The Perfect Dress(61)

“We’re getting married so I thought it was best that I was honest. So I told him that he wasn’t the first, but he’d be the last.” Her chin quivered and the sniffles started again.

“How about you? Had he had other women before you?” Jody asked.

“Of course. He had the whole college experience. Frat parties. Women whose names he didn’t even know, all that kind of thing,” Ellie Mae answered.

“And he wanted a virgin? That’s not fair,” Paula said. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

“How did he not know that you’ve been in other relationships? Celeste is a small town,” Mitzi said.

“He’s from up in Oklahoma. He moved to Greenville last fall. I met him at a church social down there, and we hit it off from the first day.” Her face turned crimson. “I kind of knew he was the one, so I played hard to get. We didn’t have sex until Thanksgiving.”

Ellie Mae jumped like she’d been shot when another hard knock turned everyone’s attention toward the door again. “I don’t want to see him, not yet. Tell him to go away.”

Mitzi cracked the door to find a tall, muscular guy on the other side holding his hat in one hand and a lawn chair in the other. The hat looked new. The lawn chair’s webbing was frayed and sagging.

“I’m Quincy Roberts. Is Jody Andrews here? She said she worked at a wedding dress shop, and I believe this is the only one in town,” he said.

Mitzi stuck her head back inside and said, “Jody, there’s someone here to see you.”

“If it’s Lyle, tell him to go to hell,” Jody said.

Mitzi raised both eyebrows. “It’s not Lyle.”

With a puzzled expression, Jody left Ellie Mae’s side, but when she saw who was at the door, she grabbed Mitzi by the arm and said, “Don’t you dare leave me alone.”

“Hello again, Jody. You forgot your chairs when you left. I’m returning them.” When Quincy smiled, his blue eyes twinkled.

“Throw them in the trash. I don’t want ’em,” she said.

“They’re still pretty good chairs, and could be rewebbed. How ’bout I just set them here on the porch? Would you be free to go for a cup of coffee with me?” Quincy asked her.

“We’ve got sweet tea in the refrigerator,” Mitzi said before Jody could refuse. “And we’ve still got leftover cake. There’s a situation going on in the house, but y’all are welcome to sit in those lawn chairs and have a visit. Just go on and sit down. I’ll bring out tea and cake.”

“That’s nice. I have a terrible sweet tooth.” Quincy unfolded the chairs and set them up a couple of feet apart.

It took Mitzi only a few minutes to put pieces of cake on a couple of plates, fill glasses with ice and sweet tea, and take it outside on a tray. She set it on the porch between the chairs and turned to go back inside. But before she’d taken a step, Quincy’s phone rang.

“Excuse me. I really have to take this call.” He stood up, left the porch, and took a few steps out into the yard.

“I’m not talking to you for a week. You could have told him I wasn’t here,” Jody whispered. “Is Ellie Mae any better? You do realize she hasn’t paid her bill in full. We still need payment for all the flowers and her mother’s and sister’s dresses. I need to be in there calming her down.”

“She’s relating to Paula better than me,” Mitzi whispered back to Jody. “And we both needed a break from her. Besides, I wanted to see what Quincy was like.”

“You are a dead woman. I could have refused to go for coffee with him, and this could’ve been avoided,” Jody hissed out the side of her mouth.

“Do I need to be careful what I eat or drink? Are you going to poison me?” Mitzi asked.

“I’d like to. Do you realize that only one person needs to drive down the street and see me out here with him?” Her phone rang before she could finish the sentence.

“Hello, Mama.”

Jody shot a dirty look toward Mitzi and listened for a good thirty seconds before she said, “No, Mama, I have not been cheating on Lyle. I only met the man this afternoon. He’s buying the property where our trailer used to be, and he brought my lawn chairs back to me.”

Another few seconds passed and another dirty look or two, then Jody said, “I’m hanging up. I don’t have to listen to this.” She shoved the phone back in her purse and sent another sideways look toward Mitzi. “See what you caused.”

“Hey, it’s either have a nice, pleasant conversation with a handsome guy or listen to Ellie Mae whine until dark. Your choice, but if you’re smart, you’ll stay out here even after he’s gone,” Mitzi said.

Quincy ended his call and rejoined them on the porch. “Cake looks great, and I am thirsty. That was the Realtor that has the property. We were discussing my offer,” he said. “I don’t know that I caught your name.”

“Mitzi Taylor,” she said. “And I should go on back inside.”

“Hey, are you kin to Harry Taylor?” Quincy asked.

Mitzi stopped at the door and turned around. “He’s my father.”

“Good man. I’ve had some dealings with him in the oil business. He’s the one who used to inspect things until he retired.” Quincy sat down in the chair and turned his attention to Jody.