“Maybe.” Violet smiled. “But kids keep us young.”
Simon’s expression turned thoughtful. “You want kids one day?”
Violet was surprised by the question, but she answered honestly. “I do. One or two would be nice. One day. What about you?”
His gaze swept over her face slowly. “Yeah. Kids’re hopefully on the agenda.”
“You might wanna get on that,” she teased. “You ain’t gettin’ any younger.”
Simon picked up his beer and tipped it toward his mouth. “I’m workin’ on it.”
Warmth filled her insides, starting in her chest and working its way outward. She knew better than to read anything into that statement, but based on the look in his eyes, it was difficult not to.
Someone cleared their throat behind her at the same time Simon’s eyes lifted to look in that direction. Violet braced herself for another well-meaning but quite irritating male relative of hers.
“How’s it goin’, Violet?”
And she wasn’t disappointed.
“Hey, Jaxson,” she said as he stepped around into her line of sight. “Simon, meet Jaxson Briggs. Another cousin. Jaxson, Simon Jennings.”
Jaxson jerked his chin in greeting but kept his eyes on her. “Hey.”
“Nice to meet—”
“Where’s Elana?”
Violet tilted her head as she peered up at him. “Are you askin’ ’cause you’re interested?”
“No.”
“Well, then, I guess it’s none of your business.”
He didn’t look the least bit shameful, but she expected no less. He wasn’t asking where Elana was because he was interested in the answer. It was his not-so-subtle way of telling her she should be hanging out with someone other than the man sitting across from her.
Her sisters often had stories very similar to this scenario. Most of the time, they didn’t end well. Certainly notwhen someone attempted to interfere in Honor’s romantic entanglements. Violet was a bit nicer than her baby sister, although her family was pushing their luck tonight.
“You need somethin’ else?” she asked, trying for polite. “Because I’m kinda on a date.”
“You goin’ to Brantley’s wedding?”
Taking a deep breath, she reached for her drink. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Maybe you could take your date,” he said, sounding far too haughty for his own good.
Her gaze snapped to his face. “Maybe I could.”
“I think I’ll go close out our tab,” Simon said, getting to his feet. “It was nice to meet you, Jaxson.”
“Same.”
As soon as Simon was out of earshot, Violet jumped to her feet. “Whatis your problem?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Invite him to awedding?” She huffed. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
“Hey. It’s not my fault he’s not good enough for you.”
