Page 105 of Waiting for Acceptance
“Well, I know you didn’t findhimon the rack, I would have kept him for myself.” The woman sizes me up and I chuckle.
“Ms. Margaret, are you hitting on my man?” she teases, but I stay hyper-focused on how that sounds coming from her mouth.
“Well, out of all the things we have come through here, you two are by far the prettiest. Y’all sure would make some pretty babies.” Lauren laughs and shakes her head. “Those blue eyes and that dark hair? Oh, what a little angel.”
“You have quite the imagination, you know that?” Lauren hands the woman money for our things and I curse myself for not paying enough attention to beat her to it.
“It keeps life interesting for me.” Lauren smiles at her and squeezes her hand.
“I’ll see you Sunday.”
“See you Sunday, dear.” I grab the bags from the counter and we walk out into the summer heat as Lauren pulls her sunglasses from her purse, sliding them onto her face as she waits at the passenger door for me.
“Smart girl. I’m proud of you for learning so quickly not to touch your bags or door handles when I’m around.” I kiss her temple and open her door as she slides into her seat with a smirk on her face.
“So, Margaret is fun.” I sigh when I settle into the driver’s seat. Lauren lets out a laugh and pulls her seatbelt on.
“Yeah. She lost her husband to cancer a few years back and opened the thrift store not long after. I saw it on my way homefrom work one day, stopped in, and we ended up talking until closing. I think she’s lonely, you know? I just want to make her feel…less lonely.” The sadness on her face as she looks back in the window of the store makes me love her even more. Her heart is so big.
“Wewouldhave some cute babies, you know?” She shakes her head and pulls out her phone.
“Drive the car, Fitz.” I can’t read her expression, but it seems this is a conversation we won’t be having… For now, anyway.
I went to Lauren’s showings with her today, simply because I haven’t heard from my father since his birthday, for work or otherwise, so my workload is light, to say the least. We’re back at her place now and she’s just gotten out of the shower when I come back in from being on the phone. She’s standing in her towel staring at the clothes hanging in her closet. I walk up behind her, inhaling every bit of her scent that I can.
“What’s the matter, baby?” I rest my chin on her head.
“What do you mean?”
I turn her around to face me, appreciating her natural beauty. “You seem…nervous?” She exhales and I know I’m right. I just don’t knowwhyI’m right.
“Well, that’s just a side effect of these dinners as a whole. It has…very little to do with you.”
“Me?” I frown.
“Notyou. Just my parents meeting you. I just… I hope they’re nice, that’s all.” A forced smile appears on her face and I would do anything to turn it into a real one.
“I promise, everything is going to be fine. Okay? I have thick skin. They could call me garbage and I’ll stay by your side until you’re ready to go. Then we can go buy me a shirt that saysHeftyon it.” Her brows pull together in confusion when I run my forefinger and thumb across my chest. “Like, the trash bag brand?” I explain and she starts laughing.
“There’s that smile.” I grab her face and pull her lips to mine. She finishes getting dressed, and I match her style accordingly. She’s wearing a blue dress, much like the ones she would wear to work, with a pair of tan booties, and her hair straight, so I chose a pair of cropped khaki slacks, my white sneakers, and a navy blue sports coat with a simple white T-shirt underneath.
She stands back and assesses me, arms crossed over her chest as her head tilts. “You might be the only guy I’ve ever liked in khakis.”
“Thank you?” I squint in confusion.
“Ready?” she asks, grabbing her bag from the kitchen counter, petting Ginny’s chin before heading for the door.
“Let’s go, good lookin’.” I slap her ass and she looks back, her hair whipping around her face as she rolls her eyes at me.
Lauren demanded she drive us tonight, and at first, I didn’t know why, but when we pull into the mile-long driveway with a circle drive and a fountain in the center of it, I’m even more confused than I was before. Whoever lives here is absolutely fucking loaded. You won’t find a place like this in Nashville for anything under a million dollars. I look at her in confusion, seeing her throat work as she swallows.
“Welcome to my childhood home.”
Well… I didn’t see that coming.
CHAPTER 53
LAUREN
