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After letting out a heavy sigh, Knox said, “Date with Della tomorrow?”
My lips twitched into a grin of their own accord as I rolled back under the car. “Yeah.”
“The third in what? Seven days? Damn.”
The way he said it made my back stiffen a bit. I was glad my face was hidden under the car so he wouldn’t see my expression. But still I said, “Do you have to sound so surprised?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just—I don’t want you getting into something you don’t want.”
My eyebrows drew together, and I rolled out from under the car again and sat up, my back against the side of the car. “What are you talking about?”
Knox shifted uncomfortably in his seat, scratching at the back of his neck. If I wasn’t waiting for his answer, it might have been comical, seeing him all dressed in his cop uniform and squirming. But as it was, a tight knot was forming in my chest. I didn’t care what everyone in town thought of me, but my family knew me best.
“Spit it out,” I said, wringing the shop towel in my hands.
He sighed heavily. “You’ve always enjoyed your independence. And Della, she’s older by what? Ten years?”
I drew my eyebrows together. “Shit like that doesn’t matter at our age.”
“But it does,” Knox replied. He spun the sleeve around his coffee cup. “Guys can have kids forever, but if that’s something she wants, there’s not a lot of time left for someone who isn’t certain.”
My stomach clenched at the thought, and I looked down at my grease-stained hands.
“I know Della—she’s great. She’s a dreamer. I’m worried that her dreams of romance are affecting your wishes for your life. I want you to have what you want, and you’ve always been vocal about wanting to be alone.”
I gritted my teeth. “Can’t a guy change his mind? Or am I forever stuck as the guy y’all see me as?”
Knox tilted his head, speaking gently. “It’s a big change, you have to admit.”
“It’s a big change. But you know the cost of staying the same?”
He waited for my answer.
“Della.”
Knox nodded solemnly. “I get it. I just don’t want you to feel pressured into doing something you don’t want. Just because all of us are settling down. Or because there’s a time pressure on it for her.”
“Thanks for looking out,” I said finally, and then I put myself back under the car, thankful for something to do with my hands. Knox’s comments and Della’s questions from our date Monday night were weighing heavy on my mind.
I did like my life. I liked it even better with Della in it.
What else was there to decide?
32
DELLA
My house was looking barer than usual as I got ready for my date with Hayes Friday night. When my parents came over for Wednesday night dinner, Mom insisted we started packing while we watched GBBO.
I’d protested at first, but when she asked, “Are you not moving?” I had to say I was.
Hayes and I had been on two dates. It was too early to change all my plans. Especially with everyone I loved and respected being so worried for me. Maybe it would be different if they were as excited about my relationship with Hayes as I was.
But my parents were busy pretending he didn’t exist, and Liv’s skepticism was clear even when she wasn’t warning me about him. For some reason, I always assumed they would adore the person I wanted to be with. And I had no idea what to do now that they didn’t.
With a sigh, I sat on my couch to wait for his arrival. Maybe all this stress about their opinions was moot.
It was too early to think about a forever type of love with Hayes—if that was even on the table with him. He’d never been the guy to take a chance on love before, and I had a hard time thinking he’d choose something long-term and monogamous with me when he’d spent most of his adult life with his pick of every other single woman in town.