Soft music and candlelight encased the little window table at the Cobblestone. Demitra was radiant in her royal blue dress. She looked half her age, nothing like a woman of fifty-one. The soft lighting made her raven hair glisten as she swept it back from her shoulders. Jerry looked quite dashing as well in his suit and expensive silk tie. The dark, tranquil waters lapping up against the wooden pylons below reflected the round moon hanging in the sky above the Black Warrior River.
“Artemis doesn’t like me very much, does she?” Jerry asked.
Artemis had come out from the kitchen to say hello to her sister and her new boyfriend, but her greeting felt a little perfunctory and lacked sincerity. She lingered at the table only a few moments, inquiring if the food was to their liking or if she could get them anything. Then she made a clumsy excuse to depart, and they had not seen her again.
“She’s just concerned that I am trying to replace my husband.”
“Well, aren’t you?” Jerry grinned playfully.
Demitra rolled her eyes and tossed a mini cornbread muffin from the breadbasket at her companion. “I do not intend to suffer your teasing tonight, mister,” she smiled.
Jerry picked the muffin off his lap, buttered it, and before popping it into his mouth, winked and said, “Then I will refrain and instead simply bask in the magnificent splendor of your beauty.”
“Very nice recovery.”
“It’s true,” he said. “Every man in this room has looked at you more than once. Even the ones with much younger dates.”
Demitra looked wounded. “Are you calling me old?” she teased.
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“Seasoned.”
“Better.”
She appreciated the compliment, and she knew it was true. Demitra Blanchard was not a vain woman, but she was a woman—a beautiful woman at that. She noticed when men turned ‘round to look at her. She encouraged nothing and never returned their stare, but she knew they looked. And her psychic mind also knew their female dinner companions noticed their men were looking as well.
“You’re just as gorgeous as you were years ago, Demitra,” Jerry smiled. “I am breath taken every time I see you.”
“If you are trying to get lucky tonight, Sir, you are succeeding,” she teased.
Jerry’s eyes widened as he blocked a devilish grin with a sip from his wine glass. “I could love you forever and three days.”
The overhead candelabra gave Demitra’s eyes a glimmery reflection, or perhaps that was just her own doing. “I plan on holding you to that.”
Jerry switched gears for a moment, using the opportunity to steer into territory he was curious about. “Have you told the family—most importantly, the girls—that we are going to be married?”
“No,” Demitra said. “I haven’t. I think Thanksgiving was a good introduction. They met you and liked you. I’m glad they liked you. It would have been too odd if they hadn’t. But I am not ready yet to tell them about our engagement. It’s a little fast, and I don’t want them to become defensive and start to reject you.”
“Don’t you think you should, Demitra?” Jerry pushed. “Or is it Artemis you are most afraid of? I know how close you two are—I think she’d be shocked at first, but then give us her blessing.”
“You give my sister more credit than I think she deserves.”
“Do you think the girls will give us much pushback?” he asked.
Demitra reached her hand across the table and held Jerry’s. “They really loved their father. They still mourn his loss.”
Jerry grinned again. “He was a good man. Larry Mariner is a hard act to follow. Even for me.”
Demitra blushed into her smile. “They will learn to love Jerry Miller.”
Jerry’s face became suddenly grave. He sipped his drink, let out a breath, and leaned closer. “It seems Beryl and Fable are not our only obstacles. My parents are growing concerned.”
“What have you told them?”
“Nothing,” admitted Jerry. “I have no clue as to what to say or how to handle the situation. I will figure it out though. Don’t worry your gorgeous head about it. I have a plan.”