Page 91 of Heating Up (Nugget)
When she walked away, Aidan asked, “So clue me in on her and the situation with Lilly. Are she and Mariah . . . lesbians?”
“Uh-huh. According to Carol, who is way more tapped in around here than I am, when Sophie and Mariah wanted to have a baby, Nate Breyer volunteered his . . . uh—”
“Sperm,” Aidan supplied. “Okay. Now it makes sense. I wasn’t sure how it all worked. I know this is California, but no one here gives them any problems?”
“Why, do you have a problem with it?” she asked, and she could hear her own indignation.
“Nope. Don’t give a damn as long as people are happy and aren’t hurting anyone. But clearly not everyone feels that way, and maybe I’m generalizing here, but I would think small towns can be small-minded.”
“As far as I know, there hasn’t been any trouble. From what I can tell, everyone likes Sophie and Mariah.” She waved a hand at the crowded restaurant. “It’s not like their business isn’t flourishing. The Nugget Mafia regularly eats here and practically has a bowling lane named in their honor. And the Baker’s Dozen can’t get enough of that baby.”
“The Baker’s what?”
Dana laughed. “A local cooking club. All women, except for Brady. Some might argue that they have as much clout in this town as the Mafia.”
Aidan shook his head as if to clear it. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my brother-in-law-to-be is a member of an all-women’s cooking club.”
“I guess you’ll have to reevaluate small towns not being progressive.”
“Weird little place, isn’t it?”
“Yep, but in a good way,” she said.
“Definitely in a good way because you’re in it, which reminds me: I want you to be my date to Tawny and Lucky’s wedding next weekend.”
“Uh . . . I don’t think so, Aidan. I wasn’t invited and I’d feel like I was crashing.”
“You’d be coming as my date. I was invited with a guest.”
“This is different,” she argued. “It’s awkward when you sort of know the people and they didn’t invite you.” Especially when they’d invited Carol and just about everyone else in town. Dana couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t like she was close to the couple, although Carol wasn’t either. Dana figured it was because Carol had lived in Nugget her whole life. Besides, weddings were expensive to throw; the bride and groom had to draw the line somewhere.
“That’s ridiculous. I get to bring a guest and I want to go with you.”
Dana looked around the dining room. They were sitting right next to the Millers, and she didn’t want them hearing her and Aidan’s conversation. “Can we talk about this at home?”
“Nothing to talk about. You and I are going to a wedding in a barn. We’re gonna dance the night away to a country-western band and eat barbecue.”
She shook her head. Aidan McBride was certainly on the domineering side.
Their food came and she let the topic of Tawny and Lucky’s wedding drop. When they finished eating, Aidan announced that it was time to bowl. Dana tried to pay, but Aidan wasn’t having it.
“Come on, you said I could pay next time.”
“No, I didn’t, or if I did, I was lying.” He put his credit card in the bill holder.
“I’m selling properties left and right. I should treat.”
“Sorry, I know I’m an outdated species, but not in my DNA. When you and I go out together, I pay! But you can provide the candy. Those little chocolate, pecan, caramel things. God, I love those.”
Dana smiled. “They’re called Pecan Petes, after my late great-uncle, Pete Calloway. According to my father, he came up with the recipe for his second wife, who grew up on a pecan orchard in Georgia. Originally, the candies were named for her. But after she divorced him and tried to sue for a portion of the business on the grounds that we were profiting off her name, my father changed the candies to Pecan Petes.
“That’s a great story,” Aidan said.
“I thought they should’ve named the candies Pecan Betties after my mom. She loves them too.” Or rather, used to love them. When Paul died she gave up sweets just like everything else she’d ever loved.
Someone other than Sophie took Aidan’s credit card and returned a few minutes later for his signature. Afterward, they crossed over into the bowling alley. Unlike the restaurant, decorated like an old saloon with lots of Victorian millwork and dark wood, the bowling alley was modern, bright, and noisy. Balls crashing, people cheering, and bells sounding from the arcade. As far as indoor entertainment in Nugget went, this was it. So the local kids, especially in summer, swarmed the place.
“Hi, Deputy McBride.” The McCreedy boys came running up.
