He…talked about her? WithNat? She’d been so focused onkeepingit from her sisters, she hadn’t stopped to think that Nash might have shared it with his best friend. And the confirmation that he had…that he’d believed in them enough to do so spoke volumes.
Every bump in their relationship had been on her. He’d been open for more with her, despite his obstacles. Despite the fact that he’d needed their business partnership in order to buy out King Construction and take it where he wanted it to go. He’d risked that the very first time he’d slept with her. And yet she’d been the one holding them back, all because she was worried about how it’dlook?
She’d been concerned about everyone else, and he’d only been focused on her. On them. He’d been willing to jeopardize everything just to be with her.
“When did you get so smart?” Rory asked.
“Must’ve been while I was frolickin’ all over the damn world. When’d you get so…normal?”
“Must’ve been while I was livin’ in our sad little town.”
Nat laughed, and Rory’s lips tipped up in a smile.
“Momma?” Ava asked, knocking on the door. “What’re you doin’ in the closet?”
Rory cleared her throat. “Just talkin’ to Auntie Nat. I’ll be out in a minute, baby.”
“It’s almost five. Is Mac comin’ to get us to go to Mimi and Papa’s?”
“This is a discussion we can have once I’m off the phone, Ava.”
“Okay,jeez.”
Rory expelled a deep sigh and closed her eyes. “I don’t know how she got all your sass when she’s hardly been around you.”
“On the bright side, you’ve had a lot of practice dealin’ with bratty teenagers.”
“So much practice,” Rory said on a laugh. “You were a handful and a half.”
“You’re welcome for preppin’ you,” Nat said. “So…about Nash…”
“I know, he’s a better man than I deserve.”
“I admit I thought that. When he told me about y’all, I didn’t quite understand what the hell he saw in you.”
“Bless your heart, you’re so sweet to me.”
Nat laughed. “But that was on me, not you. If the Rory I’ve been talkin’ to is even a little bit of the one he’s head over heels for, then I’d say you’re a perfect match.”
Rory’d turned Nat’s words over and over in her mind from the moment they’d hung up. A perfect match? She’d strived her whole life for perfection and then had tried to throw it all out the window. She’d decided to live for herself and not for anyone else, and yet she’d allowed what others thought—what others said—to have an impact on what she knew in her heart. That theywerethe perfect match. And not the kind of perfect she used to aspire to—the kind without any defects. Nope, they were flawed and chaotic and absolutely beautiful together.
An elbow to the ribs snapped Rory back to the present, her eyes scanning the faces gathered around the dining room table for Sunday supper. Every single one of them was staring at her.
She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry?”
“I was just askin’ how things were goin’ with Nash, sweetheart,” Momma said.
“With—” Rory’s words cut off as her heart tripped over itself at the mention of his name. “What things with Nash?”
She’d expected to be cornered again tonight by her sisters, but her momma? No doubt the Havenbrook rumor mill was churning, but she’d hoped it’d escaped the notice of her parents.
“Y’all are set to start on Debbie’s house next, aren’t you?”
Rory let her held breath go in a whoosh, her shoulders relaxing as she nodded. “Yes. On Wednesday, I believe.”
Momma smiled, her eyes shining with pride. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about the work y’all’ve been doin’. Y’all should be real proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
Her momma had always been silently supportive of Rory’s endeavors. No matter what she did—whether it be staying home with the girls or working at town hall or breaking off to do design—Momma stood behind her. But she’d never been vocal about any of it, and the weight Rory hadn’t even realized rested on her shoulders suddenly lifted.
