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“Let’s go flaunt it. I’ll drop it into the conversation. It’d be weird to make an announcement. Just follow my lead.” I take his hand and lead him into the dining room. Funny, my hand fits perfectly into his.
“Trina and I will be out with lunch shortly!”
We walk into the dining room, holding hands. I can tell Travis feels a little uneasy holding my hand, but I’m unsure why. It’s just pretend, after all!
We sit next to each other at the table and invite the ladies to join us. As we’re all making small talk, Travis casually drapes his arm around the back of my chair. I don’t hate it.
“Oh, are you two…together?” Peggy, the woman sitting next to Barb, asks.
“Yes, we are,” I smile.
“Oh, that’s so cute! How long have you been together? How did you meet?” Lori, who is sitting on Peggy’s other side, asks.
I look to Travis to see if he wants to answer. We haven’t had a chance to get our story straight. He looks like a deer in the headlights.
“We’ve been together almost two years now!” I say with a smile, putting my hand on his thigh, hoping to squeeze the shock out of him. “We met–”
“Lunch is here!” Travis interrupts and gets up to help Trina serve the soup.
“Travis! Will you sit down?” Roberta scolds him as she enters the room with a tray full of soup. “You’re supposed to sit down and enjoy lunch with the guests! I’ll tell ya, ladies, this man never stops working!”
“Ok, here we go.” Travis sets the last two salads down in front of us.
“This looks great, Roberta!” I say.
“It sure does. And I’m absolutely famished!” Peggy says.
“Dig in!” Roberta and Trina finish serving the soup.
“So, how do you ladies know each other?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation away from us.
“Travis didn’t tell you? We’re the Whimsical Widows. We heard about Travis and his ranch through the Bereavement Brothers. Occasionally, we get together with them to spice things up!”
“Oh, that’s right! Silly me, I knew that. I’m just getting our group bookings mixed up. We have another group of ladies coming later in the month.” I fill my mouth with a spoonful of soup to shut myself up. “Mmm…”
After lunch, Travis and Kenny take the ladies on a tour of the ranch in the golf carts. I stay back with Roberta and help her and Trina clean up lunch so they can start preparing dinner. “He must be really uncomfortable with that Barb lady. Either that or he actually likes you, Ava,” Roberta says.
“What? Why do you say that?” I try to hide my giddiness.
“He hasn’t looked at another woman since Lilian. In fact, you’re probably the first woman he’s touched since. He avoids anything and everything related to romantic relationships like the plague.”
“Poor guy. That must have been really tough for him, losing his wife so young.”
“It sure was. Still is. He’s the kind of man who needs a woman around. He won’t ever admit it, but he does. And I think Mia would benefit, too. She hardly remembers a time when her mom was alive. She’s already worrying about what will happen when she leaves for college, and she’s only 13!”
“Aww, she’s a sweet girl.”
“She sure is. Having a younger female influence would be good for her. I can tell she already idolizes you.”
“Roberta, this relationship between Travis and I is just pretend. You get that, right?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” She smirked at me and got back to the dishes.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
My phone buzzes. It’s my brother. “It better mean nothing. I have to take this.” I step out onto the porch in the hope of getting better reception.
