Page 71 of To Have and to Scold

“What? Nope.” I have a feeling where this is going but Mary is right here and can hear every word.

“With Dallas. I know you two hang out there at night. Well, the nights she’s not at your house or at a game you’re coaching.” His brows wag.

I toss a glance back at Mary, whose mouth twitches as she stares at her computer screen.

“In answer to your question, no. Coming over now won’t be a problem.”

Elliott presses. “But she’ll be there, right?”

I shift in my stance. “Yeah, she’ll be there.”

“And she seemed fine with it when he asked her to meet him there,” Mary supplies.

I narrow my eyes at her as Elliott laughs. “You’re so obvious, you know,” he says.

When I only shake my head, he continues. “Dallas is great. I’ve never seen you like this, man. You liked Chloe. But this is different. It’s like…” He screws up his features and pauses. “…real. And very mature, actually.”

My younger brother is calling me mature? “And is that a surprise?”

“It’s like you’ve been pretending to be happy, pretending to be all good. But you weren’t. Except now? The old Billy’s back.”

“Not the old Billy. A better version!” Now Mary has gotten out of her desk chair and is coming toward us.

“You guys, I have to go,” I say.

“To meet Dallas, we know,” Mary says, drawing her fists together at her chest in a hopeful motion.

“To finish the mansion. We’re not done yet. The wedding’s this week. This isn’t about Dallas.”

“But it could be about Dallas,” Mary adds. “It’s really nice to see you so happy, Beck. Don’t fight it.”

“Don’t mess things up,” Elliott says. “And don’t deny it.”

“I’m not—” I take a deep breath. “I do like her. I like her a lot.” Relief floods me at finally saying those words aloud.

Elliott whoops, his voice echoing off the walls of our building.

“But we need to focus on the weddings and our construction jobs. It would be irresponsible to do anything too…serious this summer.” I make sure my wallet’s in my back pocket and that I’m holding my keys. If I start walking to the door, maybe they’ll get the hint that I don’t want to talk about this.

“Why would it be irresponsible?” Mary asks.

“She has no plans to stay in Willow Cove.” It comes out a little rough.

“So what?” Now Mary’s words are rough, her brow sinking down in a frown. “Convince her to stay. She likes it here.”

“But her dream is to take over the wedding firm in Atlanta.”

“There are construction management jobs in Atlanta, Beck,” Mary says.

“I can’t do that. Integrity Construction is the family business. And it’s not like I can ask Elliott, he’s leaving.”

“So Portia can get her master’s degree,” he says. “We may come back after that.”

I start to protest but Mary puts up a palm to shush my excuses. The air has gotten hot and humid in this building. I might need to change my shirt before I go see Dallas.

When Mary doesn’t say anything, I widen my arms and cave. “I do like her. How could I not?” An image of Dallas on the beach with her windswept hair flashes through my mind.

Mary grins and rolls her eyes. “I’m just glad you’re finally admitting it to yourself.”

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