“And touch his arm. Repeatedly,” says Mary London.
“They love it when you call ’em sugar.” This is from Anna Claire. Ruby starts chanting for sugar.
“Definitely need to have some cleavage on display. These girls practically mesmerize my hubby.” Palmer points to her milk-engorged breasts that are each bigger than my head.
“We have a slight problem there,” I mutter, a bit overwhelmed.
Mary London cackles and even that’s cute. “No way. Just show off your assets, girl. Not all men are boob men, you know?”
Palmer looks at her watch and starts collecting all the baby accoutrements on the table. “I’m fixin’ to pick up the older kiddos, but let’s meet back here next week. You can report back how things turned out, Betsy Mae.”
They all give me a hug and wish me luck on my flirting journey, automatically assuming I’ll do it.
As I walk back to Harp and Hemline, I think about Silas seeing me in my underwear yesterday. I didn’t like how that put me on the defensive. Maybe knocking him off guard with my flirting is exactly what I need to tip the scales back in my favor.
It couldn’t hurt, could it?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Silas
Betsy was actingstrange yesterday after she got back from lunch with my sister and her gaggle of friends. I tried to start a conversation multiple times, but she just hummed louder and turned her back on me. I got the message loud and clear: she didn’t want to be bothered.
So it takes me by surprise when I pull into a parking space on the south side of the Square this morning and Betsy pulls her hideous white SUV in right beside me. She waves to me from the driver’s seat and then climbs out with a bright-as-the-sun smile on her face. I do a double take, my first thought being that someone has stolen her car and is impersonating her. Doing a shit job of it though. Betsy has never once smiled that enthusiastically and never this early in the morning. No amount of caffeine can pull her out of her funk until at least noon.
“You okay?” I ask, rounding the bed of my truck and studying her for possible drug use.
She nods, smile still in place. She’s wearing a dress I haven’t seen before. A pink dress with straps that leave most of hershoulders exposed to the morning sun. I’ve never thought of shoulders as sexy, but damn, Betsy’s are. Strappy gold sandals give her an extra few inches in height. Gold bangles line both wrists. It’s when I get to the curled hair that I know for sure something’s up.
“Good morning, sugar!” she greets me loudly.
I rear back in horror. What the actual fuck is going on here?
“Did you hit your head?”
She giggles.Giggles.
“Nope, sure didn’t.” She hooks her thumb toward my truck, giving me what on anyone else I would call a flirty wink. On Betsy, I think maybe she’s got something in her eye. “You got some big wheels on that there truck, Silas Grey. You compensating for something?”
My eyes bug out of my head. Is she…referring to my dick size not being sufficient? I’m not sure what’s going on here, but there’s no way in heaven and hell that I’m gonna let a rumor of that nature spread around town.
I lean in real close, so close I can see the mascara she swiped across her lashes and the absence of the heavy black eyeliner. It gives her eyes the look of a startled doe, if deer had blue eyes. My hands land on top of her sexy shoulders. My thumbs take liberties and sweep back and forth across the exposed silky-smooth skin.
“Betsy Mae, you listen real good now, you hear? There ain’t no compensating here, darlin’. Not even a little bit.”
Her lashes flutter rapidly. I pause, trying to look closer to see if something got in them, but I see nothing.
“Okay. Welp. Good to know,” she chirps, then lifts an arm between us and boops me on the nose.Boopsme!
I’m so stunned she’s halfway to Harp and Hemline before I get my butt in gear and follow her. She waits patiently next to the door while I get it unlocked, that creepy-ass smile still frozen onher face. I push the door open and let her go first, like always, but this time she does some weird little curtsy thing as she passes me.
“Thank you, sugar!” she calls over her shoulder.
I stand on the threshold, shaking my head, wondering if I should even step inside. Seems safer out here even with the rising sun starting to set the landscape ablaze.
“You comin’?” Betsy calls out.
I sigh and walk in. This is my sister’s fault. I can sense her work here. She must have said something to Betsy and it’s up to me to get to the bottom of it and tell her to cut this shit out.
