Page 13 of Recipe for Rivals
“You’re thinking free meals?” she asked.
“We have no expectations, Gigi, we’re just grateful for anything you can donate. I can give you time to think about it. The auction won’t be until the end of the month.”
She nodded slowly before her gaze came back to me. “You promise to leave my girl alone?”
It was a little hurtful that she disliked the idea of me dating her niece so heartily, but I couldn’t really blame her. My reputation around this town hadn’t been that good until recent years. My grandfather’s influence had gone a long way in keeping me from following my parents’ terrible examples, but it had been a rocky road from high school to the man I was today.
I’d been an upstanding citizen for some time. Some people just had long memories, and Gigi was apparently one of them.
“I’m not looking for a relationship,” I told her, though it was really none of her business. “Nova has nothing to worry about from me. Trust me.”
“Okay.” She looked skeptical. “Put me down for a meal pass. Whoever wins the auction can eat here once a day for a month without paying.”
I hesitated. “That’s a lot of food. Want to make it a week?”
“I want it to be so enticing that someone pays a lot of money, Dusty. We can stand it. Don’t you worry about us.”
“Thank you, Gigi. I’ll verify with you before printing the auction sheets, so don’t feel like you can’t change your mind.”
“I won’t change my mind, young man. Now you better return to your table. Gracie Mae is going to break her neck watching for you.”
My eyes fell closed for a moment. When I opened them again, Gigi was looking at me with suspicion.
“What’s wrong with the Gable girl?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said honestly. “I told you. I don’t want a relationship. I’m not looking for a woman.”
Gigi’s eyes shifted to my table of friends before falling on me again, and I had the impression I’d just made it possible for herto believe me. If I could reject someone as beautiful, smart, and kind as Gracie Mae, maybe I truly didn’t want to be with anyone right now.
Thank heavens for that. I didn’t need Gigi chasing me around with a broom, too. One old woman with a penchant for treating me like a punk kid was enough in this town, and Mrs. Jefferson at the market had that covered. Whether Gigi wanted to admit it or not, she didn’t force me into the box I’d created in my youth, not when she was willing to take me at my word. Or the box was translucent and a size bigger, because she was willing to believe I’d grown at least a little.
I dipped my head to her and returned to my table, but my brain snagged on the conversation.
“That took a while,” Gracie Mae prodded, her expression stiff.
“Gigi is donating a month’s worth of free meals for one lucky bidder.”
“That’s fantastic, man,” Tucker said, finishing off his drink. He looked at his watch. “We better run. We’re meeting Lauren at the inn next.”
Lauren was Tucker’s new sister-in-law, having married his brother Jack last month.
June slipped her hand around his arm. “I think she’s going to love my indecision. Maybe she’ll choose the color so I can stop going back and forth.”
“Goldenrod,” I said, repeating Nova’s idea. “With ivory.”
June looked up at me, her freckled nose wrinkling. “You don’t care about color, Dusty.”
“Nope, but I mentioned it to Gigi’s niece and that’s what she said she’d use.”
“Hmm.”
“Like a sunflower,” Tucker said.
June beamed up at him. “Why didn’t we think of that before?” Her eyes widened as the idea grew. “A whole themewith sunflowers. Goldenrod, green, ivory. Can you get sunflowers in June? You can, right?”
“That’s a question for Lauren,” Tucker said, getting out of the booth and taking June’s hand. “She knows everything about events. She’ll know this.”
“Let me know what I can do to help,” Gracie Mae said. “Dusty and I are at your disposal.”