‘Nothing wrong with that,’ Griff asserted.
‘It sounds okay in a Southern drawl, but I’m not so sure about in my British accent.’
‘Give it time.’
‘I’ve offered you the rest of my life. What more do you want?’ Lyndsey teased.
‘Hey, that’s an awesome line for a song.’ Deke’s eyes lit up.
‘I thought you were retiring from performing,’ Becca chided.
‘I am . . . at least on big stages. That doesn’t mean I won’t be tempted by the occasional open mic night somewhere, and I’m damn sure I’ll keep writing songs until I’m old and feeble.’
‘You mean as opposed to just feeble?’ Theo joked with his father.
‘Anyway, I think it’sallawesome,’ Griff said with conviction. ‘Let’s toast to the future!’ He raised his coffee cup and even Nora joined in, picking up on the infectious happiness around her and waving her arms around madly.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Despite knowing how ridiculous she was being, Lyndsey’s stomach was in turmoil. She touched the ring Griff bought for her yesterday — a sparkling round cut diamond surrounded by glittering emeralds — feeling like a child at Christmas who couldn’t stop playing with their favorite new toy. This was another thing she’d never pictured for herself, unlike her sister, who knew every detail of the engagement ring she wanted about two decades before accepting Deke’s proposal.
‘I hear my folks’ car. You comin’ out with me?’ Griff tilted her a questioning smile. ‘It’s gonna be fine.’
‘Of course it is. I can’t wait to meet them.’ That was true, but still it did nothing to lessen her nerves.
In the end, his parents had decided they felt like a trip to Nashville, so any second now she’d be face to face with Sylvia and Larry Oakes. She almost wished Jase was here too, but he’d made a tactical retreat and decided to leave the four of them alone while he took Tiffany out for lunch. It had amused them both no end when Jase pounced on Griff the minute they got home and asked his brother’s opinion on whether he should ask Tiffany out on a date.
Apparently, the two met at an impromptu barbeque Harold and William threw the previous week for their Paradise Valley community, and flirted over the hamburgers and hot dogs, no doubt to everyone else’s amusement. Griff hadn’t been able to resist teasing Jase — after all, it was the first time his charismatic younger brother ever asked him for dating advice. But he’d hurried to assure Jase that as far as he knew, Tiffany didn’t have anyone special in her life, and told him to go for it. The first date went well, and now they were out again together today.
‘I love that dress,’ Griff said, smiling down at Lyndsey warmly.
She’d initially dressed in a simple white shirt and black capris, thinking the comfort of one of her old familiar standbys would be reassuring, but then succumbed to Griff’s last-minute plea for her to change. The vibrant hot pink sheath splashed with exotic green leaves accentuated her coloring, something he was helping her to learn to celebrate. Lyndsey clasped his outstretched hand and they stepped outside together.
Tomorrow was the first of August, so the constant wall of heat and humidity was supposedly at its peak. She could only hope her deodorant was up for working overtime.
A dark red truck, only marginally newer and less battered than Griff’s, stopped in front of them. The doors were flung open and before she had a chance to say hello, Lyndsey was engulfed in a warm hug.
‘I’d about given up hope of my boy ever findin’ someone crazy enough to take him on!’ The woman loosened her grasp, and her inquisitive brown eyes swept over Lyndsey. ‘He was right on. You’re a looker, all right.’
There was really no reply she could make without sounding weird, so she contented herself with smiling. To return the favor, she checked out Griff’s mother. He certainly didn’t get his tall, rangy build from the woman who barely reached Lyndsey’s chest, and whose tight blue T-shirt and jeans were stretched over generous curves. But Sylvia’s amused smile was the mirror image of Griff’s — so much so that it knocked her off-kilter for a moment. She shifted her glance to the man standing quietly to one side. The only clue to Larry Oakes being in his early eighties was his slight stoop and thinning gray hair; apart from that, he and Griff could be clones.
‘I’ll get your bags. You go on inside with Lyndsey.’ He’d persuaded his parents to stay for a couple of nights to give them more time together, so Jase was consigned to sleeping on the sofa.
Sylvia bustled on ahead and settled herself on the sofa. She patted the cushion next to her and encouraged Lyndsey to sit down.
‘Go help Griff,’ she ordered her husband. ‘I want a few minutes with this girl.’
Lyndsey’s heart thumped. She’d faced one or two boyfriends’ mothers in the past, but those encounters never meant as much as this one. Despite knowing Griff loved her and that they were solid no matter what, Sylvia Oakes’ opinion still mattered. Now she had an inkling how he must’ve felt in Cornwall, faced with her own curious parents.
‘What would you like to know?’ A flash of respect lit up Sylvia’s eyes when she took the initiative. ‘I’m sure there’s a lot Griff hasn’t told you.’
‘He’s a man. They don’t tell their mothers much, especially when it comes to women.’
Lyndsey rattled off a brief biography, then felt herself blush. ‘Sorry. This isn’t a job interview, and I didn’t mean to treat it like one.’
‘Don’t you fret.’ Sylvia patted her hand. ‘I remember meeting Larry’s folks the first time. His father was a sweet old soul, but his mother was another story. She put the fear of God in me. I tried not to take it personal, because I knew deep down no one would’ve been good enough for her only child.’
‘Did you win her over?’
