Rock Solid by Samantha Hunter Page B

her mom’s number and shared the news—rehashing a lot of what she’d gone over with Abby, and then more happy tears. She and Brody would pay for her mom to come down, of course, and she could stay at a bed-and-breakfast by the beach, also at their expense.
    “We’ll let you know as soon as we have the details set, Mom,” she said.
    “Are you sure, honey? I could come down earlier on my own, help with any plans and arrangements?”
    “We’re keeping things very simple and small, so there won’t be too much to do. We’ll have a ceremony and then take everyone to dinner. We can’t expect you all to rush and do everything when we’re springing this on you.”
    Her mom agreed—albeit reluctantly—but when Hannah hung up the phone, she didn’t feel very good about it. To distract herself from her uncomfortable thoughts, she picked through her suitcase, getting to the bottom and realizing she had nothing really appropriate to wear to dinner with Brody’s parents.
    He came in as she was picking up the mess of clothes she’d thrown everywhere.
    “How’d it go with Abby? Can they make it?”
    “Fine. She’s going to try—she has to see if Reece will be back in time. And I have nothing to wear to meet your parents,” she said, clearly panicking. “Nothing. We can’t meet with them tonight. I need to get to a store to find something appropriate. Maybe tomorrow night would be better—”
    Brody placed his hands on her shoulders, stilling her diatribe.
    “Anything you wear will be perfect. Don’t worry. They’re going to think you’re amazing, like I do,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.
    “Did they see the news report?”
    “Of course. I called them right before they saw it on the lunchtime news, but it was close. They’re surprised but happy. I guess there’s not much I do anymore that surprises them,” he said with a self-effacing chuckle.
    Brody loved his parents—she could tell by the look of warmth in his eyes when he talked about them. That made her feel somewhat better.
    “But as it turns out, you have a reprieve,” he continued. “I thought you might need some time to get used to the idea, so I rescheduled for tomorrow night.”
    Hannah took a deep breath of relief. “That’s good, thank you. I want to make a positive impression...they’re your parents after all. Your sister knew—a lot more than she should, so she told me—about our month together back in Daytona, by the way. You were chatty under anesthesia?”
    Brody winced. “Right, the hospital—sorry. But that can work for us. Make it all more believable, which is the point.”
    “So your parents probably know, too, that I’m
that
Hannah,” she said, with the same emphasis Brandi had used. “I don’t want them thinking, you know, that I’m some gold digger or not good enough for you.”
    Brody’s expression couldn’t have been more shocked. “Are you kidding me?”
    “It’s what Brandi thought at first. Why wouldn’t they think so, too? This
is
somewhat out of the blue, and it’s not as if they know me.”
    “They’ll think the obvious. That you’re a warm, intelligent, funny, wonderful woman, and how could their recalcitrant, misbehaving, womanizing rake of a son have done so well for himself? If anything, they’ll think I’m not good enough for you, and they’d be right.”
    She reached out, plucking a piece of hay from his shirt. He’d been down with the horses while she was on the phone.
    “You keep saying things like that and it’s going to be harder to divorce you someday.”
    Brody chuckled again. “Well, anyway, this means we have the rest of the evening free. I had some ideas about how we might celebrate our engagement,” he said, hands settling on her hips as he leered over her shoulder at the bed.
    Hannah smiled, her stress dissolving as she linked her arms around his neck.
    “You’re right. I guess I have to get used to this whole being-spontaneous thing. I keep lapsing back into