Page 66 of Spicy Ever After
“Yes. His name is Beck Olivier. And this is our first date. And it was going really well before Ms. Alicia ruined it.”
But Beck gives a slow shake of his head and mouths, She didn’t ruin it.
And, boy, do I really like him.
“Hattie, are you still at the park?” Margaret asks, and I can hear an edge of… something in her voice.
“Yes. I’m still on my date with Beck. I shut down after Ms. Alicia left, and Beck got a blanket out of his truck, and we’re lying down by the pond, and I finally feel better, so I hope you’re not calling to try to make things worse.” My temper threatens to flare. I don’t want to get angry with Margaret, so she better not make me.
“Hattie, I’m not trying to ruin your date. I just—” She makes a frustrated noise. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going on a date? We talked yesterday. Did you have plans before yesterday?”
A quick search of Beck’s eyes says that, yep, he heard that too, and, yep, he might be wondering the same thing.
I give a little scoff. “I’m a grown-ass woman. Do I have to tell everyone my business?”
The corner of Beck’s mouth quirks, drawing out his lovely parenthesis, but Margaret’s response steals my enjoyment of it.
“Yes, Hattie. I would never go on a first date with a guy without telling someone where I’d be and when I’d be back.”
I frown. “Even on your first date with Merrick?” Surely not. Merrick is so wholesome. Such a gentleman. Surely, Margaret trusted him from the start.
Margaret snorts. “On my first date with Merrick, I told half the girls in Kappa Delta where I’d be, and I shared my location with Camille.”
Blink. Blink. Blink. “Y-you did?”
And now Beck is arching an eyebrow at me as if to ask, You didn’t?
“Of course, I did! Hattie, you’re a grown-ass woman, so you have to be smart and protect yourself. That’s what we all have to do.”
Beck’s mouth is a straight line. He’s nodding in silent solidarity with my sister.
I trust Margaret. Of course, I do. And I think I can trust Beck. So maybe they are right about this.
Which means I was wrong. Wrong not to tell anyone what I was doing or who I was doing it with.
A pit opens in my stomach.
Was I supposed to know this? Is this something people who are truly independent already know?
And this uncertainty and self-doubt must show on my face because Beck brings my knuckles to his lips again and plants a kiss on them, and this one is even better than the first one because now I’m watching, and I like the way it looks.
“It’s okay,” he whispers, but he must be close enough for Margaret to hear.
“Is that him?” She asks. But before I answer, she hollers. “HI, BECK! I’M HATTIE’S SISTER MARGARET!”
I jerk the phone away from my ear until she stops shouting. “Jeez! Will you shut up? You’re embarrassing me.”
But Beck is laughing. “Hi, Margaret. Your sister is great,” he tells her, looking straight into my eyes, and another warm shiver rolls over me. Then he glances back to the phone and winces. “I don’t think I made a very good impression on your future mother-in-law. Sorry about that.”
Margaret chuckles. “Um… She had mixed reviews, but I’ll form my own opinion when we meet in person.”
“I am hanging up now!” I declare, mortified.
“Wait!” Margaret shouts. “Share your location with me first. Before you hang up. Or I’ll just call back.”
I roll my eyes. Margaret is not one to make idle threats. “Fine.”
I pull the phone away from my ear and, wearing a scowl, change my location sharing settings so she can track me.
