Page 62 of Bridesmaid Undercover
I wrack my brain, trying to think of that time before we both went our separate ways. “I don’t think I did anything that could have completely turned her off from me.” I smooth my hand over my forehead. “But fuck, this seems like it’s going to be much harder than I anticipated.”
“Yeah,” Everly says softly. “Are you sure this is the route you want to go?”
“She’s the only girl I ever truly had a relationship with,” I confess. “That has to mean something, right? Maybe…maybe it’s just buried at the moment, and I need to find a way to dig it up.”
“Maybe,” she says. “Or maybe she moved on.”
“Did she give you that impression?” I ask.
Everly looks me in the eyes for a moment. I can see that she’s thinking, her teeth pulling on the corner of her lip. And then she looks away. “No, she didn’t say anything like that.”
“Okay, so maybe…maybe we just need to find out more about her. She can be very guarded.”
“She seems to be.” Everly crosses one leg over the other. “Maybe I’ll invite her to help me make some decorations. Get to know her better that way.”
“That’s a good idea. And she would say yes to that because she wants to be helpful. Plus, you can get some things done,” I say. “Thanks, Everly, for helping me. I really appreciate it. I know you don’t have to.”
She smiles softly. “Well, maybe you can help me find a guy. Do you have any single friends?”
I chuckle. “I have a single brother, but he’s the last person to date right now. He’s really set on building up the business and proving to our father that we don’t need him.”
“And you’re not?” she asks with a smirk.
“I am, but I’m not as psychotic about it as Hudson is. He’s going to burn out quickly, I can feel it.”
“I remember when Maggie was at that point with the business. I was trying to help as much as I could, but she wouldn’t let me, and then when she burned out, I was there to pick up the pieces.”
“Same thing will happen with Hudson,” I say. “And I’ll be there for him when he can’t do it all by himself anymore. For now, I focus on what I can focus on, and that’s the agriculture side of things.”
“Do you like splitting time between here and the farm?” she asks.
“If I had it my way, I’d be out on the farm all the time, but I know that’s not realistic. There are things here that need my attention, Hudson needs my help, and I want to be there for Haisley too. I know it’s best that I split the time.”
“Makes sense,” she says.
I bump my foot against hers. “So you going to tell me about that date you went on?”
She groans. “I’ll spare you.”
“Please don’t. We have time, and it’ll keep my mind off what’s going on with Brody. Maybe give me something to laugh about.”
“Oh, you’ll laugh,” she says and then fully turns toward me. “So I’ve been wanting to get out in the dating world some more, which of course feels like a cesspool of disappointment, but I thought I’d give it a shot. My sister, Ember, told me she had the perfect date for me, a guy who works with her husband. His name’sTomothy.”
“That should have been an immediate no.” I chuckle.
“Oh, I know. I thought it was a typo. I thought his name was Timothy.”
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah, and let me tell you, if I could describe what a Tomothy would be, it would be this man. He was at least seven feet tall, monstrous. Impeccable nostrils, and I mention that because that’s all I could really see when I looked up at him,” she says while I laugh. “But he was the worst. The absolute worst, Hardy.”
“Tell me how he was the worst.”
“Well, when we first sat down, he picked up his knife and started checking his teeth in the reflection. Not terrible, but he lacked decorum. He also tucked his napkin into the collar of his shirt, which once again, not awful, but he was giving me the ick.”
“Understandable.” I rub my hand over my jaw, loving how intense Everly is getting with this conversation. The way she delivers and tells stories is hilarious. Always so into it, really captivating.
“Things got worse when he started talking about his cat and how he loved licking it because it was like he was the mama cat.”
