Page 63 of The Bridesmaid (Brides of Beaufort 3)

It would be easier to donate money, but if there was one thing a military kid needed, it was as much quality time as possible. Gray would probably love for me to be able to come to something like this, especially considering how many other things I didn’t have a choice but to miss.

“Oh,” she said, her voice kicking up an octave. “I didn’t realize you worked part-time, how lovely. I’ll mark you down as a volunteer. Thanks!”

I closed my eyes, choosing to ignore her final, obnoxious assumption. “Anytime. Have a good day.”

When we got off the phone, I immediately called Layla. She answered right away. “Zac? Hey, everything okay?”

My eyes flicked to the clock on my dash, relieved to see I’d called her during her free period. I hadn’t even checked to make sure. “Hey, sorry to bug you at work.”

“You’re fine, what’s up?”

“I just had a really annoying phone call with the president of the PTO at Grayson’s school.”

She giggled. “Oh, I know who you’re talking about. Pam, right?”

“Yeah. How do you know her?”

“It’s a small district. What did she say?”

I gave her a quick rundown, sure not to leave out how condescending and rude Pam had been. Layla let me air all of my frustrations, commenting briefly as needed, and gasping at Pam’s audacity more than once.

When I was done, I let out a burst of air. “Whew, that felt good. Thanks for letting me vent.”

“Anytime.”

As good as it had felt to get all of that off my chest, I also realized I needed to see her. We’d only texted or talked on the phone since our date on Friday night, and since it was now Tuesday, I found myself missing her with a surprising amount of force.

“Hey,” I said, a brilliant idea flashing in my mind, “are you busy tonight?”

“Not unless you count eating leftovers with Lyndi and watching some trashy TV while she reads.”

“Good, so not at all, then. Gray is going with Jo and Trevor to their gym because he likes the rock wall. Wanna hang out?”

“Sure,” she said in a warm tone. “What do you have in mind?”

I grinned. “You’ll see.”

* * *

The second I turned down the old gravel road, Layla knew exactly where we were headed. She turned and looked in the back seat, a wide smile creeping over her lips. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“Did you bring chips and salsa?”

I scoffed. “Is that a serious question? Of course, I did.”

“What about those little pinwheels with the turkey and cheese?”

“Yes, those too. Gray helped me roll them up before he left for the gym, in fact.”

Her mouth popped open. “No way. That’s so cute! Did you tell him what they were for?”

“I just told him I was going on a picnic with a friend.” I slid my gaze over to her as I navigated the dirt road in the fading light. “So, when do you think we should introduce you to him as mygirlfriend?”

I tried to place as much emphasis on the word as possible, but even so, it seemed small and inconsequential when I held it up to my feelings for her.

“Well,” she started, tucking a strand of her long, brown hair behind her ear, “this is only our second date if you don’t count the wedding, so probably a little longer.” When I didn’t say anything, she chuckled and swatted my arm. “What? You don’t agree? What happened to taking it slow and waiting to be sure?”