“What?” That was even worse than everyone thinking I was throwing myself at Liam, which I was, but no one needed to know that.
“Oh, it’s just some of the gossip I’ve heard. I would ignore it.”
“Could you ignore it if everyone thought you were pregnant?”
“I did, remember? Senior year of high school, the whole town thought I was knocked up by Billy Grainger.”
“Oh, right.”
“And you believed them.”
“I did not,” I said indignantly. “Just because I asked didn’t mean I believed it.”
“Well, you don’t see me asking if you’re pregnant.”
She might not have been asking, but her eyes kept flicking to my stomach in question.
“Since I haven’t even thought about it, how would I possibly know?” I hissed.
“Well, you would know before anyone else. Just don’t keep that secret to yourself. Inquiring minds want to know.”
“That’s the problem with this town. Inquiring minds always want to know.”
I snatched the menu out of the holder and looked at every single item that just made my stomach churn. There was nothing I wanted, or even thought I could stomach, but I knew I couldn’t go without food. That would only make the hangover worse.
“Uh…Bailes?”
“What?” I asked, still trying to decide what to get.
“Not to interrupt your deep thoughts, but you should probably look up.”
I snapped my gaze up to meet her wide eyes, and then slowly turned my burning face to the man standing beside the table with a very satisfied Cora.
“You don’t mind if he sits here, do you? There are no other tables available.”
Liam’s jaw clenched hard as he stood beside Cora, clearly pissed that she had dragged him into this situation. I couldn’t say I disagreed with his anger. I was a little peeved at the moment as well.
But causing a scene would only fuel town gossip, so I slid over in the booth and grinned up at her. “Of course not.”
Liam took his seat beside me, just as uncomfortable as I was.
“How’s your head?” he asked in a gruff tone.
“Perfectly fine. And yours?”
Sighing, he snatched a menu and studied it, though he always got the same thing when he came in here. I knew because I had studied him over the years. As much as he had watched me, I had done the same to him.
“I think I might get the pancakes,” Cheyenne said. “It’s a double-stack kind of morning.”
“You didn’t have to let me sit here,” Liam muttered.
“You didn’t have to sit down,” I snapped.
“Chocolate chip pancakes sound really good,” Cheyenne said a little louder.
“What was I supposed to do? Should I have refused to sit with you and fueled the gossip?”
“I’m sure you could have gotten a seat with Ellie May over there,” I nodded my head across the diner, then resumed perusing the menu. “I’m sure she would have been more than happy to sit in your lap and nibble on your ear as an appetizer.”
