Free Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews

lingerie when I’m in New York.”
    “If you don’t shop at Big Lots, you probably aren’t seeing Loving Cup products,” Will agreed. “Go ahead, tell me what you really think. You can’t hurt my feelings. Loving Cup sales numbers are abysmal. I know what the business analysts say. But I’d be interested in hearing a woman’s point of view.”
    “Now, Will,” Daddy started. “Keeley here isn’t in any position to be telling you how to run your business.”
    “Sure, she is,” Will said. “She’s a woman. She’s got breasts. She wears bras.” He gave me a wide smile. “Don’t you?”
    “Usually,” I said.
    Daddy’s face was crimson. “Guess I’ll clear the dishes and bring out dessert.”
    He made a great show of clattering plates and silver. “You two go ahead and talk,” he said. “I’ll get a pot of coffee started.”
    That left the two of us alone in the dining alcove.
    “Your dad is a great guy,” Will said, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. “A little old-fashioned, I guess. I didn’t mean to embarrass him by talking to you about bras.”
    “Old-fashioned is an understatement,” I said. “He still thinks unmentionablesshould be unmentioned. How did you two meet, anyway?”
    “I was gassing up the Caddy at the Citgo station, and he came over and started talking to me about it,” Will said. “We struck up a conversation, and he mentioned that he sells cars for a living, and I told him I’d probably be buying a truck in the near future, and he gave me his card and told me to drop by the showroom. I did, and we struck a deal on a truck, and he invited me to supper.”
    “You knew he was my father, right?” I asked.
    “Right,” he said. “Murdock Motors. I figured, gotta be a connection.”
    “So the truck thing had nothing to do with your wanting me to work on your project.”
    “I really do need a truck,” Will said. “Your father sells trucks. I need an interior designer too. I understand you do that for a living.”
    “Look,” I started. “I promised to be nice tonight. Daddy has taken a liking to you for some reason I can’t comprehend, but I don’t have time for a new project right now.”
    “Sure you do,” Will said.
    “Says who?”
    “Says everybody in town,” he said. “I heard your boyfriend’s family is jerking you around. Business is off. Your father told me so himself.”
    “He doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does,” I said quietly, clasping and unclasping my hands under the tablecloth.
    “I met your brother-in-law,” Will said. “Quite a piece of work.”
    “Kyle? He’s not my brother-in-law.”
    “Lucky you. He and his father have been giving me the big rush. Seems they think I could be a nice piece of business for them. They even had me over to supper at that house of theirs on Academy Street street last night. That’s some house. And I understand you and your aunt are responsible for the way it looks. It’s beautiful, Keeley.”
    “GiGi would rather redecorate than eat when she’s hungry.”
    “Seeing that house made up my mind for me,” Will said. “You’ve got to come to work for me.”
    I shook my head no. “Don’t think so.”
    “Just come and see it. Please?” His voice was plaintive. “You’re the only one who can do this.” He glanced over his back at Daddy, who was out in the kitchen spooning Cool Whip on the banana pudding. My father has never heard of the concept of lily gilding.
    “I’m not hitting on you, if that’s what you think.”
    I flushed. “That’s not what I think, but since you brought it up, why aren’t you trying to hit on me? Am I that unattractive?”
    He chuckled. “For one thing, you’ve got relationship issues.”
    “If you mean A.J., he’s no longer an issue,” I said, my voice cool.
    “We’ll see,” Will said. He looked down at the tabletop, and with his fingertips, flipped his teaspoon end over end. “I’ve got relationship issues too.”
    “Oh?”
    He sighed. “This