Page 36 of Talulah's Back in Town

“You’re not going with him?”

“Someone has to stay and take care of the diner.”

“I see.” Brant decided he didn’t much care for Paul, even though he had no good reason to feel that way. “Do you think you’ll marry him?”

She stopped piling the chunks of bread he’d cut into a serving basket and took a moment to consider the question. “I might try.”

“That means he could be the next poor sucker standing at the altar while you flee your own wedding,” he joked.

She gave him a dirty look. “He’s fully aware of the risk he’s taking.”

“Meaning you warned him like you warned me?”

“Basically.” Finished with the bread, she started stacking the dishes she’d used to make the meal in the sink. “It would be stupid to fall in love with me. I warn everyone I get involved with.”

Folding his arms, he leaned against the counter as he watched her work. “Maybe that’s your problem.”

She dried her hands. “What do you mean?”

“Giving a guy a challenge is never a wise thing to do, unless you want him to try.”

“I’m not giving anyone a challenge,” she said. “I’m making sure the men in my life proceed with caution.”

Chuckling, he shook his head at her response. It was cocky, and yet it wasn’t. He could tell she was only trying to avoid hurting anyone else. And he found her honesty appealing. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you,” he said.

“I’ll try to believe you mean that in a good way,” she muttered.

He merely grinned. “Averil stopped by Sunday night,” he said as he handed her a glass of wine.

Her eyebrows slid up. “What’d she want?”

“To tell me to stay away from you.”

She’d been lifting her glass to her mouth, but at this her hand froze. “I hope she doesn’t think I’d ever go back to Charlie.”

“She said you’d only break my heart.”

“Did you tell her that’s impossible?” she said with a laugh. “That I’ve found the one person who’s totally safe with me?”

Had she? Was his heart that untouchable—as untouchable as hers? “I told her I can take care of myself.”

“I’m happy to hear it.”

He burst out laughing. “I believe you really are.”

She clinked her glass against his. Then, after taking a sip, she asked tentatively, “Do you think Averil still hates me?”

“Of course not.” Charlie’s sister had said as much, but he didn’t want to let Averil make Talulah feel any worse. “She’s just protective of her brother.”

“Would she rather I’d married him?” Talulah asked. “Been miserable and made him miserable, too? Maybe the Gerharts should be thanking me, because our marriage would’ve ended in divorce. I wasn’t in love with him enough to marry him.”

He took another sip of wine. “Is that true for the other guys you were with, as well?”

“I guess.” She dunked a cracker in the dip. “What else did Averil say?”

It was easy to tell that she cared more about Averil than Charlie, so they were entering territory where the truth could ruin the night. Brant definitely didn’t want to let things go in that direction. “Enough about the Gerharts. Let’s not waste our time talking about them.”

“Because Averildoeshates me,” she said sadly, seeing right through his attempt to divert her.

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