Page 9 of The Lyrics of Love

“Yes!” she said, not hiding her excitement. “I love the custard.”

“Then I went with two cupcakes. One is German chocolate. The other is red velvet.”

“Ooh, I’m staying away from the red velvet. I don’t want my teeth turning red and smiling, only to scare Nash away. It all looks wonderful, Ains. Thanks for doing this.”

“I can do better next time if you give me a little more advance notice. I could whip up some profiteroles or baklava. Or cannolis. I did have some of those, but you can probably guess what happened to them.”

“Either Tenley came in and bought them for Carter, or he came in himself and bought all you’d made today.”

Ainsley laughed. “They came in together and bought me out.” She paused. “Enough dancing around the subject. Tell me about your date. I need the Five W’s to start.”

“You got it. Just don’t interrupt. The Who is Nash Edwards, the country singer.”

Ainsley’s eyes widened and she caught herself before she spoke, tightening her lips.

Rylie continued. “The What is the date itself.” Quickly, she explained about running out of gas and how Nash Edwards had come to her rescue, taking her for gas and then returning her to her vehicle.

Her cousin shook her head, awe on her face. She kept silent, motioning with her hands for Rylie to continue.

“The When is tonight. The Where is at the cottage he’s renting which just happens to lie between where Willow and Dylan and Tenley and Carter live. The McCarry one. Remember, they moved to Arizona a few years ago to be closer to their grandkids when they retired. They still own the cottage but lease it out.”

Ainsley nodded, sticking to her promise not to say a word.

“The Why?” She shrugged. “I’m not quite sure about that.”

“If you don’t know, you’re deeper in your rut than I thought. Rylie, you’re an attractive, single woman. You’re kind and smart and any man would be lucky to spend an evening with you.”

“But Nash Edwards? Come on, Ainsley. That’s not the real world. It’s just some crazy thing that happened to me today, a country superstar coming to my rescue. We’ll look back on this twenty years down the road and laugh. Remember that time I ran out of gas and a famous singer stopped to help me out? Why, didn’t he fix dinner for me?” She sighed. “This is a one-off. Nothing to it. I’ll eat what he cooks. Tell him a bit about the Cove. He said he’s come here to write some new songs and get his head on straight.”

“Well, he needs to,” her cousin said. “He married a viper who dragged his name through the mud when they divorced. And he was arrested for drunk driving. What?! I watch E! News sometimes. Still, he must be attracted to you. He’s dropped off the face of the earth for months now. And he’s asked you out.”

“Well, technically he didn’t ask me out,” she noted. “He asked me over.”

“You said he’s cooking for you?”

“Yes. He said he’s gotten into it lately. Believe it or not, he watches Carter online and wants to meet him.”

Ainsley smiled triumphantly. “Then invite him to Game Night on Friday.”

Rylie didn’t say anything. When she had mentioned the idea to Nash, he had turned cool toward her. She wasn’t certain why. Maybe it had to do with being around a lot of people he didn’t know. Or wanting to concentrate on work and not play. Still, everyone needed a little downtime. Maybe she could pitch the idea to him again tonight.

“We’ll see,” she said non-committedly.

“Hah! You sound like Mom when we would ask to do something. She wouldn’t flat out say no. We’d get the we’ll see treatment.”

“Which we finally learned to interpret meant a resounding no.” Rylie smiled. “I miss your mom. Your dad, too, but especially your mom. She was like a mom to me.”

Ainsley put her arms around Rylie. “I know. I miss her, too.” She brightened. “But if Nash Edwards has any sense, he’ll like these desserts. Tell him if he comes to Game Night, I’ll be making something that will make his mouth water.”

“Whose pick is it?”

“Jackson’s. He and I won—and we never got to claim it.” A shadow darkened her cousin’s face, and Rylie took Ainsley’s hand and squeezed it, knowing she thought about the psychopath who had taken her hostage and shot Jackson in the shoulder. “This will be the first Game Night since Jackson got out of the hospital and has gone through rehab.”

“The summer has flown by,” she agreed.

Ainsley stood. “I need to get home to my man. We’re cooking together tonight. Frying chicken, à la Carter Clark’s recipe. We’re trying one dish a week. It’s actually been a lot of fun.”

Rylie wondered what Nash Edwards might cook for them tonight.

---