Paxton was grinning at me.
“What?” I rubbed my cheeks. “Do I have something on my face?”
“You love me,” he said.
I thought we’d already established that. “And? You love me too.”
He settled back in his seat. “I just like saying it out loud.”
“You are such a dork.” I took his hand and threaded his fingers through mine.
I drove to the end of Main Street and turned down my road. We planned to grab my tent first and then stop at his house on the way to our campsite. An unfamiliar car sat in the drive. A new car. The kind that probably had heated seats and a rearview camera.
I glanced at Paxton. “Wait here.”
If another reporter had shown up, I didn’t want them anywhere near Paxton. Though I couldn’t imagine Gram letting anyone in the house, and I didn’t see anyone skulking around the Hamptons. My heart thudded as I approached the screen door. The sound of laughter floated outside. Definitely not a reporter.
The first thing I noticed was Mom sitting on the plastic-covered couch. She never sat on the couch. Neither of us could stand the feel of it. The second thing I noticed was the man sitting beside her. They both stood as the door slammed behind me. He had warm brown eyes and the beginnings of gray hair around his temples.
“Macy, I want you to meet Roger.” Mom held his hand. She looked as happy as she had at the Royals game, and I decided right then not to hate him on sight.
“Hi. It’s so nice to meet you”—don’t call him cradle-robbing Roger, don’t call him cradle-robbing Roger—“Cr-oger.”
“Croger is my stage name.” He had a gleam in his eye. “You can call me Roger.”
Mom chuckled as she hooked her arm through his. “I think Macy was trying really hard not to call you her grandma’s preferred nickname.”
“He’s closer to my age than he is to yours,” Gram called from the dining room.
I cringed. “Sorry.”
“No worries.” Roger waved a hand. “I’ll win her over eventually.”
“Don’t count on it!” Gram yelled.
“Quit being rude!” Mom yelled back. She turned to me. “We’re heading out in a few minutes, but I’m glad you got a chance to say hello.”
“Me too.” I glanced at Roger and he was looking at Mom like she held the world. I decided I definitely didn’t hate him. “Is it okay if I keep the car then? It’s Cleaning Day.”
“Ah, are you headed out to the campsite then?”
“Yeah.” Even though I should’ve told Mom about Paxton before we went camping, I really didn’t want to have that conversation in front of Roger. “How did you two meet?”
“Roger stopped in for lunch at the diner after checking in on a few of his businesses. He came in during a lull, so he was the only customer, and he invited me to sit with him. At first, I was just hoping to get a bigger tip, but he won me over by the end of it.”
“You have businesses in Honeyfield?” I asked. There weren’t a lot of businesses to have in town. “Which ones?”
“The diner,” he said, giving Mom a sly smile.
“Dipping your pen in the company ink!” Gram yelled.
“Go back to your quilting!” I yelled at her. “She’s in a mood.”
“Despite what your grandma thinks,” Mom raised her voice loud enough for Gram to hear, “Roger didn’t tell me he owned the diner until our third date. He thought I wouldn’t want to go out with him.”
“I thought you wouldn’t sit with me if you knew I was the boss.” His whole face filled with awe when he looked at my mom. It was weird, but not entirely unpleasant, to see.
“And rightly so,” Mom said.
They’d gotten so caught up in their own meet-cute, I was 99 percent certain they’d forgotten I was standing there. “So, you just own the diner?”
“And the repair shop,” he said.
“Wait. What?” I couldn’t have heard him correctly. “The Video and Repair?”
“I technically own both, but I’m only in charge of the repair side. It’s my business partner’s job to take care of the video side.”
“I work there,” I said, for lack of a better thing to say. This completely threw me for a loop. “Does your business partner live in Shelbyville too?”
“No, he lives here in Honeyfield.” Roger gave me an amused grin, like he knew how much this was twisting my sense of reality. “I believe you all know him as Butch.”
“Butch is your business partner?” Midnight would absolutely lose it. She still hadn’t forgiven him for the Unholy Mistress nickname. “Jesus. No wonder it’s basically falling apart.”
Roger laughed. “Why do you think I split the responsibility down the middle?”
“I’m going to—” I pointed at the door. “It was supernice to meet you, Roger.”
“Likewise.” He gave me a firm handshake.
I grabbed our tent from the shed out back and packed an overnight bag. All this new information swam in my head as I walked back to the car, barely aware of my feet moving. I slid into the driver’s side. I fumbled for my keys and tried to focus on Paxton, even though I was still reeling.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“My mom is dating your boss.” So weird. “Who is also her boss. Is that, like, an ethical thing, or no? Because he didn’t tell her he was the boss until after they went out, so it’s not like he was trying to use his position to manipulate her, and he’s totally into her.”
Paxton held up his hands. “I think you need to backtrack about five thousand steps so I can catch up. Your mom is dating Butch?”
“No.” I shook my head, but I couldn’t clear out all the noise. “His name is Roger.”
“Butch’s name is Roger?”
“I’ll explain it on the way. And as an early birthday present, I’ll let you be the one who breaks the news to Midnight.”
I started up the car and backed out of my drive. As I threaded my fingers with Paxton’s, I tried to keep my mind off the impending tantrum Eric was sure to have once he realized I was done being Fly Ball Girl. I had no idea how deep his obsession with Internet fame ran, and I really didn’t want to find out.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
WE MADE IT TO the campsite, where Midnight and Elise had one tent. Brady and Strawberry had one tent. I glanced at Paxton. Even though I had no problem sharing a tent with him, he’d been very clear in front of the store that we’d have separate tents.
I dumped my stuff on a patch of open ground near the trees and pulled my tent out of the vinyl bag. It reeked like death and was covered in black patches. I flung it away from me and shook my hands in the air. “Ew. Ew. Ew.”
“What’s wrong?” Paxton asked.
“My tent is covered in mold. It must’ve happened when I threw it in the shed after the last time we went camping. But I can ask Elise and Midnight if I can bunk with them, if you’re not comfortable sleeping with me yet,” I said. “They won’t be happy, but they’ll be all right.”