Chapter 4 Miles #2
She looks like she’s embarrassed, and now I feel guilty for looking so shocked. I’ve never made buttermilk biscuits before, so who am I to say how many dishes it takes?
“No problem. Doesn’t bother me,” I say as my eye twitches every time I turn in the direction of the sink.
I grab a glass and fill it with some water, snatch two more biscuits, and take my plate to sit on the other side of the bar.
Lucy scarfs down her biscuit and eggs the same time I do.
It’s too good to eat slowly. I watch as she licks her lips, then turns around to stare at the dishes.
I stand up slowly, stretching my leg, hoping that will relieve the tension in my knee, and make my way to the coffeepot at the same time Lucy moves to the sink.
I have to turn sideways to keep from brushing against her.
“Oops, sorry,” she mutters.
I start to pour myself another cup of coffee, then realize that she’s doing the dishes from the meal that she just shared with me. I set down my mug with a loud clink and go to stand next to her at the sink. “Here, let me do this.”
She glances up at me in surprise. “Really?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.” I smile.
She laughs at that. “I just don’t see many guys jumping in to do dishes. In fact, I was a little surprised to find your kitchen so clean.”
“I’m scared my mom will come in the house and lecture me if I leave dishes in the sink.”
She nods and steps back. “Well, thank you. It’s really nice. I was worried I would be late to work today. Still trying to get the hang of a new routine.”
“Don’t worry about me; I’m a fast dish washer. Besides, the biscuits were delicious. If you ever wanna cook and leave the dishes to me, it’s a deal.”
She bites her lip and looks up at me. “I’m assuming that’s contingent on sharing the biscuits, right?”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “What do you think?”
She throws back her head and laughs. “I’ll make you some of my homemade French bread one of these nights.”
“Let me know the time and place, because if it’s anything like those biscuits, I don’t wanna miss out on that.”
With one last bright smile, she walks out of the kitchen and disappears down the hall. Really, there aren’t that many dishes in the sink, just a few mixing bowls and some utensils.
I wash the dishes in less than five minutes. Apparently, mixing bowls take up a lot of sink space but don’t take long to clean. I’m shocked I even had enough kitchen tools for Lucy to make biscuits. My cooking skills consist of preheating the oven for a pizza.
When I finish, I head to my room to get ready for a day of work. My job at Kappa Holdings used to be rather hands-off. Kingston liked to do everything himself. But lately, he’s been a little busy with Willa—his girlfriend, who happens to be Lucy’s sister.
I think they might be officially dating now, though I’m not sure.
I hear the front door slam and a car start up. Lucy must be heading to work.
I grab a pair of jeans from my dresser and pull them on.
My phone chimes, and I glance down to see it’s a text from my sister.
Ainsley: Call me ASAP.
With Ainsley, this could mean anything from a delayed shipment for the store to someone dying.
Me: What happened?
I grab a button-up shirt and pull it on while I wait for her to text back.
Ainsley: Remember that crazy old bet that Grandma started?
Grandma has started quite a few bets. We often wonder if she actually has a problem and maybe we should intervene. But with Ainsley, there’s one bet in particular that Grandma threw out into the world. A marriage bet.
Me: Yes, I assumed she’d forgotten about it.
Ainsley: She didn’t. Instead, she brought it up at the last family dinner. And guess who was there!
Me: Oh no. He wasn’t???
She can only be talking about the worst person I know.
Ainsley: Oh, yes. Preston and his girlfriend were there, and you could practically see the dollar signs spinning in her eyes.
Preston seemed to love the idea of you still being single.
Grandma started talking about the bet and how no one has given her any hope of getting married and providing her with great-grandbabies.
Preston happens to be the most annoying cousin in the world and Ainsley’s archnemesis. Mine, too, for that matter. He did steal my ex-girlfriend, after all. That didn’t make family get-togethers awkward or anything.
Me: Doesn’t she realize that none of us are going to just get married for the sake of getting married?
Ainsley: Well, Preston’s girlfriend seems to think they will. She thinks this is the perfect opportunity to get into the family.
Me: And what does Preston think? He’s a jerk, but I’m not sure if he’s grown up at all over the years.
He moved out of state for a couple of years. It was a time of peaceful family dinners. Ainsley and I sat in grieving silence when he moved back. We’d really enjoyed those get-togethers without him.
Ainsley: He hasn’t. He talked about marrying Carly just for the sake of beating you out of the bet. It’s not like he needs the money.
How obnoxious. My grandmother decided to place a price on the first marriage of her grandchildren. My cousin Preston is, well—if you look up jerkwad in the dictionary, his face is next to it. It’s been his life goal to make me miserable.
He’s done a pretty good job of it.
Whatever I have, he tries to steal it out from under me—my ex-girlfriend being a prime example. He also has not endeared himself to my sisters. Karis is the youngest in our family, and Preston has managed to annoy her into actually yelling. He’s the only person I’ve ever seen her yell at.
I can’t imagine him dating anyone that we would actually want in the family. Because no reasonable person would date Preston, and since his current girlfriend is my ex, I know she’s not a good option.
Me: Keep me updated. I’m going to work today.
Ainsley: Please don’t let him win this.
Me: Unfortunately, Grandma is right, and I am a single Pringle, who doesn’t have time to mingle.
The text bubbles appear and disappear a few times before she replies.
Ainsley: Please never say a rhyme like that again. But you know how much Preston will rub this in our faces for the rest of our lives. I’ll have to stop coming to family gatherings.
As if. Our mother would murder us. And Dad would feel abandoned.
Me: Why don’t you get married?
Ainsley: To what? There’s nothing remotely worth getting married to around here.
I have to hold back a chuckle at her referencing men as things rather than people. And I’m not mad about it. I’d prefer it if my little sisters never have boyfriends, then I won’t have to worry about them.
Me: Good point.
Ainsley: Can’t you go find a nice girl and ask her to marry you?
I don’t even bother to answer her. I strongly dislike Preston, but Ainsley has more of a deep-seated hatred and would like to see him fail.
I’m still not sure what he did to her in high school.
I made sure it wasn’t something worth killing him over, but I think it had something to do with her first big heartbreak.
She still hasn’t forgiven him for whatever part he played in it.
Oh, well. It’s not like he’ll actually get married. Especially if he doesn’t even like the girlfriend he has right now.
Preston likes to date people who are already in a relationship. He only wants what he doesn’t have. There’s not actually any staying power in him.
My phone chimes again. I debate on ignoring it, knowing my sister is just going to keep telling me to find a random soul to marry.
But when I look at my phone, I see that it’s a text from Lucy.
Lucy: Thanks for doing that pile of dishes. You didn’t have to do that!
I text her back immediately.
Me: No problem. Thanks for the great breakfast. This whole roommate thing is working out even better than I thought.
She texts me back with a laughing face and a pink heart emoji.
A heart emoji. Who texts that to people?
Apparently, Lucy.