Page 58 of Taking the Pitch
“So,” Marlene begins, setting potatoes on the island across from me. “Do you prefer Amelia, or Millie?
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter, I respond to both. Can I help with anything?” I ask, feeling useless just sitting here watching. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can work a potato peeler.” I say, nodding to her hands.
“No, you’re a guest.”
I hop off the stool and come around the island. “Honestly, I can help.” I roll up my sleeves and wash my hands, drying them on a towel and going back to where Marlene is standing. “Put me to work.”
Marlene gives me a wide smile and looks at Judd from the corner of her eye. “I like her,” she says blatantly.
Judd’s face reddens slightly under his scruff, no doubt matching my own blush. His eyes quickly meet mine. “Yeah, she has that effect on people.”
“Do you want an apron?” she asks, moving to a door beside the mudroom marked ‘Pantry’, breaking the trance with Judd.
“Sure.”
Marlene disappears into the pantry and returns a second later with a black apron. I don the apron and tie the strings.
Judd smirks at my apron. “Nice, Mom.”
“What?” she asks innocently.
I follow Judd’s eyes to my chest and read the words that are upside down. ‘BITCH, I’m the secret ingredient.’
“It’s perfect,” I tell Marlene, chuckling.
I get to work peeling potatoes, while Marlene dumps apples on the counter next to me and extracts another peeler. We work in a comfortable silence, with just the sounds of the cracking fire and our peelers filling the space. I look up to see Judd staring at me, giving me a wink when our eyes connect. I drop my gaze back down to the potato I’m working on. Trying to ignore the warm, fuzzy feeling that’s blooming in my chest.
“Where’s Dad?” Judd asks, reaching across the island and snatching a slice of apple from his mom.
Marlene waves her hand to the sliding door that must lead out to their backyard. “Oh, he’s puttering around in his wood shop. You know him. He always has to be doing something.”
Judd nods and raps his knuckles on the counter. “I’m going to go see what he’s doing.” His eyes cut to mine. “You okay in here, Shortcake?”
I nod, grabbing another potato. “I’m fine.”
He nods and slides off the stool, going into the mudroom and grabbing his shoes. He passes through the kitchen on his way back and stops between Marlene and me, stealing another piece of apple and placing another kiss on his mom’s cheek before turning to me and dropping one on top of my head. “I’m going to take Bruno with me, if that’s okay?”
I look up at him in stunned silence, nodding my head slowly. “Uh, yeah. Sure. That’s, that’s fine,” I stutter out while my brain processes what just happened.
Friends don’t kiss friends on the head like that. At leastI’venever kissed my friends like that, but then again, I’ve never just been friends with someone like Judd.
“So, how long have you and Judd beenfriends?” Marlene asks after Judd and Bruno leave out the back door. Saying friends like there’s more going on than there actually is.
I lift a shoulder. “A week?”
“Mmm,” she hums, slicing up the rest of her apples and dumping them into a bowl where she mixes them with cinnamon and brown sugar.
“It’s okay that he brought me to your family’s dinner, right?” I ask, doubt creeping in that I’m welcomed here, even though I feel welcomed. “Judd told me he brings friends all the time.”
Marlene snorts a laugh and wipes her hands on a towel before turning to me. “Of course, it’s okay that you’re here, dear. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. It’s just that Judd hasneverbrought anyone home before besides his teammates, and even then, it was only a few times.”
I blink slowly at her words, trying to process what she’s telling me. “You mean, Judd has never brought a girl home before? Not even in high school?” No, that can’t be right.
Marlene confirms my doubts, shaking her head. “Not even in high school. Neither of my boys have. That is until Kessler brought Lucy home this spring.”
As if saying their names summons them, the door to the mudroom opens, revealing Kessler Davis in the flesh, followed by a tiny blonde woman who I assume is Lucy and a boy who is almost as tall as her.
“Holy shit! You’re Amelia Morgan!” Lucy yells, pointing at me. She looks up at Kessler, then back to me, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She rubs her eyes. “Kessler, pinch me. I think I’m dreaming.”
