Page 10 of You Found Me (The Meadow Springs #1)
“I’d like to meet her too, B.” I grab some beers for us, bringing both of them with me to sit down beside him. “I hope you know I’m not hurt or anything by you not telling me about her. You’ve always been private, and I respect that. I’m here if you ever need to talk anything over.”
“Thanks. I wanted time before I told anyone—especially before telling Mom."
I laugh. “Surprised she hasn’t caught on.”
Beckett gives a wry laugh. “I’m not the favorite which makes it easy to go unnoticed. So, that was Emmaline, huh? She’s cute. I get why you’re caught up on her.”
Leaning back into the couch, I pick at the paper on the beer bottle. “Yep. That’s her. I didn’t know she was in town again. ”
He makes a noncommittal hum. “What was up with her friend calling me Clark?”
“You’re going to love this, but she thinks you look like Tom Welling.” I see his lips curl up before he catches himself.
“I think she might need glasses.”
“From what I’ve seen, that’s just Mia being Mia. Always friendly but there’s often a bit of mischief or trickery lurking. Oh,” I add, “she also said you’re much hotter than he is. So just know anytime you’re around, she’s going to mess with you.”
He’s fighting a smile so hard. I watch as he actually tries wiping it off his face and I wonder if he doesn’t get complimented often. I figure his girlfriend would, but his reaction makes me think otherwise.
Instead of ragging on him, I ask, “What time were you planning to head out tomorrow?”
“I don’t have a set time I need to be back. I took time off at the restaurant until Tuesday so I’d have a day to relax and see Alicia.”
“I planned to meet Theo at Edie’s for breakfast. Why don’t you come with me? I’m sure he’d want to see you since you’re in town.”
“Works for me. You’ve talked a lot about Edie’s skills in the kitchen. It’d be nice to try it.”
I clink my bottle to his. “Sounds like a plan. I’m going to jump in the shower. I can order a pizza or pasta from Anatoli’s if that sounds good to you.”
“Either works. You know I eat just about anything.”
“Okay. I’ll call in the order for delivery now.”
After I make the call, I once again think about Emmaline. I’ve got to reel in my wandering thoughts because this is getting ridiculous. I especially need to stop thinking about her when I’m in the shower.
Totally not creepy, but we’re pushing it at this point. In the shower, I actively try to think of anything besides her.
Anything .
A few hours later, we have the pizza, a few more beers, and watch some cooking show Beckett seems to enjoy.
I’ll hand it to him, it was pretty funny.
Shows that some people shouldn’t be allowed in a kitchen.
By 10:30 p.m. I’m exhausted. I don’t know when I turned into such an old man, but I clean up before I go to bed, leaving Beckett on his own.
We’re meeting Theo at 8 a.m. and after being off for the past five days, I know I won’t want to get up.
My last thoughts before drifting off to sleep are: why was Emmaline back in town so soon after leaving, and why was she here, at the Inn?
***
I was right about this morning being a bitch to wake up—but of course Beckett was awake and ready to go.
We drive separately to the diner, so he can leave directly from breakfast. We’ve been here give or take twenty minutes, and the amount of women who’ve come over to our table is ridiculous. And not just girls our age.
There are currently two teenage girls gushing about how much they love Beckett’s tattoos. The one with braces is bold enough to actually run her fingers over his left forearm. “I’d be willing to bet that being wrapped up in your arms would make me feel awfully safe.”
B’s eyes bug out of his skull as he snatches his arm away, but before he can say anything, she asks, “Will you hold me?”
She starts to move closer to him and as he’s telling her no, Edie comes up swatting her with a newspaper.
“Scarlett Patterson, don’t make me call your grandmama and tell her how you’re acting a fool this morning. It’s time for you to leave.”
Scarlett and her friend scurry away and out the door allowing Beckett to relax a bit. “Thank you for rescuing me. I promise I didn’t invite them over or encourage them.”
Edie comes closer, patting his shoulder. “Oh hush now. That didn’t even cross my mind. Unfortunately, those girls are too much like their mothers.” She sticks out her hand, introducing herself, “I’m Edie, the owner of this establishment. Who might you be? ”
He shakes her hand and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Edie. I’m Beckett, Spencer’s older brother.”
“Edie will do just fine.” She looks my way. “Where have you been hiding this hunky brother of yours?”
At that, Theo and I lose it. “I haven’t been hiding him. But I’m thinking I might have to keep him away from this town.”
“Probably not a bad idea,” Theo adds. “Edie, I don’t think he could handle you, or the other women in town trying to jump his bones.”
Beckett looks like he’s trying to put a puzzle together in his mind. “Are you two related?”
Edie laughs, shaking her head. “Nope. Why do you ask?”
“I met his sister,” pointing at Theo, “and something about the two of you seem similar.”
“Well, I’ve known that little spitfire most of her life. She worked here when she was in high school. That whole group did.”
“When did you meet Mia?” Theo asks.
“Yesterday when we got back to the Inn,” I answer Theo, for B. “She called him by a different name, then proceeded to say he was hotter than the actor she was comparing him to.”
Edie throws her head back laughing. “That’s my girl.”
Theo shakes his head. “I’m sorry, dude. You’ll have to forgive my sister. She’s always said whatever she thinks and causes mayhem wherever she goes.”
“No worries. I have a girlfriend anyway.”
“But not a wife,” Edie responds to B rather quickly. “Which means the single women in this town will flock to you just as much as they flock to these two cuties.”
Before she can add anything else, she’s interrupted by someone in the kitchen calling out for her. “Sorry, duty calls. Always a pleasure, boys. It was nice to meet you, stud,” Edie says to Beckett with a wink.
After she walks away, Beckett sighs. “I’m not sure I’ll be coming back to town anytime soon. The people here are something else.”
Theo and I laugh because this isn’t even as bad as it could be. Since I moved to town last month, I’ve been set up on ten dates where the age of the women range from newly eighteen to fifty-four .
I went along with it because the women doing the set ups were incredibly kind to me when I introduced myself. But after the first couple of dates, I was over it. They got progressively worse, showing me exactly why some of these women were single.
My mom is thrilled I’ve gone on dates, but since I haven’t mentioned one lately, she’s hinted at taking my love life into her own hands. For the life of me, I don’t know why she wants to marry her two sons off so soon. We’re twenty-eight and twenty-seven. Both focused on furthering our careers.
“Spence, did you hear Theo?” B asks.
“Sorry. I was in my head for a second there. What’s up?”
“Since Mia was brought up, I thought I’d mention that Mia called me this morning before I got here with some news. And I think you might like it,” Theo says with a small grin.
“Me? Why?”
“Emmaline is moving back to Meadow Springs. Apparently, her and Chance are over.”
I hum noncommittally in response, finding myself lost in my head again. While I was bummed to have found her again only to learn she was engaged, I never wanted them to break up. I don’t know what happened between them, I just hope she’s okay.
We finish up breakfast, waving goodbye to Edie.
“Well, this has been an interesting morning for sure. Theo, good to see you again,” he says, then turns to me.
“This next month at work is going to be insane because our manager approved vacation time for too many of the kitchen staff that month. So, I’m not sure when I’ll see you. ”
I hug him, even though I know he doesn’t love them and only puts up with it because I’m his baby brother. “Thanks for giving me the heads up. Let me know when is a good time to meet Aria.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too, B.”