His gaze travels down my body and back again. It’s the same heated look he gave me last night, and my insides turn to putty.
“Hey, Ginger. How’s your hand?” he asks, obviously thinking I’m here because of it.
I wave my hand. “Oh, it’s fine. Really. That’s not why I’m here.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Okay, why are you here?”
I should probably take offense to his abruptness, but I can’t seem to. He’s still watching me, trying to act guarded and cut off, but there’s no way he can look at me the way he is and not be interested.
“I came to see you. I wanted to see if you wanted to go out with me tonight.”
I rush the words out, but before he can respond, the man from the front pokes his head in. “Hey Ozzie, you have another woman here to see you.”
I sort of fold into myself. I definitely should have called before I came. Am I making a complete fool out of myself for this man? He may just be a player. “Uh, I can go.”
I start to walk toward the door, but Ozzie holds his hand up. “No, you’re fine. Duke, quit your shit. You might as well send Ma back, let’s make this a party,” he says dryly.
Ma. Oh crap, am I about to meet his mom? I look down at my cut-off shorts and my T-shirt that says “eat your vegetables” on it and about fall through the floor. Talk about first impressions.
A woman comes in and slaps a brown paper bag against the man Ozzie called Duke. “Here you go, Duke. And eat it all, even the vegetables.”
The woman walks farther into the room, and she doesn’t notice me, instead going straight for Ozzie. “Hey, Oz. I brought you a peanut butter and jelly with the edges cut off. And I put some veggies with dip in there. You and Duke both need to start eating more veggies.”
“Ma!” he says, but she doesn’t stop. “What? It’s the truth. You can’t live on pizza—” It’s then she notices me. Her mouth drops open, she looks at me, then back at Ozzie. “I’m sorry—I didn’t know you were with someone.”
Ozzie says, “Ma, this is Ginger. I gave her a tattoo last night. Ginger, this is my mom. She owns the—”
“Pawn shop. I know. Hi, Mrs. Cunningham. You sold me a generator last year when ours went out and the hardware store was sold out of them.”
Pearl snaps her fingers. “That’s right. You and your sister own the produce stand over in Ranchlands. You brought me a bunch of veggies after that.”
I nod my head. “Yeah, it’s the least I could do. That generator saved our family’s ranch that winter.”
Pearl is smiling looking between me and her son. “So, uh, you here to see my Ozzie then?”
I laugh, and her smile gets even bigger. “Yeah, well, actually I just asked him out, but he hasn’t given me an answer. I think he’s beginning to wonder if I’m stalking him.”
I say it jokingly, but it’s half the truth. I’m beginning to feel like a nuisance.
“Well, son, what do you say to the pretty girl? I would think you can’t turn down an offer like that. I mean, you’re not getting any younger.”
Ozzie rolls his eyes before looking at me. “We talked about this last night.”
And he’s right. We did talk about this last night. He’s on the straight and narrow, getting his life together. But I’m not here to mess it up. I’m here to find a way to make him whole. His eyes tell me that’s exactly what he needs.
“And I told you, I don’t care about your past.”
Duke sticks his head in. “Your twelve o’clock is here. You want him to wait?”
Duke looks at me and Ozzie’s mom, and it’s obvious he’s enjoying all the attention that Ozzie is getting right now.
“No. Tell him I’ll be right there,” he tells Duke and then opens his hands up to his mom and me. “Well, ladies, I have to get to work.”
I’m embarrassed at this point. I mean, how obvious can I be throwing myself at him? He’s obviously not interested. “Sure, no problem. Sorry for just stopping by.”
I see the look his mom gives him, and he at least has the decency to look embarrassed. Pearl stops me. “Ginger, how do you feel about having lunch with an old woman?”
But Ozzie is already shaking his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“No one asked you what you thought,” she says and then laughs as she turns to me. “What do you say?”
I look at Ozzie, and the hurt and pain in his eyes is heavier than ever. Whatever has happened in his life weighs him down. But if he doesn’t want me to eat lunch with his mom, I won’t. “Do you care if I have lunch with your mom? If it really bothers you, I won’t.”
He’s about to say no. I can feel it. But almost instantly his face softens, and he says huskily, “No, that’s fine.”
I shake my head side to side. “I feel like I’m pushing my way into your life, and that’s not what I want.”
He doesn’t agree or disagree with my statement. Instead, he puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “It’s fine. I want you to have lunch with my mom.”
His mom makes a noise, an “Awwwww” before she quickly grabs my hand and pulls me from the door. We don’t even say goodbye; she just keeps walking, and I chance a look over my shoulder. He’s standing in the doorway, watching me with a strange expression on his face. Pearl stops as we get to the door and is about to say something, but Ozzie interrupts her. His
