I nodded. “Absolutely. I like the real stuff. Sugar all the way for me.”
She let go of my hand and squeezed my arm. “Good. You and I are going to get along just fine. She teetered in a circle and faced the clan. “Now which one of my grandsons are you here with? It better be one of my boys and not that Boog person, I’ll tell you what.”
Boog’s mouth fell open while everyone else laughed. I dropped my gaze to the ground, too embarrassed to answer her question. Mack stepped up beside me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him firmly. “She’s with me, Grandma. She’s here with me.”
Grandma Lettie looked at both of us critically for a few seconds and then nodded. “Good enough.” Then she faced the crowd. “Boog, get me a chair, will ya? My feet are tired. I went to a barn dance last night and stayed up ’til one a.m. Now I’m too pooped to piddle.”
Boog walked away grumbling, but he grabbed a chair and dragged it back anyway. I wandered away with Mack as others closed in on Grandma Lettie, standing around her like she was visiting royalty.
“Well, that was interesting,” I said, the feeling that I’d just dodged a bullet soothing my frazzled nerves.
Mack took my hand and led me back over to the food table. He reached inside the big pan and removed some of the tin foil from the top. “This is what a beef brisket looks like.”
I stared down at the hunk of brown meat. “Oh. It looks … boring.” I didn’t know what I’d been expecting, but this sure seemed like very little to get excited about.
He laughed and then spoke in a soft voice. “Don’t you dare let Grandma Lettie hear you say that.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” I whispered back. “She scares me.”
Mack leaned in like he was going to kiss me, but I drew back.
“What? I can’t kiss you?” He looked hurt.
“No, you can’t kiss me, you fool. This is not happening.” I pointed to him and then me. “We are not happening.” It felt horrible to say it, but it had to be said. The longer we played at being a couple, the harder it would be when I left. And I was leaving, papers signed or not, tomorrow.
“Bullshit it’s not happening. It very much is happening.” His good mood was quickly evaporating.
“Please don’t make a scene,” I said, glancing back at his grandmother.
“You’re the one making a scene,” he said, his tone going soft again. “I’ll tell you what … Just give me one kiss, and I’ll leave you alone. Otherwise I’m going to harass you all day.”
I eyed him suspiciously, pretending to hate the idea but secretly thrilled to know he would kiss me in front of his family. “One kiss and you’ll leave me alone for the whole picnic?”
“No. For fifteen minutes.”
I feigned outrage. “That’s not fair!”
“Well, if you want to do more than just kiss me, that could buy you more time.” He moved his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
I elbowed him in the ribs, smiling the whole time. “Go away, horn dog. No blowjobs at the family picnic.”
He gestured to a big tree with a stack of rocks next to it. “There’s a nice little hiding spot over there. We just have to be real quiet. And I wasn’t talking about blowjobs. I have other things planned for you.” He leaned in really close and whispered in his best wicked voice. “That’s why I bought you a dress and not shorts.”
My eyes bulged out of my head. “Stop! Someone’s going to hear you.” My face turned bright pink and a chill rushed over my skin, goosebumps coming out to reveal my physical reaction to his suggestion. I could picture him down there with my dress pushed up to my waist almost like it was already happening.
He put his arm around me and leaned in again. “Come on. Stop torturing me. One kiss. Fifteen minutes. Take me up on the deal now before I change the terms.”
I stood on tiptoe and gave him a quick peck on the lips, pulling away before he could prepare or react.
“Oh, no way,” he said, grinning like the devil he is. “That doesn’t count.”
“Yes, it does.” I tried to hold back my grin and remain serious. “You didn’t specify a certain type of kiss.” My heart was ready to explode with the joy of just being stupid with him.
Then I heard a car door slam shut over by the front of the house and remembered that Bradley could come rolling down that dirt road and show up at any minute. The joy that had just threatened to overwhelm me dissipated into the hot air around us, leaving behind frustration in its wake. Some evil part of me instantly became angry at Bradley for forcing my hand like this. Maybe I’d get lucky and a semi-poisonous snake would bite him if he tried to come interrupt this day - but only the kind that would send him to the doctor and not actually kill him. Half a second later I was overcome with guilt for almost wishing that on him. He was just doing what Mack would have done in the same circumstances. I am such a terrible person. How have I fallen so far in such a short period of time?