Sweet Nothings (41 page)

“Don’t go there, Linda Sue,” Joanie warned. “You don’t want to try to tame that.”

Linda Sue giggled and waved her hand. “Oh, honey. I’m aware of that. He went out with my sister once. But man, you should have heard her talk about him before he dumped her. Sweet Jesus, the things she said that man could do.”

The door chimed. “The things who can do?” the newcomer asked.

Gina Gregory walked to the back of the salon and took in the four of them. Her eyes scanned over Lee Ann’s comatose state, Katy working furiously to do a good job, Linda Sue fanning herself over thoughts of Brian, then stopped on Joanie.

Terrific. Gina had been pissed off at her for weeks. Wonder what she wanted now.

“We were talking about Brian,” Linda Sue answered. “About the
things
he can do.” She waggled her eyebrows.

Gina grinned. “I could probably add a few items to that list.”

Sheesh. The guy had slept with everyone.

The five of them talked for several more minutes about Brian and a couple other men the ladies enjoyed looking at, then Gina turned to Joanie. “I heard there was a commotion at the diner yesterday that I missed.”

“No commotion,” Joanie said. “Just kicking my mother out of town.”

“That’s what I heard.” She reached into her oversize purse and pulled out a small, but sizeable enough wad of cash. “Bert asked me to drop this off to you. It’s your winnings. Apparently you were the only one who thought we’d get rid of her that soon.”

Joanie leaned forward and took the cash. She would gladly accept the money.

“Course, I told him it seemed unfair to me. What with you having that will and all. Seems you had a leg up.”

“Nothing says that’s against the rules.”

“
Hmph
.” Gina puckered her full lips. “Just don’t seem fair, is all I’m saying.”

She lowered herself into the remaining pedicure chair, looking for all the world as if she was going to stick around for a while, and Linda Sue returned to Joanie’s toes. Conversation resumed about any and everything. When it turned to Joanie and Nick, they all seemed overly interested.

“So what exactly is going on with you two?” Gina asked.

“You still can’t have him, Gina,” Lee Ann good-naturedly warned the woman off.

“I never said I wanted him.”

Everyone but Gina laughed.

“Like you didn’t want Cody, either?” Lee Ann added, teasingly.

“Geez Louise,” Gina finally admitted. “Who could blame me? Those boys are hot.” Gina always called men who were younger than her “boys,” even if it was only by a few years. “So what’s the deal?” She leaned forward and stared pointedly at Joanie. “This gonna work out between you two, or what?”

Every head swung Joanie’s way.

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him since he’s been back in town.”

“They had an argument,” Lee Ann supplied. “He stayed with Cody last night.”

“Oh, no.” Linda Sue reached up and patted Joanie’s knee.

“It wasn’t an argument so much,” Joanie began. Yes, it had been. She’d told him she needed time. He hadn’t called her since.

She would tell him differently if she could just find him. She didn’t want time. She just wanted Nick. She also wanted her house. Even if it meant she had to sell Cakes-a-GoGo to pay off a loan.

But she didn’t want to tell these women all that before she told Nick.

“Also heard you had a breakthrough of sorts while at the diner yesterday,” Gina tacked on. “Nick play into that?”

“What breakthrough?”

Everyone quietly watched except for Gina, who continued talking.

“Admit it. You’re going to settle down with him, right? And you figured this out yesterday at the diner, didn’t you?”

“She hasn’t even talked to him yet, Gina,” Linda Sue pointed out. “She can’t know if they’re going to stay together if he left on an argument and they haven’t talked since.”

“They didn’t even talk on the phone all day yesterday,” Lee Ann added.

“Wait,” Joanie said. She held her hand up and looked from one pair of eyes to the next. “Why are you all so interested in what’s going to happen with me and Nick? And why are you so worried about
when
?”

Every one of them shrugged and said, “Just curious.”

“You all are so full of crap.”

Silence.

Then she remembered the bet. The one where they were all betting on when she would fall victim to the curse.

“Do I mess everything up if I admit I don’t believe in the Bigbee Curse?”

Linda Sue’s eyes grew round while Lee Ann merely broke out in a happy little smile.

“Is there a particular reason why?” Gina asked.

“Nick, perhaps?” added Linda Sue.

Joanie looked from one lady to the other, still confused. “He might play into it.” He had taught her how to love.

Gina squeaked. “And you figured it out yesterday?”

“What in the world does it matter?” Joanie asked. “The bet was for when I would fall victim to the curse. You all lost. There is no curse.”

Lee Ann reached over and put her arm around Joanie’s shoulders, giving her a tight hug. “It was for when you’d figure out you’re insane about him, sweetie. And that you want him forever.”

Well, hell. She slumped back in her seat, thinking about that one. They’d all figured out she was crazy about Nick before she did? She shook her head and looked at the women in the room.

“I can’t believe you bet on that.” Then again, it was Sugar Springs. “So you all think I should definitely be with Nick?”

Not that their opinions would change her mind. She had every intention of hunting that man down and making him hers. Permanently.

“Even I do,” Gina said. “Though I would prefer if you told me you came to this decision yesterday.”

Ah, Gina had yesterday.

Joanie looked around. “Who has today?”

“Brian.” They all answered.

Hmmm. So, either her friend, or the woman who’d tried to seduce her man.

“What if Nick says no? Is the bet still good?”

They all eyed each other with confused expressions. Finally Katy, who had remained quiet throughout the whole exchange, spoke up. “That’s not going to happen. Have you looked at that man when he’s watching you? He’s a goner.”

Joanie couldn’t stop the smile, and it seemed to spread to every one of the women. Now she just had to find her man.

Her cell phone rang and they all jumped.

“Maybe it’s Nick,” Linda Sue gushed.

Maybe. But no.

“It’s Jane.” Joanie answered, greeting the Realtor.

“So glad I caught you, sugar. We’ve got a deal.”

The milkshake she’d been drinking grew heavy in her stomach. “Already?”

“Yes, aren’t you excited? And it’s a good one.” The woman’s voice was annoying.

Joanie frowned, then caught sight of all the women around her leaning a little closer. No doubt they could hear Jane’s chirpy voice loud and clear. She swiveled in her seat, hoping they’d get the hint and back off. “How much?” she finally asked.

“Ten more than the asking price.”

Joanie was stunned. She couldn’t turn down an offer that was more than the asking price. Her eyes clouded over with tears.

“I’ll bring the contract over today. The buyer wants to close soon.”

They finished the call and Joanie hung up, once again facing the small crowd of women. She forced a shaky smile. “I got an offer on the Barn.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Linda Sue was the first to speak.

“No,” Gina replied. “She wants to live in that house with Nick. Trust me, I saw her christening the place.”

There were groans all around as Joanie sat there silent. It was a good deal. She’d be an idiot not to take it. And yes, she wanted to live there with Nick. But she’d take Nashville, as well. Wherever he was.

Only, she wouldn’t sell her house.

“No,” she said suddenly, pulling her feet away from Linda Sue so she could stand up. She had to go. “No, I don’t want to sell the house.”

“Your toes aren’t done, Joanie,” Linda Sue whispered as if reluctant to stop her.

Joanie looked down at her one painted foot, the polish glistening with a shine that could only mean they were still wet. “Then I’ll just wear one shoe out, and come back for the other foot another time. I’ve got to go.”

She had to find Nick. She had to stop this sale.

Nick heard a car door slam and looked out the window of the third-floor room. Joanie was home. Nerves began in his stomach as he reminded himself he would not push her for more than she was ready to give. He shoved the remainder of his clothes in his bag, and checked the room to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.

The only personal items remaining in the house were the clothes that Joanie had brought over the last couple of days—he still wasn’t sure what it meant that she’d stayed there while he’d been gone—and an old newspaper article he’d found about her out on the porch. He’d brought it in and laid it in the middle of the bed for her, along with the scrapbook he’d found on the bathroom counter. She’d apparently finished it. It, too, was lying in the middle of the bed.

“Nick?” she shouted from downstairs. Pounding feet followed the shout.

When the noise paused on the second floor, he yelled, “I’m up here.”

He saw her peek her head around the base of the stairs, and he couldn’t keep from grinning. The goofy grin he wore reminded him of the first time he’d spotted her in her go-go outfit. Christ, he’d missed her these last couple of days. She bounded up the steps, but came to a screeching halt, her gaze on the bag in his hand.

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“I…” He wanted to tell her he wasn’t going anywhere without her, but that seemed like that pushing thing he was trying not to do. Finally, he nodded. “Thought I’d go on back to Nashville early. I signed a contract with the Marshalls today to build cabins on their property. I need to get a foreman lined up to get the work started.”

Her chest rose with a deep breath. “Will you take me with you?”

The question stopped him cold. Moving away from Sugar Springs had to be the last thing she’d want to do. Plus, he’d learned from Cody that this house was hers, free and clear. Her mother only got the bed.

“No,” he finally forced out. Her face fell with his word.

He would move to Sugar Spring to be with her, but he would never be the one to take her away. She belonged here. He belonged here, too. He just had to wait for her to figure that out.

“I’m getting out of your way,” he told her. “You move in here. It’s your house. Everything about it is you, sweetness.”

Joanie took two steps forward, stopping within a foot of him. She smelled like warm maple syrup, and the tips of her hair were a light,
golden brown. She also wore only one shoe. He couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “I got an offer today.”

He tried to show the right amount of surprise. “You could always reject it if you’re not ready to sell. Take it off the market.”

“What about all the money I owe? What do I do about that?”

He swallowed. He couldn’t
not
offer, even if it was pushy. “I can loan you some more to cover the bank.”

She took one more step, almost bumping him. “You’d do that for me? Even though I already owe you just as much?”

“I would do that for you,” he stated.

“When would you want payment?’

He shook his head, intoxicated with the scent of her. “There’s no hurry, babe. We can work out something.”

“Because you love me?”

Ah, shit. What was he supposed to say to that? He needed Cody there for pointers.

“Do you love me or not, Nick?” Her voice trembled with her words and he dropped his bag to the ground to reach for her, but forced his hands to go no further than her upper arms.

“Of course I love you, sweetness. You know that. You’ve known that for a long time.”

“Then why are you leaving me?”

He let out a shaky breath. “I’m giving you space. I’m not being pushy. I’m…” He shook his head. “Hell, Joanie. I’m giving you what you asked for. What else do you want from me?”

The woman drove him insane.

“I want you to marry me,” she whispered. “If it’s not too late.”

When he gaped at her, she said, “Because I love you, too.”

“Oh, babe.” He closed the distance then, and put his mouth on hers.