“It can wait.” He tried to look relaxed but failed miserably.
I released a soft sigh. It was obvious who’d called him, and equally obvious he felt guilty for not answering. Either he wanted to be with me or he didn’t. I picked up my cup. “I need to get back to the office.”
“We haven’t even been here ten minutes.”
“You have things you need to get back to.”
Defeat filled his eyes. “Neely Kate…”
“That’s not a relationship, Joe,” I said, trying to keep my temper from flaring as I stood.
“Sit, Neely Kate,” he said, grabbing my wrist and tugging me down. “I told her I’d be here with you at least a half hour. She can wait.”
“Obviously she can’t. Have you told her about taking me to the dinner?”
“Yes.” He released a nervous laugh.
“Paid for that one, huh?”
“She understands.”
I highly doubted that. “Joe, I say this as someone who’s been in your shoes, so please listen before you respond, okay?”
His shoulders stiffened, but he said, “Okay.”
“I know you’re excited to find someone you’re interested in, but have you noticed the similarities between your relationship with Dena and the one you had with Hilary?” His ex-girlfriend had taken manipulation to a new level, but this thing with Dena had just started. She had time to catch up.
“What?”
“Dena’s controlling. She knows we’re having coffee together, yet she’s calling you ten minutes in. She’s threatened by me.”
“And perhaps with good reason,” I heard Dena say in a snotty tone behind me. “Especially when his sister is trying to turn him against me.”
Joe looked horrified.
I turned in my seat, slightly embarrassed, but then I reminded myself everything I’d said was true. Her very presence was proof of that. “Hello, Dena. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Obviously.”
Joe cleared his throat. “Dena. What are you doin’ here?”
“My coffee maker’s broken, so I decided to come over and get a cup. I tried to call you to ask you to pick one up for me before you left, but you didn’t answer.” Her gaze dropped to the phone on the table, then lifted in accusation.
“I’m sorry I missed it,” he said, guilt washing over his face. “We were deep in conversation.”
“I can see that,” she said, but it didn’t come off as bitchy as I would have expected. She made it sound almost sweet. “Do you think you could get me one now?” She gave him an innocent look and batted her eyelashes.
“Neely Kate was in the middle—”
“Of talking about me. I caught that.” She pulled up a chair from the empty table next to ours and sat down. “I can see that Neely Kate and I got off on the wrong foot,” she said with an apologetic smile. “And I completely admit that it’s my fault. If I were in her shoes, I’d do the same thing. She’s just being a good sister.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
Dena covered Joe’s hand with her own. “If you’d get that coffee for me, I’d like to start over with your sister.”
I wasn’t buying this act for a moment, but poor gullible Joe was looking at me like an eager puppy. He wanted to believe it, and so he did. Mostly. In his defense, most men probably would have bought it too.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’d love to start fresh.” Then, for good measure, I gave him a beaming smile. I was eager to find out what she was up to.
Indecision wavered in his eyes, but he stood and walked over to the counter.
Dena’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Neely Kate, I’m sorry we’ve struggled to find a common ground.” She sounded genuine enough, but she looked a little too eager to win me over, especially considering the stink eye she’d given me at the end of our paint party.
“Seems to me that Joe’s our common ground, so I think this is actually a turf war.”
Her smile wavered, and she cast a glance at Joe. “I know that Joe wants to spend more time with me, but you…” She stopped and seemed to collect herself. “He feels guilty that he’s not spending as much time with you.”
She must have expected to get a rise out of me, but I took a sip of my coffee and waited her out.
Irritation flickered in her eyes. He’d only been gone for a half minute, and already her claws were out. “I realize that you’re lonely, Neely Kate, but maybe you should focus on getting a real boyfriend and not a pretend one instead of monopolizing all of Joe’s time. It’s not his responsibility to babysit you.” She punctuated her sentence with a broad smile.
“A pretend boyfriend?”
“It’s okay,” she said in her fake understanding voice. “Joe’s still buying it, but I know better. Why else won’t you tell him who it is?”
I made sure to hide my irritation. “Joe’s welcome to spend as much or as little time with me as he pleases. The only thing I asked him to do is stop canceling on me.”
Her smile slipped, but she plastered it firmly back into place. “Joe told me he was going to invite you to the fundraiser dinner on Saturday.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, I hope I didn’t spoil the surprise, although I told him you’d say no.”
“Why would I say no?”
“Because you’d feel out of place.” She grimaced. “All that dinner protocol. I went to cotillion up in Magnolia and learned dinner and dancing etiquette, but you . . . I figured you’d be worried that you’d embarrass yourself or Joe.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “I’ve been to a dinner before, Dena. I know how to use silverware.”
“But do you know which fork to use for dessert? Or where your water and wine glasses sit? Because Joe knows those things in his sleep.”
“Then Joe can help me.”
“Do you really think Joe wants to babysit you at the dinner? He’s going to be worried enough about what people will think.”
“Joe says he’s not worried about that.”
“Joe couldn’t care less what people say about him. He’ll be worried about you.”
I was about to respond when Joe walked up with her coffee.
She stood and took it from him, reaching up to give him a kiss. “Thanks for the coffee, Joey. And thanks for givin’ me time to chat with Neely Kate. Oh,” she added, making it sound like an afterthought, “I hadn’t gotten around to asking if I could go dress shoppin’ with her yet.”
“Dress shoppin’?” I asked in confusion after I got past the fact that she’d called him Joey. Then it hit me—dress shopping. Oh, my stars and garters, Joe hadn’t proposed already, had he?
She released a chuckle. “You’ll need a formal dress for the dinner.”
Thank you, sweet baby Jesus. But one moment of sweet relief was followed by a sinking feeling. Crap. I’d forgotten I’d need a new dress, and the look on her face told me she knew it would be a problem for me.
“That might be fun,” Joe said with a hopeful look.
I was pretty sure Joe didn’t want to hear “When monkeys fly out of Dena’s butt,” so I smiled and said, “I think I have something that will work.”
Joe beamed. “That’s great. Maybe another time.”
Yeah, when monkeys flew out of my butt.
Chapter 2
I checked my phone and saw I had a message from Rose’s sister Violet.
Can you run by the nursery this morning? There’s something I need to talk to you about.
Violet and I weren’t usually on texting terms, but I quickly sent back: Of course.
Anything to get out of here.
I stuffed the phone back in my purse. “That was a text from Violet. There’s something I have to take care of right away.”
Joe looked worried. “Is everything okay?”
We both knew it wasn’t. Violet had incurable cancer. Time wasn’t on her side, which made her request feel more urgent. “I think so, but she asked that I come by this morning, so I need to go before my next appointment.”