Moose was the first to scramble to his feet, and I was happy to let him lead the way. He might not have been the man-eater I’d imagined him to be, but I still wasn’t comfortable having him prowling around behind me.
Grandmother was next through the door, and I came along behind, dragging my feet like a kid on her way to the principal’s office. I was in serious trouble, and it was only a matter of time before the hammer dropped.
“I think you’re in for a nice surprise,” Cash said, opening his door.
“So are you,” I mumbled under my breath. But I wasn’t sure hownicehe’d think my surprise was. I cringed on the inside when I imagined what his response might be when I told him we were going to be stuck with each other for the entire summer.
I still had no idea how I was going to break the news to him. I could play it cute like one of those valley girls in the old movies I used to watch with my mom. I’d twirl my hair around my finger, smack a stick of gum, and act like I had totally tubular news.Hey, Cash, like, you’ll never believe what I just heard. Grandmother is staying all summer! We’re going to be spending a lot of time together. Best. Summer. Ever. Squeeeee!
No way. The theme for the day might have been me pretending to be someone I’m not, but that act was way too far-fetched, even for me.
Maybe I could take the too-cool-for-school approach.Yo, Cash, you—me—all summer. Dig it.
Dig it? Who even talked like that anymore? This wasn’t the nineteen sixties, and I was no beatnik.
Since I was pulling all my inspiration from eras long past, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try a different decade on for size. I went straight into nineteen-thirties gangster mode.You’re gonna be my boyfriend all summer, see, and you’re not going to give me any trouble about it, yeah. If you ever want to see that precious moolah of yours, you’re gonna do every little thing I say or else…
Yikes! That went too dark, too fast. I was so in over my head.
“It smells lovely.” Grandmother’s voice pulled me back into the moment.
My stomach growled the instant I took a sniff. She was right. It took me a minute to realize that I was in no ordinary bachelor pad. It smelled more like a five-star restaurant than a single guy’s apartment. Maybe linner wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Having a quick bite to eat might give me the strength I needed to tell Cash about our predicament.
And yes, it wasourpredicament, because my gangster side wasn’t completely wrong. If he wanted to get his hands on the money I’d promised him, he’d have to help me earn it first. Like it or not, we were in this together, win, lose, or draw.
“How on earth did you prepare a meal so quickly?” Grandmother asked.
Cash set a platter of hot sandwiches on the table. “Most of the food was already cooked.”
“All this food for one young man?” she asked.
“It takes a lot of testing to develop a menu with unmistakable flair. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m getting close.”
“Menu?” I blurted like an idiot. I bit my bottom lip to stave off the questions I wanted to ask—questions any actual girlfriend would already know the answers to.
I hadn’t even considered hownotready I was to pretend to be his girlfriend. This level of unpreparedness was even worse than when I took my finals during my senior year. At least I’d pretended to study for that test, but this one? Nope. I knew absolutely nothing about his life, and I wasn’t doing a great job of hiding it, either.
Cash came around behind me and placed his warm hands on my shoulders as if he could tell I was moments away from blowing our cover. “Yes, sweetie, you know, thenewmenu?” Tingles raced down my arms as he gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze and guided me to my seat.
“Right,” I said, recovering some of my senses, “because that old menu was just too… old.” It was time for me to stop talking, but the nervous laughter that replaced my rambling wasn’t much better. I sat down and swallowed my annoying giggles.
“Are you opening a new restaurant?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” Cash said, filling our cups with iced sweet tea.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the question demand a yes or no answer? How does one ‘not exactly’ open a restaurant?”
Only one of Grandmother’s brows lifted as she sat down across from me and took a sip of her tea. I held my breath. I needed her to like Cash—to be impressed by him. But that brow sent a powerful message to anyone who knew her.
How pathetic would it be if I couldn’t even find afakeboyfriend that she’d approve of?
“Two words,” Cash said. “Food truck.”
I paused with a triangle-cut sandwich half-way to my mouth. That was actually… kind of cool.
Grandmother cleared her throat and set her glass of tea on the table. “I don’t understand why a delivery man would need a menu.”
Cash’s good-natured laughter rang out. “No, ma’am, a food truck is kind of like a traveling restaurant.”
