Page 83 of Make-Believe Match

“I never did return that guy’s call. The one who wanted to talk to me about the sale.”

“You don’t need to return his call.” I spoke with a lot more confidence than I felt. “That deal isoff the table.”

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” She grabbed her phone off the counter and flounced off down the hall.

* * *

Devlin didn’t seem that concerned when I told him about the conversation with Tabitha. “She can’t do anything,” he said, unpacking the groceries I’d picked up after work. “Unless Gran goes back on her word, you’ll have power of attorney by the end of the week. That’s all we need to get the loan. And what did Gran say about the deed?”

“She said she needed a real estate lawyer to prepare it, and she was told it could take months. Apparently, the one official who processes these things at the county level was out for weeks because he had back surgery, and now there’s a backlog.”

Devlin shook his head. “Small towns, man.” He pulled a package of ground beef out of a plastic bag. “Fridge or freezer?”

“You can leave that out. I’m going to use it for dinner.”

“What are we having?”

“Spaghetti Bolognese. My friend Ellie’s husband Gianni gave me his family’s secret recipe for meat sauce. Although I basically had to beg for it.” I started filling a pot with water.

Devlin came up behind me, bracing his hands on the edge of the sink next to my hips. “You begged, huh?”

I giggled as his mouth tickled the crook of my neck. “So hard.”

“I’m jealous. You begged another man for his sauce.”

“I didn’t beg him like I beg you, silly.” Laughing, I turned off the faucet. “You’re the only man who’s heard me beg likethat.”

He sank his teeth lightly into my shoulder. “Good. By the way, I have news.”

“Yeah?”

“Jennifer Bates called. We have a date for our pitch meeting—October twenty-seventh.”

I spun around to face him. “A whole month away.”

“That could be a good thing. We still have prep work to do. I want to get a contractor hired before we go, so that work can begin immediately once the money comes through. And maybe the official with the bad back will get the deed processed by then.”

“You sound awfully confident.”

“I am.” He pressed his lips to mine. “You should be too.”

* * *

October arrived. The leaves changed colors, and I changed my name, which Gran wanted to celebrate. She invited us over for dinner and made my favorite meal from when I was younger—chili and cornbread.

“Alexandra was always such a good eater,” Gran said after we’d finished eating but were still sitting at the table. “I never had to get after her to finish her plate. Were you like that?” she asked Devlin.

“I was a pretty good eater.” He leaned back and draped his arm across the back of my chair.

Gran looked pleased. “I bet your children will have good appetites too.”

“Okay, Gran.” I stood up and took my dishes to the sink. “We don’t need to get into that now.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s too soon.” Returning to the table for her dishes, I pinned her with a laser-beam stare. “We just got married.”

“Well, one always wants to plan ahead.”