“You heading over to the ranch?” she asked him.
“Yeah, I have to give my regards to the bride and her family before they leave.”
“Okay. This won’t take long. Lilah, come help Corie bring my things inside.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lilah said. She scrambled to grab her grandmother’s large weekend bag.
“You two are in trouuuuuble,” Corie sang as she handed the driver a bit of cash. Evie felt her face heat with embarrassment and dread. Miss Leona stood there silently until the SUV pulled around the driveway and headed back down the lane. Then she looked up at the both of them. She was wearing a silver pantsuit with a royal-blue silk blouse. It was a festive look that seemed a little too light for the nearly deadly look on her face. Her finger came up and she pointed a finger right in Zach’s direction.
“Now I know ya’ll two are full-grown adults, but Evie is under my care, so there will be no more of this.”
“Miss Leona, we didn’t—” Zach started, but she cut him off with a sharp tilt of her head.
“Was I done speaking?”
“No. Ma’am.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that you two waited until I was gone to engage in a little bit of hanky-panky, but there’ll be no shacking up under my watch. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they both responded.
“Evie, I know you’re feeling a lot of emotions and that’s fine, but there is no need to rush anything. And you.” Zach failed to hide his chuckle as his grandmother’s eyes narrowed in his direction. “If you really care about her, you will court her properly. The poor girl has no memory. Let her get to know you the right way, ’cause the good Lord forbid you two decide this isn’t something you want to pursue and I have to deal with two heartsick children moping around. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And as much as I’d love to see more great-grandchildren before I die, I’m old-fashioned and I’d like it if you two were married before that. And don’t give me that ‘we used protection’ crap. People get sloppy and condoms can fail too.”
“Hear you loud and clear,” Zach said.
“Good. I’m gonna go sit down and then Evie, we’re making cornbread.”
“That sounds wonderful. I wouldn’t miss it.”
Miss Leona gave them both a firm nod, then strutted into the house. Evie didn’t dare breathe until the front door closed behind her.
“Did she just tell us we’re not allowed to have sex anymore?” she said.
“She said no more overnights. We can get creative with the sex.”
“Oh, thank God.”
Zach pulled her into his arms with his hands tight around her waist. “Why? You don’t want me to court you?”
“To what me?”
“Try to win your love and affection the right and proper way. You know, take you out, even though you can’t be seen out in public. Buy you gifts and thangs.”
“That’s exactly what I want.”
“Then that’s exactly what I’ll do. Come on. I’ll walk you to your door,” Zach said before employing the horrible fake Southern accent. “It’s what a gentleman courting a sweet young lady like yourself ought to do.”
Evie rolled her eyes, a smile sneaking across her face. Then she did the next logical thing that came to mind. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Zach Pleasant right on the lips.
Chapter 21
Nicole made her way up the subway stairs into the unusually balmy morning air. Days ago the city was covered in a good ten inches of snow, and now it was in the high fifties. She tried not to let the obvious signs of global warming mess up her day even more. It was a new day and now she was a few signatures away from signing her first new client of the year. Ursula Simmons, child star turned fashion designer, who was looking for new representation.
The twenty-five-year-old was in talks to star in her own cable reality show following the ins and outs of her growing empire, but talks had stalled when she realized her mom/agent was carrying on negotiations behind her back. She’d decided it was time to dead the professional part of their mother/daughter relationship before they found themselves in a situation where the personal part was unsalvageable.