“Um, I’ll have a burger, too. And maybe a Pepsi.”
“Sure thing. I’ll have it out in a few. Happy Valentine’s Day!” Candy was all dressed up for the holiday, just like Marissa.
Although now that Marissa had taken off her fuzzy pink heart sweater, she was left in a red tank top that I couldn’t stop looking at.
I dragged my errant eyeballs back up to her face. “Did you really mean that about the Sunday dinners? It felt weird showing up now that he’s gone.”
“You know my parents think of you as their second son.”
When I realized I’d furrowed my brow, I worked to unknot it again. “Yeah. I’m pretty dang fond of them, too.”
“Why don’t you swing bythisSunday? You can be my guest if it makes you feel more comfortable having an official invitation.”
Her invitation felt like a lifeline to me.
My mom had died young. My daddy was around, but he ran in some dark circles, so I didn’t see him often. Marissa and Matt’s parents had raised me more than he had.
“You really don’t think they’d mind? I don’t want to butt in where I’m not wanted.” I tried to ignore the huskiness that had crept into my voice.
“Are you kidding? They’ll be so excited to see you. My mom used to tell me…”
Her words trailed off as a pink blush spread across her cheeks.
“She used to tell you what?”
“Uh… well, um…”
“What? You can tell me anything, Rissy.”
She swallowed hard, the pink blush on her skin deepening to a dusty mauve. “Well, my mom has some crazy ideas in her head. She says that I should catch you just so you’ll start coming around again.”
A strange sensation spread through my entire body, settling somewhere in the vicinity of my dick. “Catchme?”
“You know what I mean,” she said in a quiet whisper. “And it was my mom’s idea. Not mine,” she added in a rush.
A familiar smile spread across her lips. One that I’d missed more than I’d realized.
“Your mom’s always had some good ideas,” I rumbled.
Now Marissa turned bright red. Then she fell into a stammered recitation of recent events, filling me in on the last six months of her life.
“So anyway, with Matt gone, it’s been quiet at my parent’s house. You know they always wanted a big family. And neither of us has given them any grandkids yet. I’ve been too busy working to think about that much.”
“That’s too bad. You’d make an awesome mom.”
Her eyes flickered with emotion, but not the good kind. I felt like I’d just stumbled on a tricky subject.
Switching away from that, I asked, “Are you still digging in the dirt instead of giving your mom grandbabies?”
“You can’t call it that anymore. I’m an official Environmental Soil Scientist these days, Sawyer.”
“So you getpaidto dig in the dirt.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes.
Sweet Marissa had been busy, and she knew I was well aware of her fancy-ass career, but I liked to razz her.
She might not have settled down with a man or started a family yet. But she’d made a big name for herself doing environmental soil science studies in the region, funded by the very wealthy university further north of us.
