Page 13 of The Spy Who Ghosted Me

“For what?”

“I think you know.”

“I don’t remember you being this cocky.”

“Sure you do, and you liked it. A lot.” He gave me a once-over with his eyes, sending the good kind of shivers through me.

I hated him, but he was right. I did find his, let’s say, confident demeanor sexy. But that was in the past. “You can go now.”

“I’m happy where I’m at. Thank you.”

I wanted to shove the cupcake in his face. What was happening to me? I’d never had violent thoughts like this before or ever wished to make a scene.

I wanted to march over to my parents, but then Nana Rose, Aunt Vivian, and her two daughters-in-law, Georgia and Faith, who were married to Mia’s older brothers, showed up. Oh, this would definitely be interesting. Aunt Vivian was livid that Lexi had refused to have Georgia and Faith in the bridal party. Mama felt like they were too “backwoods,” whatever that meant. Um ... judging by the scene on the dance floor, a lot of these girls had seen some backwoods honky-tonks. There was a lot of badonkadonk going on out there.

Aunt Vivian’s lips curled up into a big ole smile when she came on the scene, knowing it was Mama’s worst nightmare. Heaven forbid anyone think we were less than what Mama considered perfect. I’m sure it gave Aunt Vivian some vindication after Mama and Lexi snubbed Georgia and Faith. It was a crying shame—I really liked Georgia and Faith. They were sweet and beautiful, and they both made a mean peach cobbler.

Mama strolled over to Aunt Vivian, trying her best to stay composed, like there was nothing to see, while her sister prepared to gloat.

Nana Rose came straight to me, shuffling over in what she called pedal pushers, but they were really just capri pants, and an orange Tennessee Volunteers sweatshirt. She couldn’t care less that she was underdressed or that her attire clashed with her bright-red lipstick. I also noticed that Pops and Uncle Finch hadn’t come, even though I’m sure Mama had invited them. No doubt they wanted no part of this girly stuff, as Pops would call it. Pops was the kind of man who believed that allowing men in the delivery room nowadays was a travesty.

“Baby girl.” Nana Rose held out her arms.

No matter how unsettled I felt, Nana always had a way of making me feel better. I handed Cash the cupcake and the gift bag—at least he was useful for something—then ran to Nana and wrapped my arms around her. She was quite a bit shorter than me, so my chin landed on top of her wiry, mostly gray hair with hints of auburn still peeking through.

Nana squeezed me tight. She still had a lot of gumption, despite being in her late seventies. “It’s about time you came home,” she mildly scolded me.

“I know. I’ll try to be better about that,” I promised. “You know, you could come visit us and go skiing with Mia and me this winter.”

“Honey, I would hate to show you up.”

I giggled, but I wouldn’t put it past her to kick our booties on the slopes.

“Let’s get down to business. Word is you brought a man home with you.”

I cringed and silently cursed, but then I remembered that if anyone would see Cash for the snake in the grass he was, it would be Nana.

“I didn’t bring him. He came on his own. And you should know that he left me in France three years ago without even a goodbye,” I said, just in case Mama hadn’t gotten around to telling her, while I narrowed my eyes at Cash—who dutifully held my things, smirking at me as if saying, Bring on your nana.

He’d better get ready—Nana Rose could knock anyone down a few notches. Honestly, it surprised me she hadn’t said anything to me about Soren. Surely she had to have picked up on some bad vibes. She claimed to be a human bull-crap meter. Her meter should go off any second after meeting Cash.

“Is that so?” Nana hissed.

I smiled, knowing I was about to see Nana take Cash down in a verbal assault. I didn’t even care if she made a scene, which frightened me. Who was I becoming? Cash’s presence had me unhinged.

Cash took control of the situation by handing me my cupcake and gift bag before wrapping his muscular arms around my nana. “You must be Nana Rose. I’m thrilled to finally meet you. Sabrina adores you and spoke of you so often, I feel as if I already know you.”

I stood there, absolutely flabbergasted. What was he doing, acting as if we were a couple? The urge to smash the cupcake in his face grew. Cash was upending my life, and I didn’t appreciate it one bit. But I kept ahold of the cupcake and waited for Nana to take him down. It would cause less of a scene, as Nana said rude things all the time, so people just expected it.

The anticipation grew as I watched Cash and Nana. Any second now she was going to have him running for the hills with his tail between his legs like the coward he was. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Um ... what was she doing? I watched as Nana wrapped her tiny arms around Cash’s glorious body, ran her hands up his back, and settled her head onto his chest. Was she sighing? Oh. My. Gosh.

Cash flashed me the smirkiest of smirks.

This, I couldn’t have. Nana was mine, and she was going to hate him. Believe me, I knew how intoxicating he was and how being in his embrace made you feel safe and all sorts of woozy like you could get drunk off him, but it was all a sexy illusion. “Nana, you need to back away from him. This is how he reels you in and then leaves you.”

Cash’s face fell, and he let go of Nana.

But Nana wasn’t done with him yet. To my horror, her aging, knotted hands patted down his chest. She even took the liberty of digging in her fingers a time or two. “I don’t know, baby girl; I’m not sure I’d kick this one out of my bed for eating crackers.”

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