Muffin Top (Page 43)

He opened his mouth, shut it, and then gave her a chagrined look. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re not my little girl dancing around in the kitchen anymore, are you?”

Again, a giant thanks going out to whomever invented waterproof mascara because she was about to lose it again. Here she had been dreading coming home because she couldn’t help but fall back into those same patterns and face the same demons she had while being a half-bratty, half-lost fifteen-year-old and all her dad saw was the fourth-grader in pigtails jamming out while she emptied the dishwasher. Going home again wasn’t without dangers—she looked at her dad, gazing at her with such love and hope that she gave in to the tears—but it wasn’t without rewards also.

“I may not be dancing in the kitchen, Daddy, but I’ll always be your girl.”

And she would. Some things a person didn’t outgrow, but the real blessing of getting older was finally learning which old hurts to hold onto and which ones to let go.

“Have fun tonight,” he said, giving her a tight squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

By the time she stepped out onto the front porch, her eyes were dry, her makeup repaired, and her spirit lighter than it had been in a long time.

“Everything okay?” Frankie asked as he handed Gussie over to her dad and walked her to Scarlett, where he held open the door for her.

God, how to answer that? She had a million possibilities but, looking up at Frankie as she got into the passenger seat, there was only one that seemed to fit this moment. “The only thing that could make it better is if Constance decides to stay home.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll decide not to come,” Frankie said with a grimace.

“It doesn’t matter.” And it really didn’t.

That’s what she’d been missing all this time, and it was past time that she realized it. The conversation with her dad, though, helped settle some of the emotional flotsam and jetsam that had been swirling around inside her for as long as she could remember.

Sure, that girl who’d walked through the halls of Antioch High School still lived inside her. However, she had grown up, learned to stand up for herself, and had prospered with a great job and amazing friends. Coming home again didn’t change that. If Antioch hadn’t changed while she’d been away, well, there was nothing she could do about it. But she wasn’t giving up all she’d gained just because she’d crossed the city line.

“What’s that smile about?” Frankie asked, pausing the motion of closing her door.

“I’m just happy.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his ornery mouth. “Then I say we let the good times roll.”

“Best idea ever.”

“I don’t know.” He lowered his voice and gave her a heated look. “I kinda like the one you had last night. I’m looking forward to a repeat. I have made plans of the hotel variety.”

There went her panties, because there was no way she wouldn’t spend the night thinking about exactly what he had in mind and hoping like hell it was the same naked, orgasmic things making her pulse speed up. However, judging by the singe-your-eyebrows-off heat level of the kiss he gave her before shutting her door, she didn’t really have to wonder. She just had to be patient. That man did love to draw things out, and she had a feeling the dance was going to be one long act of foreplay.

Who knew, maybe she could sneak him behind the football stand and have her wicked way with him.

Chapter Sixteen

The school gym had been transformed into an updated replica of the Under the Sea prom that had been held Lucy’s senior year. At least, she assumed it’s what it had looked like, with the mermaids and starfish decorating the walls, the blue and white balloons, and fish-shaped confetti scattered across the registration table.

“So what song are you two gonna sing?” Haven Sheraton asked as she handed Lucy her nametag. “For the last event in the decathlon, I mean.”

Oh shit. She whipped her head around and stared at Frankie, who was giving her a mouth-open look of pure horror that matched hers. With all that had had gone on, it had totally left her mind.

“Sing?” she managed to get out.

“Yeah, you remember how Constance loves to sing,” Haven said with a wistful sigh. “I thought she was gonna be on Broadway before all of that other stuff happened.”

As the panic of it really being time to break out the karaoke started to abate, she remembered how Constance would stroll the halls of Antioch High School surrounded by her friends as she sang everything from the Broadway classics to the latest hits. Even as a teenager, she’d been confident that every dream she’d ever had would come true.

“So, it’s karaoke time?” Frankie asked without the usual humor in his voice.

“Exactly,” Haven said before leaning forward and lowering her volume to a mere whisper. “Good luck, a lot of us are rooting for y’all.”

Lucy probably would have spent the next five minutes staring at Haven with a blank expression if it hadn’t been for Frankie, who steered her away from the registration table and over to a corner outside of the gym doors. As people streamed by, she finished processing her what-the-fuck-people-are-rooting-for-us moment and realized that Frankie “Mr. Confidence” Hartigan looked like he was about to puke on his shoes.

“Oh my God.” She pressed her palms to his cheeks, checking for a temperature. “Are you okay?”

“I gotta remind you of something.” He glanced over at the people passing by as if they were aliens on the hunt for a new human skin suit. “I can’t sing.”

She let out a relieved sigh, and the worry yanking her shoulders up to her earlobes eased. “Me either, that’s okay. We’ll suck together.”

“No.” He shook his head and visibly gulped. “I. Can’t. Sing.”

That’s when it hit her. The man who could probably talk the devil himself into giving Frankie a pass on an eternity in hell was petrified of singing in front of people. Like scared-out-of-his-mind-to-the-tenth-degree petrified. If he didn’t look like it was the end of the world, she would have laughed. This was not the moment for giggles, though. This was serious. And for what? A stupid crown? Totally not worth it.

“No big deal,” she said and brushed her lips across his cheek. “We’ll skip the event.”

He narrowed his blue eyes at her. “Then Constance will win.”

A few days ago, even the idea of letting her old high school nemesis win would have been among the worst things possible. Now? Well, reality had run one helluva check on her life and had given her a new perspective. That old shit didn’t matter. She had a good life, great friends, and was about to spend the night dancing with a man who made her do the happy sighs, if only for a limited time. All of that was way better than nursing old grudges and hurts.

“It’s no biggie,” she said. “I’d rather spend the night dancing with you.”

“Are you sure?” Frankie asked, the tone in his voice telling her just how unsure he was of her answer.

“We head back to Waterbury in the morning,” she said, keeping her voice as light as possible and leaving out what that meant to her and how much she was going to miss him when they got back to their real lives. “I’d rather squeeze in all the fun and memories I can tonight rather than get caught up in some stupid high-school level competition.”