Page 10 of Kiss and Tell

“We’ll have to run it by our producer, and there’s a good chance it won’t make the final edits,” Miles warned.

“I understand completely,” she said quickly. “But if there’s a chance to promote it, it would be great for my show.”

“I’m not sure promoting it is such a good idea, Lucy,” Scottie chimed in again. “While you have time for your hobby now, that might not be the case in a year or so when your life becomes more settled.”

Her temper had hit the boiling point. “Excuse?—”

Scottie’s phone rang before she could finish calling him to task for presuming to speak for her. He excused himself from the table, claiming it was an important call. Lucy would bet twenty dollars it was his mother, calling to check in on her “sweet baby boo,” a nickname that had been horrible in middle school and was even more disturbing now that he was a grown man. Not that Scottie minded. When Mommy called, he answered.

Lucy drew in a deep breath and mentally started counting to ten in her head, trying to calm down. His comments about her work being a hobby and his veiled insinuation that she intended to become “more settled” rankled.

When counting the first ten didn’t work, she kept on trucking to twenty.

“You okay?” Joey murmured quietly.

She nodded.

Miles leaned closer. “Say the word and I’ll grab the shovel.”

She laughed, while Joey looked confused.

Fortunately, Scottie’s call required him to leave to deal with an “urgent matter.” After that, the dinnertime conversation was much easier, as Levi and Joey started playfully one-upping each other on sibling stories, each tale funnier than the last. Lucy laughed so much her stomach hurt.

And that wasn’t the only part of her hurting. Joey’s arm rested on the back of her chair, his fingers toying with her ponytail and occasionally brushing the back of her neck.

Why, oh why, did that feel so good?

She liked how big he was. She was used to being around physically large, strong men—aka, her cousins—so his size didn’t intimidate her. Joey was built the same as Levi, so she felt comfortable with him, even though she was at least half a foot shorter.

She told herself she should keep her distance from him and not succumb to his charms. For all she knew, Joey Moretti was some big player, jumping from bed to bed and leaving a trail of broken hearts as he traveled across the country.

Given her concerns about doing a good job promoting the farm, she would be wise to be more professional and less flirty, more serious and less giggly. But it wasn’t working. Because every time Joey shifted nearer, she couldn’t resist leaning toward him, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

It wasn’t until she realized Miles had noticed her actions—and was scowling again—that she finally forced herself to…well…behave.

Finally, everyone began excusing themselves, some to do farm chores, others to clean up the kitchen. Lucy led Joey and Miles to the front porch, both with a piece of homemade apple pie in their hands. She’d opted to skip dessert herself, after eating way too much chili.

The guys claimed rocking chairs while Lucy plopped down on the porch swing, all of them slowly swaying, enjoying the unseasonably warm evening.

“Tell us more aboutKiss and Tell,” Joey urged after he finished his dessert, licking the last crumbs off his fork.

“To be honest, I never intended to create a show at all.” Lucy considered how much to tell them. “It’s kind of a long story.”

Joey placed his empty plate on the small table between his and Miles’s chair, then leaned back. “We’ll call it a bedtime story.”

She grinned, then looked at Miles. She’d seen glimpses of the man who graced her TV at dinner, but for the last hour, he’d gone quiet after seeing her flirt with Joey. Once again, she felt like she was screwing up this opportunity.

Miles caught her looking him. “I don’t mind a long story.”

“My parents were killed in a car accident when I was ten,” she started.

“Jesus, Lucy,” Joey said, sitting upright. He’d claimed the chair closest to her, so he was able to reach over and touch her knee. “I’m sorry.”

She appreciated his kindness. “It was a long time ago. After they died, Grandma Sheila and Granddaddy Lloyd took us in. We moved from our farmhouse—the one my cousins live in now—to this one with them. They raised us. Aunt Claire and Uncle Rex helped as much as they could, but it was hard for them to do a lot with seven boys under the age of sixteen in the house. They had their own kids to raise.”

“You have a great family, Lucy,” Miles said. “They really do remind me of the Morettis.”

After listening to Joey’s stories, she wished she could meet his family because they sounded terrific. “Grandma and Granddaddy obviously hadn’t expected to raise four little girls when they were in their late sixties, but they never missed a beat, smothering us in love. We had a lot of happy years. Until…”

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