“Maverick wants to get to know his date though,” Agatha said. “He needs a place they can talk.”
“That’s true,” Iola mused. “And if they go to the pub, we could pop in and make sure the date is going well.”
“Not to spy,” Lula said, sounding delighted.
“No, of course we would never,” Iola said. “We’d simply be enjoying a pitcher of Granny Tea with good friends…at the same time as the date.”
The ladies all laughed with a sort of evil glee that made me shiver with foreboding. You couldn’t pay me enough to put my love life in their hands.
I hadn’t expected Maverick to agree to a single matchmaking, much less go on multiple blind dates and tell the Mamas he wanted something serious.
He must really want a boyfriend.
Suddenly, my pancakes didn’t sit too well. Maybe Wendy was onto something about my eating habits.
I pushed my plate away, no longer hungry.
CHAPTER 9
Maverick
“Damn it,”I muttered as I turned down my block and saw Damon’s monster truck in our driveway. “If that man has taken up all the space and I have to lug all these groceries in from the street…”
I’d hoped to beat him back to our place, but Mom was coming for dinner and I’d put off shopping too long.
I slowed, preparing to pull over at the curb when I saw to my surprise, Damon had actually parked fully on his side.
Huh. About time.
I whipped the car into the drive and put it in park. The Meat Market had been swamped with after-work shoppers, so I was running late. I hopped out and popped the trunk, loading up with as many bags as I could carry.
I shopped with re-usable fabric tote bags, which was good for the environment. But less helpful to me when I was trying to carry a lot at once. I picked up two bags with each hand and reached for a third, picking it up with the tips of my straining fingers.
“You eating for two now?”
I jumped, the bag slipping from my grip.
Damon caught it before it hit the ground. “Damn, man, what’s in here?” He hefted it up and down. “Maybe you’re eating for twenty.”
I rolled my eyes and decided I’d have to make two trips to get all the groceries. “You’re hilarious. My mom is coming over for dinner.”
Damon reached past me to snag the last two remaining totes. I watched him, a little afraid of what he might do, but dumping my groceries all over the driveway wasn’t really his style. He liked to get…creative with his pranks.
Like the matchmaking business. I still wasn’t sure why I was playing along. If it was only to show Damon his prank didn’t get to me, I could stop now. But Lula had called me to tell me they had another date arranged for me and I’d agreed without missing a beat.
“Is Shayla coming too?” Damon asked.
“Stay far away from my little sister or I will gut you like a rotten fish.”
Damon followed me up the porch, still carrying my groceries like some kind of southern gentleman. “Does the fish have to berotten?” he asked. “I’m more of a flashy trophy fish that you hang on your wall to show off to all your friends.”
I cut him a glance to see a sexy grin on his face. Such a cocky bastard.
“If you get with my sister, you arerotten,” I said emphatically.
He smirked. “Sis is off-limits. I got it.”
I fumbled to get my key in the lock while holding two bags of groceries. “I’m serious, Damon. Do notfuckaround?—”
