“Because I know that Rhett can be selfish. He’s been spoiled, I admit, and that’s my fault. He was my youngest, my baby, and I knew we weren’t having any more, so I definitely cut him more slack than I should have.” Sandy put her hand on her chest. “His last girlfriend told me that he’s rude and demanding, and it breaks my heart to hear that.”
It was breaking Shawn’s that they were having this discussion. And who was the bitch who had run to Rhett’s mother and whined? Geez. Deal with your shit, honey, don’t go running to your boyfriend’s mother.
Feeling defensive on Rhett’s behalf, she told Sandy quite honestly, “Rhett is actually very thoughtful. He opens the door for me, he washes dishes, he makes coffee. I don’t find anything rude about him at all.” She was not discussing their sex life. In any way, shape, or form. And she was going to resolutely pretend there was no vibrator anywhere near them while they were discussing anything other than her sex life.
His mother looked pleased. “I’m glad to hear that. He has a good heart. He’s very loyal. But he doesn’t smile enough, and sometimes people misinterpret that as having ill intentions.”
A strange feeling settled over Shawn, one that she didn’t understand. She felt something in her chest that was unrecognizable, a tight grip. “He’s a wonderful man, Sandy,” she said, and she meant it. “You should be proud of him.”
Sandy squeezed her hand. “You should see him with the kids and his siblings. That’s when he relaxes.”
“So you really don’t mind that we eloped?” It was a stupid, masochistic question to ask, but she found herself seeking approval from Rhett’s mother. Maybe it was because her own mother had been so casual and flaky when she’d been growing up. Maybe it was because she missed her grandparents, who for all practical purposes had been the heart of her family. Maybe it was also because Eve had indicated that Mrs. Ford had been very unhappy with her own unexpected marriage to Nolan.
“I honestly don’t mind. Now with Nolan, it worried me a little because Nolan fell in love more times than I can count. But in the end, once I saw him with Eve, I knew this was different, something special. She’s the right woman for him. With Rhett, I trust that if he chose to marry you, you’re the woman he wants to spend his life with. He holds his emotions back, so when he opens up, it’s honest.”
Yeah, she shouldn’t have asked. Because now she felt like complete and total crap. Honest? Hardly. Neither one of them were being honest, and she felt lousy about deceiving Sandy, who clearly had her son’s best interests at heart.
Shawn also felt something that was suspiciously similar to jealousy. She envied the woman who would capture Rhett’s heart someday, who would have all that intense loyalty, that straightforward, never-wavering devotion.
She didn’t know what to say, afraid that if she did speak, she would either confess the truth or admit that she was suddenly wishing she were Rhett’s type. Fortunately, she didn’t have to respond, because Charity called to them from the living room.
“You have got to see this dress, Shawn! I think you should wear this to the party.”
Relieved and horrified all at the same time, she gave Mrs. Ford a sheepish smile. “I hadn’t even thought about a dress.”
The truth was, there were a lot of things she hadn’t thought about before she had gone and asked Rhett to marry her.
• • •
EVE watched her brother-in-law moving around the garage and frowned. She had known Rhett for years, but only in the last three months had she really spent any time with him. Initially, she had thought that he was arrogant, a charmer, who didn’t show you who he really was. She still thought he kept himself private and remote, but she knew now he wasn’t arrogant, and, frankly, he wasn’t particularly charming. He didn’t play games with women or his coworkers, and he really only spoke if he had something to say that was relevant.
Whereas Eve’s own husband could work a crowd, laughed easily, and was almost never angry, Shawn’s new husband simmered quietly beneath the surface with something Eve had never quite understood.
Even more so, now she wondered what really went on in his head.
Nolan, who had a rare weekend off from working on her brother’s pit crew, had come to the track with her to see her new engine. She had placed fifteenth the day before, and they were all pretty excited at the possibilities. Her truck was running well, and she was getting the attention she had wanted on the circuit. Her two-year plan was to break into the cup circuit and garner a major sponsorship, and so far, so good.
Even better, her husband appreciated her new engine.
But now she was worried about Rhett and Shawn, because well, she was a worrier. “I don’t know about this,” she told Nolan for about the twentieth time in the past three days.
“Eve.” Nolan put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed her through her sweatshirt. “Rhett is a grown man. Shawn is a grown woman. They know what they’re doing.”
All she could do was shake her head. “Something is fishy here, Nolan. It’s not like Rhett to just dive into a wedding on a minute’s notice with a woman he just met.”
“He is pretty intense, you know that.”
As Rhett came toward them, Eve stepped slightly away from Nolan, rocking in her sneakers as she pondered what was really going on. Shawn was impulsive, sure, but Shawn didn’t fall head over ass for men. Her starts tended to be more about racing and drinking, not about relationships. While she was perfectly willing to get a tattoo with Eve, she had never even let a guy live with her. But now she had eloped with a virtual stranger? It didn’t add up.
“Hey, can I knock off early today?” Rhett asked as he came up to them. “I just got a text from Jeannie that Mom went over to Shawn’s, and I would like to head over there and save her from being endlessly grilled.”
“Sure, no problem.” Eve felt a pang of sympathy for Shawn. “Your mom must be pissed off. I don’t envy Shawn right now. Sandy was suspicious of me for a good three months. She thought I had ulterior motives.” Fortunately, now she and her mother-in-law had come to a mutual respect and admiration for each other, but at first it had not been easy.
“She thought you were nuts for marrying beneath you,” Nolan said with a grin.
Eve snorted. “Hardly. But I’m sure the prenup didn’t help her opinion of me.” She still regretted bringing that stupid document to Nolan to sign.