Page 36 of One and Only

She glanced around the park, humming appreciatively. “It is. It would probably be a nice easy hike too, if you ever wanted to take Olive.”

I took a seat next to her on the table, pulling my ball cap a bit lower over my forehead when a young family passed us, the dad giving me a wide-eyed look of excitement. He whispered something to his wife as they passed, and she quickly aimed her phone in my direction to snap a picture. They put their heads together and chatted excitedly.

Greer breathed out a laugh. “You’re lucky I’m used to this part because of my brothers,” she said lightly.

“Would it make you back out if you weren’t?”

“Nah,” she said easily. She pulled plates, two water bottles, and a covered bowl of cut-up fruit out of the never-ending bag. “Besides, I know firsthand that it doesn’t really happen as much as people would assume.”

I nodded. “I usually get something along the lines of,do I know you?”

She laughed. “Exactly.”

While Greer turned, getting two more containers out of the bag, I settled my hands between my knees. “Parker asked when I was gonna meet the family.”

“Did he now?”

“He said if you were serious about me, you wouldn’t wait long for that to happen.” I glanced sideways. Her face was still hidden while she got our lunch settled. She handed me a takeout container. The top was clear, and when I saw what was inside, I laughed. “Really?”

Greer grinned. “Seemed appropriate.”

I opened the top, peering at the contents. “Looks pretty good.”

She picked out the first half of her grilled cheese—identical to mine—and took a big bite. She hummed, the sound lifting the hairs on the back of my neck.

“It’s amazing,” she said, after she swallowed her first bite. “And believe me, if you’d driven over to my apartment, a chef I am not, so you still would have gotten takeout.”

At the first taste, I closed my eyes, sighing happily. It was delicious.

When I opened my eyes, she was watching me with an amused smile on her face. “Does that mean it passes the Beckett Coleman grilled cheese test?”

“Yes.” The sandwich was gone in about five bites, and I moved on to the fruit. “Speaking of your apartment,” I said.

“My lease is up in about a month,” she said. “There’s no way for me to keep it and not raise suspicion, so I’ll move the furniture into storage—my parents have plenty of outbuildings. But sometimes I will stay with them on the weekends, especially if Tim is …” Her voice trailed off. “If they need my help,” she amended.

“Of course.” I poked at a grape with the tines of my fork. “I don’t expect you to be a full-time caretaker for Olive. I have a nanny who helps out during the season. Josie knows and likes her.”

Greer nodded. “So … what do we do when Josie comes back?” she asked lightly. “Big dramatic breakup where I storm out and you’re finally free of me.”

The words were meant in jest. And there was a smile on her face when she said them.

But the smile faded the longer I sat there and studied her.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said in a quiet voice. “I guess this is the part that I can’t really envision, you know? We’re going to spend all this time making people believe that we got swept up in something romantic and huge, and then…”

“Then it’s over,” I added. I rubbed my forehead. “I know. Olive will …” I paused. “It’ll be hard for her. It always is when something big changes, especially because she likes you.”

Greer’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink. “We’ll figure it out. I don’t think we need all the answers right now.”

I exhaled a quiet laugh. That was the difference between myself and my blushing bride. I needed to know everything—because how else could you be certain you were making the right decision? That you were taking the correct path?

“I won’t abandon her,” Greer added. “I hope you know that.”

“Thank you.” I set down the bowl of fruit. She’d hardly eaten any of her lunch since we started talking. “Not hungry?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Not really. I think I just want to get this night at my parents’ over with, you know? It went great with Josie and Micah, but they don’t know me.” She smiled. “It’s a whole different ball game when you’re trying to convince the people who know you best.”

I tried to imagine a house full of people like that and couldn’t.

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