Page 30 of Until You

Tennyson sputters over a response as she looks from Paige to Addy then to me.

“You can say no,” I offer while silently wanting her to say yes.

“I’m going to start getting my feelings hurt if you keep saying that,” she teases.

I lift my hands up. “No obligation required is all I’m saying.”

She smiles softly at me and then at the girls. “I’d love to, but I have other—”

“C’mon. Pretty please,” Paige says.

“I’m sorry, but—”

“And here I thought you were lying to avoid us,” a voice with a southern drawl says to our left so that we all shift to look at the woman standing there. She’s dressed head to toe in varying shades of pink. Her hair is big and the eyes she’s blatantly devouring me with are even bigger. “But you weren’t. Here you are keeping secrets from us. It appears that Miss Tennyson West definitely does have plans tonight.”

CHAPTER NINE

Tennyson

Secrets?

Can I die a quick death now?

Crew’s going to think I’ve been talking about him—or even worse—lying about having plans with him.

I look from an expectant Bobbi Jo to a bemused Crew. I’m caught in no man’s land—not wanting to say yes to ice cream because I’ve come to the conclusion after seeing that adorable blush on his cheeks that I like Crew more than I’d like to admit. That and now he clearly thinks I’ve been talking about him.

And at the same time, I’m unable to say no because then Bobbi Jo would catch me in a lie.

I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

Lucky—or unlucky—for me, Crew senses something and steps forward. “She does. We do,” he says, my eyes narrowing as I try to figure out where he’s going with this and why he’d step forward. “Crew Madden.”

Bobbi Jo looks at the hand Crew holds out, her smile turning sultry as she shakes slowly. “Bobbi Jo Simmons. Nice to finally meet the new man in town I’ve heard so very much about.”

His return smile is stilted at best as he draws his hand back. “Hopefully all good.”

“Definitely all good,” Bobbi Jo says, completely transfixed by Crew.

“And we’ve actually met before. I’d say a good twenty years ago if memory serves me correctly.”

“There’s no way. I know I’d remember a man such as yourself.” She giggles. Freaking giggles and shifts on her feet as if she’s the Belle of the Ball.

“Twenty years ago, I wasn’t a man.” He winks. “That’s probably why.” Crew looks to us and then back to Bobbi Jo. “Now, if you’ll excuse us. I was just taking the girls for a little pre-birthday shopping while we waited for Tenny to meet up with us for some ice cream.”

“How lovely. Don’t let me keep you then.” She takes a few steps away, giving one long last look at Crew. “Enjoy yourselves.”

The four of us stand there and watch her click her heels down the sidewalk as she lifts her cell phone to her ear.

“I can’t imagine what rumors we just started with that little encounter,” I mutter.

Crew snorts. “Would you have rather let her know you lied? You think those rumors would have been any better?”

“How do you know I lied?” I turn and face him, mock offended.

“You’re not a very good liar, West,” Crew says.

“He’s right. You’re not,” Paige pipes in.