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I squint. “I know she’s friends with Savannah, but that’s all I know about Grace.”
Lucy slurps another noodle. “She’s another Agnes Glen grad. We’re all in a coven together, pretty much.”
I snort at Lucy’s joking reference to being a witch. Being witchy is cool these days, I guess.
But the mention of Pearl has me sitting up and eagerly looking around. “You said Pearl’s going to be here, right?”
Lucy nods and jerks her head toward the line for Pho Queen. “Turn around. She’s in line already. She just walked over here after doing the breakfast shift.”
My head whips around and I lay eyes on Pearl. She’s wearing a billowy white dress and clutching a stylishly oversized brown purse.
I want to lift up her skirts and see what’s underneath. If she is trying to look extremely fuckable, well damn. Mission successful.
I may have been less than sober last night, but I remember every word I said. I meant them too. Including my hope that she is wearing nice underwear.
“Excuse me while I go woo a woman,” I tell my sister. Her eyebrows fly up but I don’t stick around to hear her response.
I steal around behind Pearl, feeling like I’m on the hunt. My little mouse doesn’t seem to realize I am here until I get right up behind her and whisper in her ear. “Have you been a good girl since last night?””
Pearl’s shoulders jump toward her ears. Then she whips around and glares at me. “You scared the bejeezus out of me!” she shrieks.
I wince at her high-pitched protest. “A little softer, if you don’t mind.”
Her face softens and her lips twitch as she looks me over. “You do look a bit like a run over possum.”
“I could be your run over possum if you’d let me.”
She smirks. “And here I thought you were just having lunch with your baby sister.”
“A man knows how to multitask.”
“Uh huh.” Pearl turns around as the only person ahead of her in line moves out of her way. “You’re persistent. I’ll give you that much.”
I look at her figure in that dress. My persistence has a very important reason. I can’t see her ass, but the dress does bare her shoulders and give a hint of cleavage. Damn, I must be hard up for a date if I’m practically salivating over Pearl’s body in such a modest dress.
When I finally get a tray with hot soup and sit down, Lucy is getting up. “I’m going to go get some ice cream,” she says, looking distracted.
I look over my shoulder and spot Walker Harrison waiting in line behind a few customers at the ice cream van. Walker hit the whiskey bottle really hard yesterday. He’s almost definitely way more hungover than me, though I can’t see his face from here.
“I have to go. Um… over there.” Lucy’s eyes are glued on Walker as she gets up.
Catching glances with Pearl, I manage to wait until Lucy wanders away from the table before I chuckle.
Pearl smiles and turns to watch her walk away. She wrinkles her nose and gives a sympathetic shrug. “She’s got to know that following that guy around like a puppy is not going to work.”
Squirting hoisin sauce into my soup, I smile slyly. “I don’t know exactly what her plans are concerning Walker. But seeing as how he’s Rhett and Rex’s best friend, I don’t think he’s going to do anything so stupid as kiss her anytime soon. When you ask him about Lucy, he mumbles and avoids the question.”
Pearl puts fresh basil in her soup and stirs it with chopsticks. “Smart man. I wouldn’t want Rex Bennett mad at me.”
I pick up my oversized soup bowl and carefully take a sip of the salty brown liquid. It’s burning hot as it slides down my gullet and I ease the burn with a gulp and a frosty lemon-lime sports drink.
“Ah.” I sit back, my initial itch in the process of being scratched. “This is the best pho in the state.”
“It’s pretty good. I like International Delight in Decatur.”
That gives me pause. For some reason, I didn’t expect her to list some place in Atlanta as her favorite pho restaurant. It trips me up for a second. “That’s near where you went to college, right?”
“Yep. It was right up the corner from Agnes Glen and it hit the spot every time, without fail.” She slurps up some noodles and taps her lips with her napkin.
