“Ice cream. I need to talk to you and I’m hoping a couple scoops of your favorite treat will butter you up.”
She gave me a side eye, her arms crossed, but she didn’t say no, so I was going to take that as a good sign.
Ten minutes later, I parked in the parking lot and climbed out, Tiffany hot on my heels. We quickly ordered our favorites and sat down. But she didn’t start digging into hers like I was hoping she would.
“Spill it, lady.”
I sighed and wiped my mouth before nodding.
“I wasn’t home last night. In fact, I spent it with a man who treated me like the queen I am.”
“Is that where the mark came from?”
My hand flew to my neck and my eyes opened wide, making her laugh. She finally had a few bites before nodding.
“My guess was right. Who was it?”
“You can’t be mad at me Tiffany, and if you tell me you don’t want me to see him, I won’t. But just know that he makes me happy. Which is really funny because he probably shouldn’t.”
“You were with Zeb, weren’t you?”
My jaw fell open and once more she was laughing.
“How the hell did you know?”
“Because all the fighting was just intense between you two. Classic enemies to lovers.”
I watched as she played with her ice cream before having another bite. She looked up at me, a smile in place.
“What’s that smile for?” I asked.
“If he makes you happy, that’s all I want.”
“This won’t be odd if you know, we start dating?”
“Mom, you’re the only one who would make it odd. Sure, he’s younger, but Zeb is a great guy. I mean, I only know so much about him.”
“Would you want him to cover for dinner so that maybe you can get to know him on a different level? One away from the ranch?”
“You don’t know him all that well either, do you?”
I threw my napkin at her, because I actually did. Just in different ways, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to have him in our domain and be domesticated.
“You sure you’re good?”
“Of course, Mom. Really, I want you to be happy. And Zeb is a great guy. He’s funny, smart, and good looking. There’s no problem with his age unless you have one. And even if I have talked to him, I know it won’t get to you.”
“Do you have a problem with me dating?”
“Oh my gosh, no!” We both laughed and I reached out, giving her a quick side hug.
“You’re my most important person, Tiffany. And I want things to be good between us. Your dad left things rough on our end, but it’s always been me and you.”
“I know, and I feel the same.” She grabbed my phone from my purse and handed it to me. “Now text him.”
I took the device and let out a sigh before pulling up his number.
Talked to Tiffany. She’s good. Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night?
