A (sorta) Southern Serenade (A Romance(ish) Novella Book 2) Read online

  “I sorta might be kinda going on a date with him on Friday.” Leaning forward, she buried her face in the pillow. It sounded even worse saying it out loud.

  Sadie tugged at the pillow. “Hold it. What do you mean, sorta going on a date? Either you are, or you aren’t.”

  Sitting back up, Kendra drew in a deep breath and filled her sister-in-law in on the whole story—one she’d previously sworn Mari to secrecy about. About church on Sunday—and agreeing to lead worship with him. “So, tonight was our first rehearsal. And afterward, I don’t even know how we got on the topic, but he said he didn’t think I could cook, and I told him he was wrong. But he kept at it and then I heard myself telling him to come to my house on Friday night, and I’d prove him wrong.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Nothing. I just left. So there’s part of my problem. What if he has other plans? What if he doesn’t show up? But if I don’t cook something amazing, and he does come, then he’ll think he was right, and I was blowing smoke. If I do cook him something and he does show, then he’ll totally think it’s a date and good grief. I don’t even know the guy, Sadie. I certainly don’t want to date him. What am I supposed to do?”

  Her sister-in-law tapped her fingers on her lap while she stared at Kendra. “Hold on a second.” Unfolding her legs, she jumped up from the couch and jogged out of the living room toward Nate’s home office.

  A minute later, she returned and dropped back down next to Kendra. “Okay. Here is what we’re going to do. I checked our calendar, and we don’t have any plans Friday night, so Nate and I will come too. We’ll have a nice little dinner party. I won’t be left in charge of chicken this time, so the meal will even be edible. If he doesn’t show, we all eat some yummy food and life is good. If he does, we all eat yummy food and life is still good. And it’s a dinner party, not a date. What do you think?”

  It might just work. But— “What should I make? He went on and on about Southern men needing their wives to cook hearty food or some nonsense. So do I go frou-frou and make lamb with my secret glaze or do like—meatloaf or something boring but bulky like that?”

  Sadie held up a hand. “Hold the phone. Did he really say that about wives needing to cook? Because if he did, this dinner party might not be a great idea. I might end up chucking my high heels at him before the night’s over. I’ve got some stilettos I could wear that would be perfect.”

  She’d pay good money to see that happen. “I think he was joking, or I hope so anyway. It’s a long story, but regardless, I need to find the perfect meal.” She sat back and ticked off all her favorite recipes in her head. None of them sounded right, except— “I’ve got it. What if we grilled out ribs?”

  Sadie’s eyes widened. “Yes! With your homemade barbecue sauce?”

  “Exactly. Nashville is huge on barbecue, right? The weather’s been perfect lately. I can grill it and make all the sides from scratch. He’ll take his words and eat them right along with my homemade coleslaw.”

  Sadie poked her in the leg. “Okay, now for the mean best friend question.”

  “Oh no.” Mean best friend questions were always uncomfortable and almost always made Kendra think way more than she wanted to.

  “While so far this guy has done nothing to endear himself to me except for flexing his oh-so-ripped muscles that first morning, I’m getting the protest-too-much vibe from you. Are you sure there isn’t more going on here besides retaliation for a rude remark?”

  Kendra leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. Yes, thinking was involved on this one. What did she really feel? She barely knew the guy, and up until yesterday, when Ronny handed her the zero-balance bill, she’d despised the very thought of him.

  But tonight—he hadn’t been what she’d expected.

  Sure, he was a little cocky, but if she were honest with herself, he’d just handed right back to her the smack talk she’d given to him.

  The way he looked tonight in that suit—be still her heart. He’d been way overdressed but she’d barely been able to keep her eyes off him. But she wanted more in a relationship. And right now, that more was definitely not there.

  “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him attractive. Josh Damen is—wow. But it stops there. I’ve done the all-physical relationship thing in the past. I want something more, something deeper. Like what you and Nate have.”

  Sadie pulled her legs up like she was a teenager chatting about boys and smiled. “Nate is pretty amazing, isn’t he? I’m glad to hear you’re holding out for more. You deserve that.”

  “Thanks.” But even as she said it, she couldn’t help but picture Josh up there on stage tonight, his hand raised in the air, singing his heart out for Jesus. There was no production to it, no fake, calculated worship. Just a man worshipping his Lord. If Friday had never happened, Kendra would swear he was the real deal.

  And honestly would have been swooning all over the place at the prospect of going on a date with him.

  Friday had happened though, and as much as they wanted to put it behind them, Kendra saw the glaring differences between them as insurmountable chasms.

  No.

  She and Josh Damen would make a terrible couple.

  That was all there was to it.

  Thirteen

  Friday was the longest day of his life.

  Nothing had gone right. An entire crew had come down with the flu, one of the trucks had broken down, and his receptionist had quit.

  Add in about a hundred other small annoyances throughout the day and a truck-load of nerves kicking around in his stomach over what the evening held—he’d didn’t think he’d ever been so grouchy of a boss before today.

  He stopped by his Brentwood townhouse to change clothes. While he discarded his dress shirt for a more casual pull-over, he kept eying his cell phone.

  He should just call her and beg off. Tell her it had been a long day and they could reschedule—someday.

  Yet, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. The image of her sitting there, slaving over a stove for nothing—

  No. He’d grin and bear it. Regardless of the quality or lack thereof in the dinner.

  He changed his mind hourly as to whether to expect food that tasted like dirt or a meal fit for a king. One minute he decided that she wouldn’t have invited him over had her cooking been that bad. But the next, he worried that everyone had just lied to her for years, telling her how delicious it was then feeding it to the dogs when she wasn’t looking.

  He stepped into the master bathroom to splash on some cologne, then checked his hair and added a smidge more styling gel.

  Oh, good grief. What was he doing? This was not a real date, and he was primping like a girl.

  Grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone, he headed out the door, his growling stomach reminding him that he’d skipped lunch.

  In the truck, he cranked up the music loud enough that his heart was thudding right along with the drum beat. He sang along with the music, hoping to drown out all the objections his brain was tossing at him as to why this was a very bad idea.

  Like that he was going to a woman’s house who was technically a client to have dinner with her.

  Like the fact that he barely knew her.

  Or that he still tended to think she was a rich snob.

  Or that he really wasn’t looking to date right now. He was content with his bachelorhood for a few more years.

  Pulling into her subdivision, he turned down the music and took a deep breath.

  This wasn’t a date. It was just a get-together. Maybe they could talk music and see if she had any song suggestions.

  They could eat, make small talk, then he’d blame a hectic day for making an early night of it.

  Taking the left turn onto her street, his stomach tensed.

  It really wasn’t that big of a deal. He needed to relax.

  A moment later, he turned into her driveway.

  He could do this. It was just dinner with a fellow church member.

  No big deal.

  He opened the truck door, and the smell of meat grilling beckoned his nose and made his stomach rumble louder. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  He hopped down from the truck and instantly his hands felt bare.

  If this was a real date, he should have brought flowers. Even though it wasn’t, he still should have brought something. Why hadn’t he asked if he could bring something to contribute?

  A glance at his watch confirmed he was right on time, with no chance to run to the market down the street.

  Shoving his empty hands in his pockets, he strode across the lawn, taking a moment to make sure his crew had done an adequate job earlier in the week.

  As he suspected, they’d done exceptional. Granted, it wasn’t every day that your boss asked you to do a job for a personal friend and to spare no expense—they didn’t need to know the specifics around it.

  Taking the steps to the front door, he realized it was only a week ago that he’d been in the same spot, knocking on the same door.

  Funny how so much could change in a week.

  He pressed the doorbell once and had barely taken his hand away when the door opened.

  A male figure, not a speck of hair on his shiny bald head and wearing jeans and a Tennessee Titans t-shirt, appeared instead of Kendra, making him step a foot back. “I’m—” Was he at the right house?

  Of course he was.

  But these subdivisions sometimes had similar layouts—

  “You must be Josh.” The bald guy held out his hand.

  Josh shook it. “I am. Nice to meet you—”

  “Nate.” His eyes were hard and calculating, not a smidgen of warmth in the least. He looked at Josh as if he was the enemy needing to be destroyed. “I’
m Kendra’s older brother.”

  Her brother.

  This day had just gone from bad to nightmarish.

  Fourteen

  “Your date looks a little green.”

  Kendra grabbed two potholders and took the cornbread from the oven. “First, he’s not my date. Second, Nate needs to back off. I do have to sing with this guy on Sunday. I don’t want him to be afraid of me.”

  Sadie took a wooden spoon and stirred a cup of sugar into the pitcher of tea. “He’s your big brother. It’s his job to spark fear into your date.”

  Nate was doing a bang-up job of that. While Josh had him beat on pounds and muscle by quite a long shot, Nate looked fierce enough to scare the strongest of guys, and his bald head added to the bouncer-like image. “I appreciate the thought, but I’m a big girl. I can scare off my own dates if I need. Furthermore, this is a dinner party and not a date, remember?”

  “I’m not the one who needs to remember that. I saw your bed when I walked passed your door to use the bathroom. What’d you do, try on every outfit in your closet for this ‘party’?”

  Kendra swirled around. “Please tell me I didn’t leave the door open to my bedroom.” The guest bathroom was right past her bedroom, and if Nate walked by—

  “You did, but I shut it before anyone else went back there. I’ve got your back, girl. My point is, you cared a little more about this night than you let on.”

  She’d been telling herself since Wednesday that she didn’t care at all.

  But her actions today told a different story.

  Her trip to the grocery store that should have taken less than an hour had taken almost two, as she’d stood fretting over ingredients and how fancy—or not—to make the meal.

  Picking out clothes had been impossible.

  What does one wear to a barbecue that was not a date but felt like a date all at the same time? She wanted to impress him but not make it obvious that she wanted to impress him.

  She would have looked ridiculous dressed up, manning the grill out back.

  But wearing jeans and a t-shirt looked sloppy.

  She’d eventually settled on a pair of blue skinny jeans and a flowy dark purple tunic that settled just below her hips. It looked fall-ish and nice without being too dressy. Paired with some black flats, she’d finally been able to relax for five minutes before realizing she needed to get started on cooking.

  That was all normal, right?

  Any woman having guests over would fret about those things. Why was Sadie making such a big deal about it? “Of course I cared. I’d care if I hosted anyone from a new church. Now, hand me that bowl behind you so I can put the corn bread muffins in it.”

  “All I’m saying is, don’t blame Nate for being protective. If this guy isn’t worth his salt, he’ll go running at the first chance he gets.”

  “I’m surprised we haven’t heard the door slamming and tires screeching yet.” The last time she’d seen the two men, they’d been on the back patio, watching the grill.

  Or should she say, Nate was staring Josh down while Josh looked anywhere but at Nate—while they stood somewhere in the vicinity of the grill.

  When she’d checked on the ribs ten minutes ago, she’d heard the clipped conversation.

  Nate asking Josh what he did for a living.

  Nate asking Josh if he owned a gun—and making it known that he most certainly did. Kendra doubted the truth of that.

  Nate asking Josh if he’d ever been convicted of a felony.

  She’d rolled her eyes and stomped inside at that point.

  The man had had little to do with her since she’d graduated high school, other than telling her she was making all the wrong choices in her life—all from afar while he gallivanted across the globe making his work his god.

  It wasn’t until a few years ago when he gave his life to the true God that he’d reevaluated. Then he’d met Sadie and Mari, and he’d finally settled down.

  Now, he wanted to do all those big brotherly things like grill her dates and find her a job.

  While she was warming to the idea of leading the foundation, especially now that the board had given a thumbs-up on it last week, that didn’t mean he was allowed to meddle in her dating life.

  Argh. There it was again.

  The date word.

  This. Was. Not. A. Date.

  Sadie nudged her with her elbow. “Your scowl is awfully fierce.”

  She shook her wayward thoughts away. “Sorry. But you’re right. I don’t have to worry about if this is a date or not anyway because Nate is bound to scare the man away.”

  “You’re probably right there. And if Josh wins Nate over, I’d suggest you rethink your stance on not dating the man.”

  “From what I saw out there earlier, Nate’s about as likely to warm up to Josh as I am to lay a big ol’ smooch on my so-called date before the night is out.”

  Sadie threw her head back and laughed. “Oh my goodness. That I’d like to see.”

  “Come on. I think the food is ready. Let’s start taking it out on the patio before Nate can cause any more damage.” Sitting outside to eat had been a genius idea. The weather was beautiful—a nice cool October breeze blowing and the leaves just starting to turn color. It added just the right touch to the barbecue.

  Grabbing the bread and bowl of coleslaw, she nodded to the counter. “Can you bring the corn on the cob and roasted potatoes?”

  Sadie picked up the two dishes and followed behind her.

  They both stopped at the closed patio door, jaws dropped.

  Sadie recovered first. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  Unfortunately, there was no mistaking what was happening outside.

  Josh and Nate were sitting in the patio chairs, both relaxed, legs stretched out, laughing like old college buddies.

  “They were literally about ready to throw knives at each other less than ten minutes ago.”

  Sadie looked at her as she balanced the dishes to open the door. “You know what this means, right?”

  Kendra frowned. “Other than that my brother’s a traitor?”

  Her sister-in-law wiggled her eyebrows. “Nope. Get ready to pucker up, my friend.”

  Her stomach twisted. “Not happening.”

  “Never say never, Kendy.” With that, Sadie pushed open the sliding door and joined the men, leaving Kendra behind to decide between fight or flight.

  Fifteen

  Nate Meyers wasn’t nearly as bad as Josh had first feared.

  After he had realized Nate was just protective of his sister, Josh’s respect for the man had hiked. He’d answered the questions honestly and posed a few of his own. He’d also made it clear that he was just friends with Kendra at this point, to help lighten the night’s load.

  Their conversation had jumped to church then sports, where they found that they were both avid football fans and had played in school.

  Nate had been telling him an old story of a crazy coach he’d had once when the women appeared, arms laden with food.

  Josh immediately jumped up to relieve Kendra’s arms of her load, and Nate did the same for Sadie.

  Odd—Kendra’s face looked a little flushed. Probably from cooking.

  He hadn’t known quite what to expect, coming to dinner. Especially finding he wasn’t the only guest.

  But the spread before him was nothing short of mouthwatering.

  Kendra retrieved the ribs from the grill where she’d had them warming, and everyone took a seat.

  Nate took Kendra and Sadie’s hands. “Let me say the blessing before we start.”

  Following Nate’s lead, Josh took their other hands, all too aware of the small hand on his right that belonged to his date.

  When the prayer was over, he squeezed Kendra’s hand before he let go. She looked up at him, eyebrows lifted.

  He winked at her in reply.

  Let her interpret that however she wanted.

  He wasn’t even sure what it meant, just that he was enjoying himself much more than he’d thought possible.

  Nate took the bowl of roasted potatoes and dished himself a heaping spoonful. “Kendra, you’ve outdone yourself tonight.”

  “I agree.” He helped himself to some ribs, then passed the platter along. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when you said dinner, but this definitely blows away all my expectations.” And then some. He had to eat his words, quite literally. But if the food tasted as good as it smelled, they were well worth it.