe not,” she said. “But Bigbee women can’t make it work. It’s been going on for generations. My grandfather left GiGi after thirty-three years. My mother did everything she could to win a man over, going so far as to chase after them when they left town. But they always dumped her and she always came back, her tail between her legs.”
Except the last time. He didn’t add the words because they would add nothing to the conversation. Her mother was simply a small-minded person. She shouldn’t even factor into this conversation.
“Hell,” Joanie muttered, then blew out a breath. “The whole town already thinks I’m just like them.”
He looked down at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
She looked up at him, a pain in her gray eyes that stabbed him low in the gut. “There’s a bet going around about when I’ll fall victim to the curse. They probably think I’ll follow you, beg for your love. As if I’m no better than my mother,” she mumbled the last words.
He gaped at her. First, she would never have to beg for his love. But second…
“No.” He shook his head. “They wouldn’t bet on that.” The town might be eccentric, but they wouldn’t bet on him breaking her heart.
“They are,” she insisted. “And it looks like the good money is on my birthday.”
“Baby.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, wanting to shake her. “It would be a ridiculous bet. You would never have to beg me to love you. I already lo—”
“Don’t you dare say it,” she whispered harshly. “Don’t you dare.”
He wanted to shout from the rooftops that he loved her, but the fear staring back at him was real. Their feelings terrified her. He kept the words inside.
“Okay.” He nodded. “I won’t say it. But you know it.”
She shook her head, trying to look away from him. He forced her back.
“You’re scared, sweetness. And that’s okay. I’m scared, too. What we have between us is strong stuff.”
Gray eyes looked at him then, uncertain. He had no idea if pushing her was the right thing to do. He might cause her to slam the door in his face so hard he’d never get it open again, but he knew they were more. He had to make her see it, too.
“Let’s try it, babe,” he pleaded. “Let me show you what a real relationship can be. No one begging anybody for anything. If it doesn’t work, I’ll back off. I promise. But if it does…”
He stopped talking and held his breath. He didn’t have to say what it would be like if it did work between them. They both felt enough to understand.
She blinked and he was reminded of the first time he’d asked her out. It had been a quick no that time, but she’d had the same look she wore on her face now. He couldn’t believe he was going to lose her without even getting the chance to try.
She blinked again and this time shifted her gaze to the side. He turned loose of her and simply watched. She didn’t walk away, just sort of rotated in place. When she got to the boxes in the middle of the floor, she stopped.
Her arms lifted to cross over her chest, as if holding herself away from some invisible pain. That’s when he got it. It was Georgia’s stuff in the boxes. He wanted to reach for her, to comfort her, but it was up to her now. She had to make the choice to try.
Chapter Sixteen
Joanie stared at the boxes and thought about what Nick was asking of her. Could she really do this? Could she see where they could go?
It was probably a mistake, but she didn’t know if she had a choice.
The pain over losing GiGi had floored her. The idea of walking away from Nick… she couldn’t fathom. She didn’t know how she’d be able to breathe without him, much less get up and function every day.
Which meant what? That the bet was already accurate? She’d chase after him if he left today?
She blinked back tears, terrified she just might. After all the years of being strong, she was petrified at the thought she might do the exact same thing her mother had done. With the potential same results.
But what if he was right? What if they could make it work?
She turned back to him and studied his hard jaw and the hopeful look in his eye. He was so much more than she’d thought when she’d first met him. He seemed to want to give everything he had to her. That astounded her.
What if it was for real?
How could she not at least try to find out?
She chewed on her lip, now almost shy at the thought of agreeing to what Nick was asking. Things were about to change. Hopefully in a good way, but a relationship was such a foreign concept to her. She didn’t know what to expect.
Sucking in a bracing breath, she looked up at Nick and cringed, but gave a quick nod.
He went still. Then he let out a breath with a whoosh and asked, “You’re sure?”
She nodded again, stronger this time. “Let’s try it. But you can’t push me for things before I’m ready. You have to take it slow.”
He nodded in agreement, yet she somehow doubted he knew how to take it slow. Hadn’t he pushed with everything?
“I’m making no promises about how long it’ll last,” she continued. She wanted that out there in the open so he wouldn’t be surprised if she couldn’t handle it. “And one last thing…” She paused, almost embarrassed at what she was about to admit. “I have no idea how to have a real relationship, Nick. You’re going to have to show me.”
“Baby.” He laughed and smacked her on the mouth with a loud kiss. “All you have to do is exactly what you’ve been doing. We’ve been having one, you just didn’t notice. With the exception of not being seen in public together,” he quickly tacked on.
“No.” She shook her head, but questioned his words. Had they been? At times it had definitely been different than anything she’d experienced before. She constantly had the urge to be with him. Far more than she’d ever had with anyone else. She had been with him more, actually. All those nights hanging out at his place. Cooking together.
She tilted her head and thought through the past weeks, and then she got it. Yeah, maybe she had been having a relationship after all. How odd.
She laughed then, all the emotion of the last few days seeming to come out that way instead of via more tears. Then she reached for him and laughed again when he scooped her up to his chest.
They kissed for several long minutes before Nick pulled away. He tenderly brushed her bangs back from her forehead before touching his lips to each of her eyelids and then to her nose. When finished, he leaned back and asked, “Do you want me to help you go through GiGi’s things?”
Very much she wanted him to help her. She hadn’t been able to touch the boxes since she’d brought them home, but suspected with him by her side she could make it through. She nodded. “I think so. But not tonight. I’m not ready.”
He touched a light kiss to her mouth. “Okay, babe. Not until you’re ready.”
She smiled, appreciating his sweetness. “I had something else I wanted to do tonight, anyway.”
“Yeah?” Then he seemed to get her meaning and the concerned look in his eyes changed to one of passion. “Anything I can help you with?”
She nodded.
He gave a little growl before he kissed her again, and she went willingly into his arms, laughing freely when he picked her up and carried her up the stairs.
Joanie paced her living room, skirting around the boxes in the middle of the floor, and looked at the clock on the DVR for the tenth time i
n the last few minutes. She was waiting for Nick to pick her up. They were going on a date.
A real date.
She still couldn’t believe she’d let him talk her into it. But as they’d been standing in that very spot the afternoon before, as she’d been faced with her grandmother’s mortality, as well as learning that GiGi had suffered additional losses that Joanie had never even known about, she had been unable to imagine her and Nick’s relationship going any other way but forward.
It might be the most ridiculous notion, but she wanted to see where they could go. If they could go.
Because wasn’t she already falling in love with him?
She knew she was. And she didn’t know how to stop it.
But she would, if she could only figure out how. She was pretty sure she would. Stopping seemed a whole lot safer than continuing.
Especially given her family history.
Yet going forward was what she wanted. And she wanted it with Nick.
A knock sounded on the door and she jumped, her nerves stretched tight.
“Nick?” she breathed as she pulled open the door. She hadn’t heard his truck pull up.
But it was him. He stood on her front porch, a bouquet of tulips in his hand, and wearing a suit as if he’d just walked off a modeling gig for a magazine spread.
He. Was. Hot.
She gulped, then forced herself to smile. “Hi,” she said.
Had she gone stupid at the mere thought of going out with the guy? Could she not form coherent sentences any longer?
“Hi,” he returned.
The corners of his mouth turned up slowly as his gaze scanned her from head to toe. She’d pulled out her favorite black ankle boots—they were four-inch-high lace-ups—along with her black miniskirt cocktail dress that had the scoop-neck lace top. It was hot.
And she knew she was, too.
They made one really good-looking couple.
They stood there smiling at each other as if they were kids going to their first prom. Finally, Nick broke the silence.
He thrust his arm forward. “I brought you flowers.”
The ice was broken and she burst out laughing. “Yes,” she said. “You did.”
He laughed with her then, before sobering, his eyes going dark and burning steady as he focused on her face. “You’re beautiful, Joanie.”
Score one point for Nick.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She took the tulips and motioned him inside. Bob greeted him as they made their way to the small kitchen so she could find a vase. “So you bring all your first dates flowers, huh?” she couldn’t help but ask as she peeked back over her shoulder.
The expression on his face was priceless, and she laughed some more.
His expression leery, he gave a half shrug. “I do, actually.”
“I know.” She patted him on the cheek as if to let him know that he wasn’t in trouble. “It’s one of your less obvious charms. But I have to admit, I’m surprised with the tulips. They’re gorgeous. I would have pegged you for a roses man all the way.”
She pulled out a vase and filled it with water before turning back to him. When she did, she was struck again by the beauty of the man. There was almost nothing at all wrong with him.
Other than he kept thinking she was exactly like everyone else he went out with.
“I am typically a roses man,” he admitted. “Red, to be exact.” He stepped close and pulled an orange tulip from the vase then touched its petals to her cheek. “But when I went to the florist, I saw these and knew they were more you.” He leaned in and kissed the shocked look off her face. “You never struck me as a roses type,” he whispered against her lips.
Well, damn. He might just be figuring her out.
Score two for Nick.
She put the flowers down in the middle of the table and picked up her clutch, then smiled sweetly at him. “Where are you taking me tonight?”
Unless he surprised her by suggesting a long drive into Knoxville for a more upscale establishment, he was going to get this one wrong. Talbot’s was the only fancy restaurant in town. That would be where they were going.
They stepped out onto the porch and he waited while she threw her deadbolt, then he took her hand in his and grinned down at her. “I’m taking my girl to the Bungalow.”
Sonofabitch.
Score three.
Music blared from inside the building as Nick escorted Joanie across the parking lot to the awning covering the front door of the Bungalow. It was the last place he would normally take a date—especially a first date—but as he’d made the drive to Nashville and back today to pick up a suit, he’d had time to reflect.
He was taking Joanie out. Not any other woman.
And that meant he couldn’t do things the normal way. Not only because Joanie was different than any other woman he’d ever dated, but because she was Joanie. She was special. She’d put her trust in him by going against everything she believed in and agreeing to this date, and he wanted to make sure she was aware that he knew what a big deal that was.
He had to show her that he got it. That he got her. And that he got them.
They were unique. He would do everything in his power to keep them that way.
The door swung open as they approached and he slipped his hand from the middle of her back to the side of her waist. Every man in the building was going to be jealous of him. Every man in this building was going to take one look at her, and want her.
But he had her. And he intended to keep her.
As they walked in, they both greeted people on either side of them. Most everyone they passed were residents, but there was the occasional tourist among the faces. No one did much more than offer a quick hello, but he noticed something odd happening after each initial contact. Whoever they spoke to stopped dancing. Or they stopped talking. And they just watched.
Wow. They really never had seen Joanie out with someone, had they?
His chest swelled at the thought that he was the one she’d chosen.
He caught the bartender’s eye and the man motioned with his chin to an empty two-seater in the far corner. Nick would owe him a heavy tip for keeping the table clear for them. He might be changing up his normal routine and bringing Joanie to a club instead of a nice restaurant for their first date, but he wasn’t about to have them standing at the bar to eat.
When he pulled out the chair for her, she gave him a knowing smile. “You bribed Brandon?”
Brandon was the bartender.
Nick gave an acknowledging tilt of his head. “Whatever it takes, right?”
She laughed and they both settled into the evening.
They enjoyed tasty—if not especially great—food, dirty dancing on the dance floor, and then witnessed something Nick found highly disturbing. Money changing hands.
All night, people would spend a bit of time watching them, then they would head over to one of the servers and slip her a bill. The server would nod, jot something down, and go on about her business.
Then it would happen all over again. All night long.
“They’re betting on me,” Joanie said.
Nick looked at her. “What?”
They’d just returned to their table for another drink and a breather. He’d discovered Joanie may not be able to outdrink him, but she certainly could outdance him.
“The money exchanging hands.” She motioned with her head and he turned to catch yet another person slipping the server a bill. “The bet I told you about. The curse.”
The idea made him angry, but that’s exactly what he’d determined was going on, too. These people were seriously betting on her. But for what? That was the real question. And was it upsetting Joanie?
“You want to get out of here?” he asked her.
She lifted a shot of whiskey. “Because they think I’m going to fall victim to some curse?” She blew him a kiss, then tossed down the shot. “Not on your life.”
But he caught the look in her eye. She sounded a
ll brave, but she was scared. She feared what was between them. And she was certain it was going to end badly.
He would simply prove otherwise.
Two days later, Nick stood at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in the midst of Joanie, Cody, Lee Ann, and the rest of Sugar Springs. Everyone was out and about today. Even a good-size number of tourists. If someone wasn’t watching or cheering from the streets, they were participating in the parade.
The last few days had been really good. Aside from the damper the obvious collection of the bet had put on their first date, they’d had a good time and it had ended with him at her place overnight. The next night they’d gone into Knoxville for a movie, then grabbed Cat and they’d all once again gone back to her place.
This morning they’d both slept in. When they’d woken, it had taken a long time before either of them were ready to get out of bed. Pretty much a perfect way to start a Sunday morning.
Joanie had also finished clearing out everything at the house over the last couple of days, and the work on the remodel was almost done.
They were targeting having everything ready in another twelve days, and it looked as if he and his crew were going to make it. That would put the house on the market the last weekend of the month, though now that Georgia was gone, the urgency had lessened.
Similar to the urgency for Joanie to go through Georgia’s things. Apparently she was content to continue holding off. They’d spent each night since the funeral at her house, but she had yet to tackle that job; the boxes remained smack in the middle of the living room floor, almost as if she didn’t even notice they were there. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to go through them. It had taken him a couple weeks to ready himself to dig into his mother’s affairs after she’d passed.
The high school band turned the far corner down West Main, heading toward the square. According to everyone around him, the band signified the end of the parade.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to the group. Joanie shot him a questioning look and he added, “Need to speak to Holly.”
With that, he jumped out into the street. He crossed in front of several dancing leprechauns, trying to stay out of the way, but going fast enough that he hoped no one would follow him. He wanted to talk to Holly alone. She’d become a good friend, and he had a question he needed an answer to.