I hugged her even tighter against my chest.“I don’t see you calming with age.”
She snorted.“Absolutely not.”
“We don’t even have to make bail.”
“That really is a relief.I hate getting arrested.”
My eyebrows shot up.“You have been?”
“Not for work.It was recreational.”
I nudged her with my thigh.“Continue ...”
“Not in front of the children.”
At the stables, she helped get the horse brushed down and ready for the night.I couldn’t take my eyes off her, the easy way she made conversation with the kids and retold Emmett and his business partner, Missy, the story of the showdown—earning a couple of hearty laughs from him.Missy’s pale eyes flicked to mine and Alicia’s entwined hands, and the two women shared a nonverbal conversation that ended with Missy’s eyebrow raised very high, and Alicia blushing.
I squeezed her hand and lowered to whisper in her ear, “Are you okay?Should I limit the PDA?”
She pulled back to glare up at me.“Absolutely not,” she answered at normal volume.
My stomach flipped, and a smile spread across my face.“Okay.”
Emmett and Missy promised to join us in celebrating at the Pour House after finishing a few things, as Alicia and I waved goodbye before sliding into my SUV.
When we arrived downtown, we had to park a few blocks away and it seemed that most of the town was inside the little restaurant.It was a staple of the older generations in Grand Ridge, so it was the obvious choice of the euchre club.As we neared the front door, the sounds of people gathered inside grew louder and tumbled out when we swung the door open.We had hardly stepped inside, when a cry rang out.People clapped and called out from every corner of the building.I fell behind Alicia, joining in with the applause.
She waved a hand over head, her smile so bright she practically glowed.She reached a gloved hand behind her back, and I didn’t know if she was offering it to me because she wanted my support or just my touch, but I placed my palm in hers following her further into the restaurant.People pulled us into group hugs and patted her on the back.
Nora slid out from a booth followed by Hazel.Both Alicia and I took the opportunity to take off our coats and gloves tossing them into the green vinyl booth.
Alicia cried out, “Oh my God!Did you hear about what happened?!”as they neared.
“It’s all anyone can talk about,” Nora said.
“The livestream was hilarious,” Hazel added handing Alicia a cider and me a beer.
Flicking her eyes to our joined hands, Nora smirked.“And that kiss was hot as hell.”
The blood drained from Alicia’s face.
A shiver ran down my spine, and my stomach twisted sickeningly.I cleared my throat.“Our kiss was on it?”
Nora went to answer, but Alicia turned to me, her face stricken.“My mom follows that page.”
Hazel and Nora only looked confused for a moment, when Hazel’s eyes widened with understanding.“Your moms don’t know?!”
I set our drinks back on the table, snatching our coats in the same motion.“We gotta go make some phone calls.”
We’d gotten ourselves pretty psyched up on the drive home, but actually waiting for my mom to answer my call kinda sucked.Alicia had her phone pressed to her ear too and stood when the call connected.
“Hey, Mom,” Alicia spoke into her phone, walking toward my kitchen while I held my phone to my ear listening to it ring for my own mom to answer the other end.I rubbed at the back of my neck, where my anxiousness was tightening my muscles.
Alicia’s voice was confident and unwavering, but I was sure just like me her mom knew it for the tell it was—Alicia was at least a little nervous too.“You know how you’ve always said that you will always love me ...Well ...what I’m about to tell you will test the boundaries of that statement ...”
I snorted, but my smile turned into a cringe when my mom answered.
“Rem, I was just thinking about you!”
