The Liar

He set the cabinet, pulled out his level, shoved one hand through his mop of dark blond hair. “Wedding gowns are white.”

“Now, that’s true, and . . .” Her already big brown eyes got bigger, and a giddy thrill shone out of them. “Wedding gowns? Oh now, Griffin Lott, do you know something I don’t? Has Matt popped the question?”

He ought to throw his partner under the bus. He ought to throw him under, then back up and drive over him again. But . . . “I was just using an example, like . . .” He did a frantic mental search. “Magnolias, for instance. Or—” Sweet Jesus, give me one more. “Ah, baseballs.”

Crap.

“The hardware’s going to punch it all up,” he continued, just a little desperately. “And the countertop. That warm gray’s going to give you friendly and sophisticated at the same time.”

“Maybe it’s the wall color that’s wrong. Maybe I should—”

“Mama, you’re not having those walls repainted.” Emma Kate marched in.

Griff could’ve kissed her, could have dropped down and kissed her feet. Then he lost track of her completely when the redhead stepped in behind her.

He actually thought, Holy shit—and hoped he hadn’t said it out loud.

She was beautiful. A man didn’t get to be just shy of his thirtieth birthday without seeing some beautiful women, even if it was just on a movie screen. But this one, in the flesh, was one quick wow.

Masses of curling hair the color of a sunrise all tumbling around a face that looked like it had been carved out of porcelain—if they carved from porcelain, how would he know? Soft, full lips with a perfect dip at the top, and big, deep, sad blue eyes.

His heart actually skipped a couple of beats, and his ears buzzed for a minute so he missed most of the argument between Emma Kate and her mother.

“The kitchen’s the heart of a home, Emma Kate.”

“The way you keep turning and twisting it, you’re lucky to have a heart left. Let Griff work, Mama, and say hello to Shelby.”

“Shelby? Shelby! Oh my God!”

She raced across the room, grabbed the redhead in a wide, swaying hug. Shelby, grabbed Shelby, Griff thought. Nice name, Shelby. Currently his favorite name ever.

Then it clicked. Shelby—or Shelby Anne Pomeroy, as Bitsy squealed as she gave the redhead another squeeze. His friend Forrest’s sister.

Miz Vi—on whom he had a mad crush—Miz Viola’s granddaughter.

You could see if you stopped being dazzled for two seconds, just how Miz Vi had looked as a young woman. How Ada Mae might have looked twenty-some years back.

Miz Vi’s granddaughter, he thought again. The widow.

No wonder she had sad eyes.

He immediately felt guilty for wanting to wrap her up the way Bitsy was—then reminded himself it wasn’t his fault her husband was dead.

“Oh, I’m just sick about missing your welcome home yesterday, but Henry and I had to go to his cousin’s daughter’s wedding, clear to Memphis. And I don’t even like his cousin. Just a snooty woman, puts on airs because she married a Memphis lawyer. But it was a beautiful wedding, with the reception at the Peabody Hotel.”

“Mama, give Shelby a chance to breathe.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m just going on and on. I’m so excited to see you. Griff, Emma Kate and Shelby here were joined at the hip, I swear, before they were so much as a year old right up to . . .”

It seemed to occur to her just why Shelby was home.

“Oh, honey. Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. You’re so young to have such a tragedy in your life. How are you holding up?”

“It’s good to be home.”

“Nothing like home. And here mine’s all torn up, so I can’t even fix you something nice. And you so thin, too. Honey, you’re skinnier than a New York model. You always were tall enough to be one. Emma Kate, do we have any Coke? You always were fond of Coke, weren’t you, Shelby?”

“Yes, ma’am, but don’t trouble about it. I love your new cabinets, Miz Bitsy. They’re so clean and fresh, and just so pretty against that blue-gray on the walls.”

Widow or not, at that moment Griff wanted to kiss her. Everywhere.

“Why, that’s just what Griff said. He said they were clean and fresh. Do you really think—”

“Mama, we haven’t even introduced Shelby. Shelby, this is my boyfriend’s partner, Griffin Lott. Griff, Shelby—it’s Foxworth, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She turned those amazing eyes on him, and yeah, hearts could skip a beat. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi. I’m a friend of your brother’s.”

“Which one?”

“I guess both, but mostly Forrest. And I might as well tell you right off, I’m in love with your grandmother. I’m working on a way to get her away from Jackson so we can run off to Tahiti.”

That wonderfully shaped mouth curved, those sad eyes lightened, just a little. “It’s hard to blame you.”

“Griff’s living out at the old Tripplehorn place,” Emma Kate added. “He’s rehabbing it.”

“So you work miracles?”

“As long as I can use tools. You should come by and see it sometime. It’s coming along.”

She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach those big sad eyes this time. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. I need to get on. I’m due at my grandmother’s place.”