Chapter 23
Damon
“He’s going to burn the burgers,” Dad groused from his Adirondack chair in the shade.
“He’s not going to burn anything,” Mom said, her tone infinitely patient.
The woman was a saint. I’d have lost my shit and told Dad to shut his pie hole by now. He’d done nothing but complain ever since I arrived to cook out with the family.
“I’m not helpless,” Dad continued. “I’ve been doing rehab all week. I can stand by a grill.”
“Just relax, Dad,” I called as I slid burgers onto the grill. “I promise not to give anyone food poisoning. I grill at home all the time.”
“That thing you do is not grilling,” he grumbled.
I rolled my eyes. It was true I used a gas grill, not charcoal and fire, as my father did. He was a bit of a grilling purist. But I’d endured enough of his grill-master lectures to handle it.
The sliding door opened and Wendy and Neil emerged, beers in hand. Wendy went straight to my father and handed him a beer. “Congrats on getting off the drugs, Daddy.”
He grinned up at her. “Thanks, honey. I’m starting to feel like myself again. Except my hip actually works.” He chuckled. “Rehab is a bitch though.”
“I’ve heard that about her,” Wendy said with a wink.
Then she turned, looked me dead in the eye and said, “Where’s your boyfriend?”
I choked on a sip of my beer. “What?”
She grinned. “I’ve heard all the rumors. The Matchmaking Mamas set you up with your adorable neighbor.”
“That’s not exactly what happened.”
“You’re dating the neighbor you hate?” Mom asked, sounding confused. “Is that why he made us that nice lasagna?”
“Wait, isn’t that neighbor a man?” Dad added. “Since when do you like men?”
All eyes swiveled to me.
“For fuck’s sake.” I flipped the burgers and pressed the cold beer bottle against my hot face. “I thought I was doing the grilling tonight.”
Wendy cringed. “Sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it?”
“This town, man. A guy can’t even figure out if he’s bi without everyone getting nosy about it.”
“Honey,” Mom said. “You know you can tell us anything. If you like this man…”
I bit my lip. “I do. I like him a lot.”
“Holy shit,” Neil said. “I knew it.”
Everyone glanced at him. I shook my head, but he sang like a canary. “A while back, Damon dragged us out to the pub on a trivia night.” He said it like it was some sort of sordid secret. “Then he spent all night spying on Maverick while he was on a date with Percy.”
“The funeral director?” Dad said, nose wrinkled.
At least we were on the same page there.
Everyone looked at me again. I sighed. Apparently, there was no getting out of this. I checked the burgers. The juices were clear, and I wasn’t going to overcook the fuckers and prove Dad right.
I grabbed my spatula. “Get me another beer if you want to hear the whole story. Food’s done.”
Wendy ran in to fetch me a beer—something she’d never done before—and Mom set the patio table while I transferred the burgers to a plate. Dad stayed where he was, sipping his beer, looking more content than he had in ages. At least my spontaneous outing by my sister hadn’t dampened his mood.
We all got our burgers fixed up with toppings, and dished up sides of Mom’s potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans.
“So?” Dad said. “Talk, son. It’ll be nice to talk about something other than my dang hip.”
I filled them in on how I’d signed up Maverick for matchmaking as a joke, but then he’d started going on dates and it really bugged me.
“You were jealous,” Mom said. “That’s just so cute.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t—” I stopped. “Okay, I was jealous. But I thought I was just worried. These guys weren’t good enough for Maverick.”
“Aw,” Wendy said, patting her chest. “I knew it would happen someday.”
“What?”
“My little brother would grow up and actually care about someone other than himself.”
I balled up my napkin and threw it at her head. She flicked a bean at me in retaliation. I spooned up some potato salad.
“Mom!” Wendy cried. “Don’t let him throw that.”
“Children,” Mom said calmly. “No food fights. I want to hear more about Maverick.” Her forehead creased. “Didn’t you think you could tell us, honey? You know you can invite him over. Your dad and I aren’t bigots.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s new. I don’t want to scare him off by bringing him to a family gathering too soon.”
“Are you saying your family is scary?” Mom asked, affronted.
“No, but…”
“It’s a big step,” Wendy said. “I waited a month to tell you about Neil, and he was already Damon’s friend.”
“A month?” I said. “Damn. Now I’m mad at you again. How could you keep that a secret?”
“How could we not?” Wendy challenged. “You were gonna lose your shit because Neil was your favorite wingman.”
I huffed. “You did break up the team. Going out hasn’t been the same since.”
“Well, you don’t need to go out now that you’ve got a boyfriend,” she said testily.
Shit. Did I really have a boyfriend? Me and Maverick were good together. He was smart and funny. Gorgeous. The sex was amazing. I liked spending time with him. A lot. We’d slept together every night this week, showered together multiple times, cuddled and ate dinner together.
But we hadn’t really defined anything yet.
Maybe we should, though, because I liked the idea of bringing him to a cookout. I’d love to see him use that sass of his on my sister. Maybe she’d finally get a taste of her own medicine.
I checked the time, then shoved the last bite of burger in my mouth. “Speaking of my boyfriend, I should head out. He’s working over at the Goldenrod Days festival, and I want to pop by and see if he needs anything.”
“Darn it, I’m missing the festival,” Dad said with a pout. “Stupid hip.”
“You do nothing but complain when we go,” Mom said with a laugh. “Honestly, you should be happy. You always say it’s too hot.”
“Well, it usually is, but that doesn’t mean I want to glue my ass to the recliner either.”
I carried my plate inside, leaving them to their bickering. Wendy and Neil followed me, bringing in some of the extra dishes.
“Do you mind cleaning up?” I asked them.
“No, go see your boyfriend,” Wendy said. “Sorry for the way I blurted that out. I didn’t realize it was true.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like I expected it to be a secret. The Matchmaking Mamas are huge gossips.”
Neil clapped my arm. “Well, we’re happy for you, man. Get out of here. I’ll take care of the grill.”
I got to the festival ten minutes later, finding a parking spot just outside downtown and hoofing it down Main Street to Rainbow Garden.
Maverick was working the block in front of his shop, pushing a cart full of flowers and handing out blooms to tourists. Under the sun, his hair was glowing with a halo. He would have looked angelic, if not for the swish of those hips.
I came up behind him and spoke in a low voice. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”
He spun around, startled. “What?”
“You look good enough to eat, and you’re just out here, like you’re not temping everyone walking by.”
He broke into a laugh. “Wow, laying it on thick, huh?”
I winked. “Just telling it like it is.”
His laugh morphed into a knowing smile. His gaze swept over me. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
I plucked at my red tank top, which was molding to my body with sweat. “What? This old thing?”
“More like what’s under it.”
“Undressing me with your eyes, huh?” I raised my shirt a few inches, flashing my abs. “Maybe later—”
“Hey, Damon!” Hammy bellowed. “How’s it going?”
I tugged my shirt down, and Maverick and I both turned to see Hamilton and his little Yorkie coming up the sidewalk. They looked kind of ridiculous, Hammy such a big guy and his dog this small, squat thing. They wore matching grins, though, and matching shirts with the Goldenrod Days logo on them.
“Hammy, man, you’re looking festive,” I said.
He grinned. “Yeah, I came across a vendor selling matching doggo shirts, and I couldn’t resist.” He scooped his dog up in one arm. “Isn’t he adorable?”
“He really is,” Maverick said with a smile.
Hammy’s gaze landed on Maverick, and his brow creased in confusion. “You’re Damon’s neighbor, right? The one he’s always pranking?”
“That’s me,” Maverick said.
“Cool.” He glanced at me. “We were just about to go over to the park. They’ve set up an obstacle course for the pups. Want to come?”
“Actually, I came by to see if Mav needed any help. Maybe some other time.”
“Oh.” He gave us a confused look. “I didn’t realize you guys were friends. By the way you always talked…”
Maverick chuckled. “More like enemies, right?”
“Frenemies at the least,” I objected.
Hammy snorted. “Yeah, that tracks. Catch you later, man.”
I turned back to Maverick, but I noticed a few odd looks tossed our way as people whispered to each other. An older couple came by—Duke and Marilyn Lattimer—and Maverick gave Doris a carnation.
“Thank you, dear.” She cast a glance at me, her lips flattening. “You treat this boy nicely, you hear? I know all about your little neighborly feud, but Maverick deserves better.”
I raised my hands. “I’ll be nice.”
“You better!”
I got Maverick some water, kept him company while he worked the crowd, and after three more encounters with people surprised to see us together, warning me to be nice, or both, I was starting to get a complex.
“Oh!” Iola exclaimed as we came across her in the crowd. “Maverick and Damon, just who I wanted to see!”
Finally, someone who’d be happy to see us together.
“I’d love to get a testimonial for the website about how we set you up.”
“But you didn’t really set us up,” I said.
Iola looked offended. “Excuse me?”
“Well, I asked to go on the date with Maverick, so—”
“So, you asked me to arrange it, didn’t you?” she said with a huff. “You went through our service.”
“Well, I guess technically, but—”
“As I was saying, we want to post a testimonial.” She glanced between us. “Assuming this is going to last.”
Maverick and I exchanged looks.
“Uh, maybe we could talk later,” Maverick hedged.
“Oh, dear.” Iola clucked. “Is he treating you right? If he’s not, you cut him loose. Don’t you worry. We’ll find you another date.”
“Hey,” I protested. “I’m standing right here.”
“I know,” she said in a flat voice.
“Why do you assume I’m the one who’s going to mess it up?”
Iola patted my cheek. “Aw, honey. We all know your track record with relationships, don’t we? It’s a small town.”
Maverick bit his lip and looked away. Shit. Was he worried about that? We hadn’t really talked about our exes. It hadn’t seemed relevant—or an especially great way to impress the guy I wanted.
“Damon hasn’t messed anything up,” Maverick said, “but we’re not really dating openly yet. So…let’s just talk later.”
Iola smacked her forehead. “Oh. Oh! Why didn’t you just say so? Me and my big mouth. Honestly! Just call when you’re ready, my dears.”
She took off into the crowd, calling after one of her friends, but I was reeling.
Earlier today, I’d told my family I had a boyfriend. But standing next to Maverick, who’d just hedged his bets with Iola, I suddenly wasn’t so sure we were on the same page.