“Nice to meet you two.” Cal’s deep voice rumbled across the night air.
“Are you two leaving? Delbert and I are just going in to eat. I swear, you townsfolk eat dinner at the most uncivilized early hour. I just do not understand.” Camille tossed her curls as she spoke. “Delbert and I never even think about dinner until after eight.”
Becky Lee counted to ten, which it seemed like she always had to do around Camille.
“Well, Cal. What brings you to town?” Camille was sizing Cal up and giving Becky Lee a what-did-you-do-to-deserve-him look.
Becky Lee tucked her hand in the crook of Cal’s elbow. “He’s working for Steve Bergeron.”
“Ah. I see.” Camille sized up the nicely dressed Cal, obviously reconciling the businessman appearance with her preconceived notion of construction workers.
But then Camille had preconceived ideas about everyone and everything and rarely changed her opinion.
“Becky Lee, I didn’t know you even dated anymore. Good for you for getting a date.” Camille’s voice dripped with niceness. Fake niceness.
Now what was she supposed to say to that?
Camille didn’t notice Becky Lee didn’t answer her and continued her litany. “But what a perfectly understated dress. So simple, but then it suits you.”
The words understated and simple were said with an undertone that said ugly and out of style.
Becky Lee was determined to not let Camille get under her skin. “Why thank you, Camille. We should let you two go in and have dinner.”
Cal was eyeing the two women carefully. With a sudden whoosh of warmth, Cal slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Yes, you two have a pleasant dinner. So nice to meet you. Becky Lee here is going to show me more of the town, aren’t you, hon?”
Becky Lee struggled to keep her eyes from flying wide open. “Um, yes. I am. It’s a lovely night for a walk.”
Camille arched an eyebrow with the still incredulous look of what-does-he-see-in-you plastered on her perfectly made-up face.
“She’s really something.” Cal leaned down and pressed a quick kiss on Becky Lee’s cheek. She was glad his arm was around her because she would have fallen down in pure surprise. A bolt of lightning shot through her and the world tilted crazily.
Cal continued on in a slow drawl as if nothing had happened. “I’m lucky to have found her.”
Becky Lee’s pulse was pounding in her ear so that she could barely hear whatever it was that Camille said as she and Delbert went into Sylvia’s. As the door closed behind them, Becky Lee spun around. “What was that?”
“Well, your friend there—who I take it isn’t really a friend—I thought she needed a bit of a show. You know, to prove we’re a couple.”
Becky Lee had to keep herself from reaching up to touch her cheek. It was still tingling and she could feel the heat of a blush.
She steadied her jangled nerves and looked up into Cal’s eyes. “I’ll tell you one thing, the whole town will know we’re a couple by tomorrow. Camille will make sure of that.”
~ * ~
“And that was the point, right?” Much to his delight, Cal noticed a rosy blush across Becky Lee’s cheek. Guess he’d caught her off guard with that quick kiss. But he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He wasn’t sure what had come over him. It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
“I get the impression you two aren’t the best of friends.”
“A bigger understatement has never been spoken.” Becky Lee sighed. “She’s been a thorn in my side since high school days. Putting on airs. The town’s biggest gossip. She has a way of getting under my skin. On the surface what she says sounds fine, but underneath it’s all little digs. She’s self-centered and a troublemaker.”
“Tell me how you really feel.”
“Okay, I’m not being very kind, but I’m being totally truthful. That guy with her is Delbert Hamilton. I’m surprised you didn’t get his full name. Delbert Hamilton of Hamilton Hotels. That’s how she usually refers to him, like it’s one long name.”
“Well, if she’s going to spread the word that we’re a couple, my job here is done. How about I walk you home?”
Becky Lee’s face was covered in a bemused expression and she just nodded. As they headed down the sidewalk, Cal decided it was probably a good idea to take Becky Lee’s hand. In the name of making the town think they were dating, that was all it was.
He slipped her small hand into his and she looked up at him for the briefest moment. Some expression flashed across her face, but he couldn’t quite figure out what he saw in the depths of those deep blue eyes.