I brought three suitcases full of clothing, but nothing seemed to work for my picnic date. It was still hotter than hell outside and all of my dresses seemed to be too much for what we were actually doing. I didn't want to stand out or look like I was trying too hard, but I just looked too damn good in everything I put on. I needed to tuck my sex appeal away somehow. I needed a crew neck to hide my boobs. I tucked my hair up into a bun and kept my makeup simple; mascara, foundation, and highlighter.

After re-trying on all of my dresses, I settle for a maxi dress that covers my cleavage. Both Drew and Bellamy approved and they were dying for updates once I got home. I grab a light cardigan in case Matty's mother does make an appearance and I feel like I look wholesome when my doorbell rings at six twenty. He seemed like someone who was going to be early, so I am glad I was prepared.

I swing my door open and find Matty looking casual in jeans and a hunter green polo. His blonde hair is swept neatly to the side and his smile reaches his sky blue eyes when he sees me.

"Wow, look at you," he says as he gives me a once-over that is less creepy than the one Ollie gave me earlier. I hold my dress out and give a little curtsy before sliding my purse off the counter.

"You look nice too," I tell him and he looks down at his shirt like he forgot which one he was wearing.

He steps aside so I can step out of the door and I quickly lock up. He holds his elbow up to me to escort me off the stairs and I lock my arm into his. We trot down the steps together and spot his beige Corolla parked at the end of the walkway. It so fits what I know of him.

"How was your day?" He asks and then he stops to open my car door. I slide in and then wait until he is seated next to me to answer.

"Busy. I decluttered. I'm trying to figure out what to do with all of the stuff I want to donate."

"I can bring it to the church if that would help?" He offers while pulling down the street. "My aunt is in charge of all of the donations, so I'd be happy to take a load over depending on what you have."

"Sure, yeah, otherwise, I didn't know if there was a Goodwill or something around here."

Matty tsks and then says, "Ah, never donate to Goodwill. A few years ago I read an article that said they were caught exploiting a loophole in labor laws to pay thousands of disabled workers pennies per hour while paying its top executives millions in compensation. It's disgusting."

I'm at a loss for words by the new information Matty just spewed at me, so I just say, "Oh, wow. Okay good to know then."

"Yeah, our church is big on helping people down on their luck or helping people with special needs or disabilities, so donations mean a lot. We also host a big yard sale in the summer to raise money for charity or for things the church needs. This year we are trying to buy a new sound system for the choir."

Once again, I am unsure what to say, so I just nod again and say, "Oh, that's cool. Are you in the choir?"

"Not every Sunday, but I sometimes get roped into it. My mother runs the outreach programs, so she's always trying to find ways to get me to be more active within the church."

"It seems your family is big in the church."

"You could say that," he says with a chuckle and then he glances at me, "So was your grandma. Sadie used to sell jams at the bake sale to help raise money."

"Ah, yes. I do remember Sadie's famous jams. I also want to learn to make jam. She still has some down in her cellar," I tell him and he pulls onto the street that's opposite the park. Street parking is already surprisingly full even though we are a half-hour early. Matty drives past the rows of cars and then says, "It's good to have an in with the church because I have great parking for events at the park." He grins at me like he's leading me to a V.I.P area and then pulls into the church's lot. I watch as he slides into a reserved space and I can tell he's thrilled at the perk. I go to open my door when he says, "Oh no, let me get that." He dashes around the car and then pulls my door open. I adjust my dress as he grabs a basket from the back and I shouldn't be surprised that our picnic is in an actual basket.

"That's so cute," I tell him as I point to the basket with two closed flaps and he slides it up his arm. He extends his other arm out to me again and I hook my elbow into his. I'm glad I opted for my Chanel espadrilles over wedges because the parking lot is treacherous. They should raise money to fix the potholes and uneven gravel.

Matty waves to everyone we pass and they all seem to know him fondly. I give everyone minuscule smiles and try to remain unnoticed as I stay locked on his arm. He stops and chats with a few elderly women we pass and then offers to help set up their lawn chairs for them. The man seated next to them mentions he forgot his glasses in his car parked in the church lot, so Matty dashes off to go retrieve them for him, leaving me standing with the older group forcing small talk. They of course all knew my grandmother as they too are active members of the church and they are thrilled that I am living in her house. I then casually ask who runs the movie nights and the man replies, "Oh, it's sponsored by the Magnolia Humane Society. Layla sets this up in the summers and then all the snack bar and front lawn seating money goes to the animal shelter."

Shit, Finn's ex-wife literally saves and raises money for helpless animals. I can't compete with a saint.

"Oh, that's amazing. Where is the snack bar, I must go donate," I say and then start looking around for a woman with a holy glow around her.

"They set up on each side of the lawn. They have such fun treats," says the woman in the shirt that has a picture of her grandchildren on it. "I can't do sugar anymore, but a young thing like you can have all that fun stuff." She smiles at me and she has no idea that I don't do sugar anymore either.

Matty jogs back over to us and hands the grateful man his glasses. We wave them off and then I look at Matty, "I hear this is a fundraiser. Should we go buy snacks?" I ask and then look around the lawn that has dozens of people already sprawled out on it. A massive inflatable screen sits at the end of the lawn and this is actually a very fun idea.

"First we get our seats, and then we get our treats," Matty replies and at first I can't tell if that was a serious statement or not, but then he leads me over to the reserved section and I realized he was dead serious.

"Glad I snagged my tickets early. This row is the best spot to see the screen." I glance around the small roped-off area and Layla is smart to charge for the best strip of grass. Blankets are already laid out to reserve the section and Matty hands his tickets to the young volunteer. I see Cooper taking tickets on the other end and wave to him. He spots me and comes trotting over.

"Hey Miss Sadie, Matty," he greets and then looks over his shoulder. "First movie night is a success."

"I know, this is great!" Matty says in agreement. We all walk over to our designated blanket as Cooper asks, "Get rid of the mice yet?"

"Soon, an exterminator is coming Saturday."

"Oh good. Did you and Finn find anything else that gave you the heebie-jeebies?"

I laugh, "No, he left shortly after you did. After reminding me I lost the bet."

"Finn Weston?" Matty asks, "He and Cooper are helping you with something?"

I snap my eyes over to Matty and ask, "Weston? As in the Hardware store?"

"You didn't know Finn's family owns Weston's?" Cooper asks me and I realize I never knew Finn's last name. He didn't put it in my phone and he didn't mention it when we were roaming the aisles together.

"No, I didn't put it together," I confess but Matty still is looking at me like he wants an answer to his question. Probably because I told him nothing was going on between us. "I needed help around the house. Cooper and Finn helped me out," I elaborate and Cooper nods, "She's flipping old Sadie's house."

Matty nods in understanding and then drops the basket down onto our blanket. Cooper sees him attempting to settle in and then says, "Well, I am your waiter this evening so if you need anything from the snack bar, let me know."

"Oh!" I say in surprise and then look over to the stands. "I'm gonna go look and see what they have then. Do you want anything?" I ask Matty and he looks startled that I am going to leave him. "Unless you need my help setting up?"

He shakes his head, "No, you go. I'll unpack and get everything ready for when you're back. I packed plenty so you probably won't need much." I look over at Cooper and then say, "Take me to the snack bar." We weave around others already situated in their areas and as we make it out of the roped-off section, Cooper says, "They make cotton candy fresh here. It's the best. What's your favorite kind of movie snack?"

I ponder his question as we stride over to the booth and I can't remember the last time I went to a movie theater.

"Um, popcorn," I tell him since I know it's low in calories if they don't slather it with salt and butter.

"They make kettle corn too," he says giddily and I can tell he's excited by the treats offered. When we get closer to the table, I spot a redhead with her hair spiraled curled who looks to be about our age with freckles covering her nose and cheeks. Her green eyes shine and she's pretty for Arkansas. Cooper then says, "Hey Layla," and I wonder if this is her. She eyes me and with a warm smile says, "Ah, a new face. I don't think I have seen you around before."

I give her a quick wave and then say, "I'm Sadie, I'm newish around here."

"She's Mrs. Melvin's grandaughter," Cooper explains and Layla's eyes widen in recognition.

"Oh, I knew her well. My ex-husband owns the hardware store, so we'd see her all the time when she'd buy stuff for the garden club." There it is. Had I not known Finn's last name I wouldn't have had the proof needed to connect the dots.

"Oh neat," I say and I don't think those words paired together have ever come out of my mouth before. "This is a fun thing you've set up," I say and point to the gathering behind me.

"We're trying to find new events to set up around town. More ways for us locals to get together and support each other."

"Well this is great," I look at Cooper and then ask, "You want cotton candy?"

He laughs, "I am supposed to be helping you get snacks."

"Well I don't really eat sugar and would love to donate so...what will it be?" He eyes me like I am insane again and I worry he gives me that look too often. "Seriously Coop. Sky's the limit." He looks back at Layla and orders one cotton candy and a Gatorade.

"I'll take a bottle of water and a bag of popcorn. If it's unsalted and unbuttered," I say. Layla glances to the popcorn maker and then says, "I'm pretty sure it's coated in both. I have SkinnyPop though?" She rifles through a box of chips and then snatches up a small bag of SkinnyPop. I take the bag from her and she says, "Okay that will be eleven dollars." I find a fifty and then hand it to her. She may run charities, but I donate to them.

"Oh shoot, do you have anything smaller? Otherwise, I'll have to give you a ton of ones."

"I think that's the only denomination she carries," Cooper says and I eye-roll him.

"No, keep the change."

"Are you sure?" She asks reluctantly as she holds the bill in her hand.

"Yes, it's for the animal shelter right?" I ask and she nods. I then glance down and take out another fifty. I hand it to her and say, "For the puppies." Her slender fingers accept the extra bill and she grins, "Wow thank you. That's so generous." I want to tell her Mark donates thousands to animal shelters in Boston and Los Angeles, but that would seem braggy and I don't really want to bring him up when I am doing the good deed at the moment. See Finn, I can save puppies too.

"See you around," I tell her with a big phony smile and Cooper rips open his bag stuffed full of pink cotton candy as we leave the table.

"Thanks, Miss Sadie," he says and then he lowers his head and says, "That was Finn's ex-wife."

I pretend to act surprised at the revelation and then say, "Oh really? She's so pretty." I glance at her again and whoever she's talking to is laughing at something she said. "Are they still friendly?"

He shrugs, "Dunno."

I don't ask any more questions because I don't want to seem overly interested and Cooper's short reply makes me think his gossiping only lasts for so long.

When we make it back to our blanket, Cooper waves me off and Matty sees the water and popcorn in my hands.

"Oh good, you kept it simple. I had prepared quite a spread," he waves his arm over the blanket and I see he has everything laid out. "You said you were a vegetarian so I brought us a cheese plate, some veggies, and hummus and my mother made some garlic crackers to dip," he glances up at me, thrilled by his picnic and I am impressed. I can actually eat almost everything he brought.

"Wow, thank you. This looks great. You'll have to thank your mother for making these," I tell him as he hands me a thin cracker with a dollop of hummus on the end.

"Oh, you can thank her yourself. She's going to pop by in a few to drop off her wine."

"Her wine?" I ask as the cracker suddenly feels very dry in my mouth.

"Yeah, she makes her own blend. It's amazing and I thought it would go well with our spread." He then leans in close to me and says, "We just have to keep it on the DL because we're not supposed to bring alcohol to these things." He then gives me a mischievous grin and I wonder if this is the most bad boy thing he's ever done. Sneak homemade wine into Movie on the Lawn.

"Well good thing I have an in with the bouncer," I joke as I glance at Cooper, and then we're interrupted by an older woman waving excitedly at us.

"Yoo-hoo! Matty!" She calls out and then Matty eagerly turns to me. "It's my mom. Here, hop up and I'll introduce you. You're going to love her. Everyone does." My eyes go wide and he's suddenly pulling me to my feet.