Can't Fool Me Twice: Sweet Contemporary Romance: Belles in the City Book 1 (9 page)

"I like it a lot, but it's quite different from my old stompin' grounds."

Anthony nearly choked on his next bite. "Stompin' grounds?"

She nodded. "That's what we say back home. But as for this area, there's so much to see and do, and it keeps changin' from one day to the next, I don't think I'll ever see everything."

"That's the truth. Things do change." He put down his fork and sipped his tea. "My brother really likes you." He tipped his head forward. "And I mean he likes you a lot."

"I like him too."

"My other brother and I have been quite surprised by this."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you surprised?"

"Joseph and I both married young, but not Dante. He was always sort of … I supposed you could call him a ladies' man."

"A ladies' man?"

He nodded. "He was always the love-'em-and-leave-'em type."

A flicker of concern shot through Sunny. "I didn't know that."

Anthony picked up his fork and cut into the last bit of his cobbler. "Maybe he's enjoying the chase. You know what they say about girls who play hard to get." Then he finished off the cobbler. "You're a very sweet girl, though. I'm sure Dante's having a great time learning the southern culture, besides the fact that it's good for business to know his clientele."

Anthony changed the subject and started telling her about all of the restaurants that the family owned. His voice seemed more and more distant as she pondered what he's said about Dante being a ladies' man. A horrible feeling washed over Sunny as he finished his dessert and stood. "Do I pay you here or at the cash register?"

She held up her hand. "Don't worry about it. I don't think Dante would expect you to pay for a little bowl of cobbler."

"Thanks." Anthony walked toward the door. "I hope to see you soon."

After she made sure everything was running smoothly and that Estelle had the evening shift covered, she headed home. Since the sun was shining and it wasn't terribly cold out, she walked partway before hailing a cab. She'd hoped that the fresh air would help make her feel better, but it didn't.

The cab ride was quick, and she was home within a half hour. As soon as she opened the front door, she heard a familiar voice that she never expected.

Sunny walked into the study where Miss Lucille and her mother seemed engrossed in a conversation. She had to blink a couple of times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Mama?"

"Hey, sweetie. Surprised?"

"But I thought … weren't you supposed to—"

Miss Lucille chuckled. "She called me from the airport in Charleston, and since you couldn't get away from work, I called Bubba Dante. He met her at the airport and brought her here."

"Where is—"

Dante came up from behind. "Did you get my message?"

Sunny shook her head. "I checked my cell phone, but I didn't see a single message from you."

"Oh, I knew that you didn't like to text at work, so I called Riley, and he said he'd let you know."

Now it made sense. Riley probably didn't have a chance to tell her before he left for the clinic. At least he had a good excuse.

Mama got up and walked toward her with her arms open wide. "Come give me a hug, girl. I have missed you way more than I ever thought I would."

Sunny hugged her back. "I thought you were coming next week."

Miss Lucille motioned for them to join her. "Come sit down. It's a long story." She looked over at Dante. "I'm sure Bubba Dante won't mind getting us something to drink."

He smiled. "I absolutely don't mind. What will you ladies have?"

"There's a pitcher of fresh sweet tea in the fridge," Miss Lucille said before anyone else had a chance to answer. "Why don't you grab one of the trays in the cupboard beside it and load it up with the pitcher and some glasses filled with ice?"

"Coming right up," he said as he backed toward the door.

As soon as he was gone, Mama sighed. "That is one darlin' boy. Sunny, why didn't you tell me your boss was such a sweetheart?"

Miss Lucille laughed. "Sunny is still trying to figure him out, that's why. So, Twila, what were you saying about why you came early? I want to hear the whole story, and I'm sure Sunny does too."

"Well, as I was sayin', it was rainin' hard enough to choke a bullfrog. I was ready plenty early for work, but I couldn't get there on time on account of my car was in the shop and the bus was runnin' late. So when I walked in—" Mama's attention was diverted to something at the door. She smiled. "Come on in, Dante. I was just tellin' my daughter and the lovely Miss Lucille what happened that made me come here early."

Miss Lucille pointed to the small coffee table in front of her. "You can put that here." She studied the tray and looked up at Dante. "You only brought three glasses."

"I'm afraid I have to leave. I just heard from Riley. He had to get his hand stitched, and they advised him not to return to work for a couple of days." He made a face. "I'm going to have to see if I can figure out his recipes. He said he has all the details on the cards."

"What's that all about?" Mama asked.

Sunny turned to her. "Riley is the head cook at Bubba's Home Cookin'."

"Why, maybe I can come help out," Mama said. "I'm a pretty good cook. You tell 'em, Sunny. I'm a good cook, right?"

Sunny nodded. "Yes, you're a very good cook, but it's different from cookin' for a few people. We get hundreds of people at the diner everyday."

Mama flipped her hand from the wrist. "Aw, that's nothin'. Who do you think makes all those casseroles for the Tatum family reunions?" She started to stand. "Why don't I just come with you?"

Miss Lucille pointed to the loveseat. "Sit back down, Twila. Maybe you can help out later, but you just got in, and you haven't even picked out which room you want yet."

Dante nodded his agreement. "All the prep work has been done, so all I have to do is put everything into the oven and time it."

"Good thing it's meatloaf night and not catfish," Sunny said. "If you want me to go back in, I'll be happy to."

He shook his head. "We'll be fine. I'll call you after we close."

After he left, Mama grinned. "That boy will make a fine husband someday …" She looked at Sunny. "To
someone
."

"So what happened when you walked in late to work?" Miss Lucille asked.

Mama closed her eyes and shook her head. "They told me I was fired. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it paid the bills."

"They fired you just because you were late one time?" Sunny asked.

"No, unfortunately, I was late the day before too. I'm not used to havin' to rely on public transportation, you know. I barely missed the bus, so I had to catch the next one. I called in, and they told me to hurry up. And when I got there, they said they only give folks one chance, and I'd just used it up."

"Oh dear." Miss Lucille's face contorted. "You poor thing. I hate that you had to go through such a terrible thing."

Mama nodded. "So that's when I called Sadie … you know, the one who gave me her airline points? She said maybe I could come early if they had any seats available. So I called, and they did, and here I am." She lifted her arms, palms up, and smiled.

"Well, I, for one, am glad you came early," Aunt Lucille said. "I think you're a delightful lady. I can see how Sunny came by her wonderful disposition. Not much gets her down either."

"That's my daughter." Mama grinned at her. "A lot of folks thought I should worry about her comin' all the way up here to New York City, but I wasn't terribly worried." She paused and held her thumb and pointer finger about an inch apart. "Well, maybe I was just a smidge. But deep down, I knew she'd be just fine on account of how she adjusts to everything so well."

"She certainly does," Miss Lucille agreed. "I forget that she's not one of my nieces. I was so happy when she agreed to move in with me."

Mama took the opportunity to look around. "Your house is so beautiful. I've only dreamed of livin' in a place this nice."

"Since you're unemployed, why don't you plan to stay a bit longer? Sunny works a lot, so when I'm not doing therapy, I'm all by myself."

"I wouldn't want to impose."

Sunny watched Mama and Miss Lucille go back and forth a few more times, until Mama finally agreed to extend her stay. "I'll have to call the lady who runs the trailer park and get her to check my mail a little longer. At least I'm paid up on the lot rent for the rest of the month."

Miss Lucille pulled her walker over toward her chair. "Why don't we go take a look at the spare bedrooms so you can pick the one you like?"

Sunny stood. "I can show her around."

The older woman flopped back and let out a sigh. "That would be great, if you don't mind. I have a few things I need to do in here, and then I think I might take a short nap before supper."

As soon as Sunny and her mother got out of hearing distance, Mama started chattering again. "You told me it was nice, but I didn't realize just how nice. And I'm so happy about being able to stay here a bit longer, but you know me. I don't like to be a nuisance."

"Trust me, Mama, you're not a nuisance. Miss Lucille loves being surrounded by people, and this is going to be good for her since I'm gone a lot."

"It'll be good for me too," Mama said. "Ever since you've been gone, I've had these strange feelings."

Sunny stopped. "Strange feelings?" Mama had always been so cheerful, in spite of her often-dire circumstances. "Like what?"

"Like a piece of me is missin'. It's been so hard not havin' you to talk to."

"We'll have a good time while you're here."

"And you know I wasn't kiddin' when I said I'd come in and help out at the diner. In fact, I think it'll be a blast."

"It's hard work, though." Sunny thought about how the stress levels were off the charts on certain days.

"Honey, I've worked hard all my life. When you were in school, I worked three jobs." She held Sunny's gaze. "Remember?"

"I do." She often felt bad that Mama had to work so many jobs, because she didn't have the skills to make enough money with one position. "I just wish you could slow down a bit."

"I've slowed down quite a bit. Until yesterday, I only had one job." She held out both hands. "And now I have none."

"When you're ready to go back, I'll see what I can do. Remember that guy I told you about who used to tip me twenty dollars for just a cup of coffee?"

Mama nodded. "That guy sure was generous."

"He owns a car parts store not far from your mobile home park. He might have an opening or at least know of something. He said if I ever wanted to stop waitin' on tables to call him, and he'd give me a job."

"But you're a pretty young woman. He might not want your ol' mama workin' for him."

Sunny laughed. "You're anything but old. And you're every bit as pretty as I am." She took her mother's hand. "In fact, you're even prettier."

"Oh, Sunny, you're such a silly girl. You must take after your mama."

They stopped, and Sunny gestured toward one of the bedrooms. "What do you think of this one?" This was the larger of the two spare rooms, but it wasn't Sunny's favorite. "It has two closets—one a walk-in and the other perfect for stuff like handbags."

"This is lovely," Mama said. "It's about three times as big as my room back home."

"Before you decide, let me show you the other room."

As soon as Sunny showed her the second room, Mama gasped. "This is it. It's such a cheerful place."

"I thought you might like it." She looked directly at Mama. "It's not as big as the other one, but it's brighter."

"Are you sure Miss Lucille doesn't mind which bedroom I pick? In fact, I could even stay in the room with you if someone else needed this one."

"I'm sure she doesn't mind. These bedrooms have been sitting vacant ever since Bethann moved out." Sunny paused. "Where's your luggage?"

"Dante put it in the sitting room, wherever that is." She made a funny face. "
Whatever
that is. I thought any room with a chair was a sitting room."

Sunny laughed as she gestured for her mother to follow her. "Let's go get it so you can unpack and get settled."

As they carried the luggage from the sitting room to the bedroom she chose, Mama chattered about everything they passed—from the massive sized rooms to the exquisite furniture. "I've seen this kind of place on TV, but I never actually thought people lived this way. I can't even imagine how it must feel to always be in the lap of luxury."

"You'll be surprised by how normal it feels after a while," Sunny said.

"Oh, trust me, this can't possibly be normal. Miss Lucille must be somethin' special to be able to call this place home."

"She is somethin' special, and deep down, she's like us."

Mama's chin dropped again as they entered the bedroom she'd be staying in. "I feel like I done died and gone to heaven." She walked around the room, her arms open. "This puts my dream doublewide to shame."

"It shouldn't."

Both Sunny and Mama glanced over toward the voice at the door. "Oh, hey, Miss Lucille. I was just tellin' my daughter how much I love your house."

Miss Lucille glanced around the room as though just seeing it for the first time. "It is a nice house, isn't it?"

"Is it ever!" Mama sighed. "Must be nice to be so blessed."

"It is nice to be blessed, but my real blessings came from having lots of love. The house is just a place to live."

"Maybe to you, but I've never been … fortunate enough to be able to live in a place like this. I grew up in a small shack near the railroad track, and when I moved out to get married, all we could afford was a small apartment a few streets over. Then I got …" She glanced over at Sunny who smiled and nodded. "I got divorced. Times were tough, but I finally managed to scrape enough money together to buy a small, 2-bedroom mobile home for my little girl and me."

Miss Lucille walked over to one of the chairs in the corner of the room and plopped down. "I've never lived in a mobile home, but I've seen my share of shacks and small apartments. When I married my first husband, we somehow managed to get by on canned beans and whatever vegetables that came from seeds I managed to grow in a tiny window box. Occasionally someone would bring us some meat, and that was such a luxury for us."

Sunny tilted her head. "I didn't know that about you. I thought your first husband was a successful businessman."

Miss Lucille nodded. "He was, but that came later." She tilted her head back and laughed. "There was never any doubt in his mind that I married him for love because he certainly didn't have much money when we courted." She shrugged. "We knew each other since childhood, and we managed to find inexpensive ways to entertain ourselves."

Mama shook her head. "I never would've thought you came from humble beginnings. You seem so refined."

Miss Lucille cackled and winked at Sunny. "I sure have got your mama fooled, haven't I?"

Sunny opened the closet door and pulled out some hangers. "Let's get your stuff hung up so it doesn't wrinkle."

"I'll leave you girls alone," Miss Lucille said as she slowly stood. "Oh, before I forget, I've ordered pizza to be delivered. No point in anyone having to cook the first night we have company." She took a couple of steps toward the door before turning around. "I wasn't sure what kind you liked, Twila, so I bought several. We can refrigerate what we don't eat and have leftovers tomorrow." And then she left.