Yeah, they were going to pick this up again later.
“Let’s grab your father,” Mrs. King said, cutting into the moment. “I think he’s outside inspecting the shrubbery surrounding the inn.”
Reese wasn’t going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole.
Sydney threw Reese an apologetic look over her shoulder as she followed her mom out.
“Whew.” Hallie said the word as more of a whoosh of air than anything else. She stretched her arms out against the counter, leaning over it to get closer to Reese. “How’d you get on Mrs. King’s bad side so quickly?”
“You caught that, too?” Reese asked defeatedly.
Hallie picked up her tablet and scrolled through it absently. “I think the space satellites caught that.”
“I appreciate that you don’t pull any punches. It’s really a rare trait.” She could at least let Hallie enjoy having a little fun at her expense.
“How was the party at Casa Devereux? Canapés and Cristal abound?”
“There were also mini cinnamon rolls, but yeah, that’s basically the gist.”
“I cannot believe those made the approved menu,” Hallie said, genuinely shocked.
Reese shrugged. “The father of the bride is a simple man who likes simple things.”
“I like him already.”
“I do, too,” Reese admitted before adding, “If we could just keep Brynn’s side of the family and get rid of mine, I think we’d really have something going.”
“Tweedledee and Tweedledum not bringing the right energy to the family tree? Can’t say I’m surprised.”
Reese stilled, processing Hallie’s words. “Are you talking about my dad and brother?” she asked, letting out a loud guffaw.
“I was never a Grant fan. He has a pompadour, for crying out loud!” When Hallie talked, she did it with her whole body, her arms swinging out in both directions. “Plus, I’ll never forgive him for what he did to Sydney.”
“That makes two of us,” Reese agreed. Still, him ruining the best thing he’d likely ever have was only playing out to be Reese’s gain in the end. She only wished that Sydney hadn’t ever had to suffer through it.
“But we… like your mom? Just checking,” Hallie finished quickly. “I want to make sure I know who to not let on the property.”
“We do,” Reese said with a fond smile that surprised her as she thought of her conversations with her mom over the last few weeks. “We’ve really reconnected this summer. I’m liking it a lot.”
“A better relationship with your mom. A new girlfriend. A perfectly imperfect inn. Looks like it’s all coming up Reese Devereux lately.”
Reese smiled because nothing about Hallie’s words were untrue, and it felt good to let the feeling wash over her. “You know, things have been going pretty well lately. Besides Grant’s idiocy at every turn, it’s been a pretty amazing summer.”
“Oh, tell me, tell me.” Hallie held out her hands, opening and closing them like a baby asking for candy.
“He’s… even worse than I remember, if that’s possible.” It didn’t feel fair to talk about Grant with Sydney, which was ironic considering he was the thing that had brought them together. But maybe it would be nice to have, while not completely unbiased, another person to bounce the situation off for perspective.
“He was wasted today. Like ‘day-drinking kegger at the frat’ wasted by noon.”
Hallie scrunched up her face in disgust. “This was, in fact, his couple’s shower, correct?”
“Ding, ding, ding.” Reese ran a hand through her hair, trying to make sense of it herself. “His fiancée seems lovely, but it’s like he’s being dragged to the gallows. Is this how everyone feels about marriage? Like, why is he even getting married then?”
Hallie popped a grape in her mouth from a bowl she had nestled beneath the counter. She crunched on it thoughtfully. “The men-children, at least. But no, normal people don’t feel that way.”
“Yeah, I just… ugh. I don’t even know why I’m thinking about this.”
“Because you’re being dragged through an awkward-as-hell summer with a couple that’s on the verge of a quick divorce or a wildly unhappy marriage.”
