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“Downstairs.”
“Did she really say she wanted to pinch my cheeks?”
“Yep,” I grinned.
“Tell her I’m not here.”
“You know I can’t do that. She was so excited for you to come home.”
“Fine,” he sighed. “But if she grabs my ass like she did last time, I’m telling her about the time at the lake.”
My eyes widened and I shoved him back hard. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I would, and when she finds out that you were responsible for her losing out on her next husband, what do you think she’ll do?”
I stood there gaping like a fish, but then it hit me and I grinned. “I would imagine she’d hit on the first man in sight, which happens to be you.”
Now it was his turn to look shell shocked. “Well played, Wilder.”
Twirling around, I took a sweeping bow and headed downstairs with Andrew hot on my tail. As soon as Andrew hit the last step, Edith was on him, pulling him in for a hug and planting a kiss on his cheek. She wasn’t actually into Andrew, but she loved to tease him and make him uncomfortable. I would never tell him that and take away her fun.
“I don’t suppose there’s room in your house for little old me,” she said, batting her eyes at him. “I would stay with Laura, but…”
“Oh, I would love to have you, but…but the bedrooms are all taken.”
“Well, then I can just slip into bed with you,” she winked at him.
It took everything in me not to burst out laughing. Andrew was as red as a tomato and Edith was having way too much fun with this.
“Anyway, I was just telling Laura that she can grab her things from the house. Unfortunately, I have to run. I’m meeting with the realtor across town. I think I’ve found another house, but the previous tenants were hippies, so we’ll see how they left it,” she said, cringing at the thought.
“Edith, you don’t have to get another house?—”
“Nonsense. With all the damage from the storm, there’s no way the house will be fixed up anytime soon. And renting is such a foolish thing to do when I can buy a new house now. It’s not like I don’t have the money, dear. Besides, I promised your mother I would look after you. Don’t make a liar out of me,” she said, patting my cheek.
She always used that tactic on me. The truth was, Edith was my mother’s best friend and when she passed, I was the only piece of her left to hang onto. I caught her many times staring at me with a sadness in her eyes that made me want to cry. I missed my mother all the time,but they’d known each other since they were kids—just two crazy women taking on the world.
“Now, no more arguing with me. I’m going to look at the house and I’ll let you know what I think of it.” Then she leaned in close. “And in the meantime, see if you can work those gams on Andrew.”
She slid her oversized sunglasses on and sashayed over to the door, letting herself out. When she was gone, Andrew let out a huge sigh.
“Fuck, that woman is terrifying.”
“Relax, she didn’t pinch your cheeks.”
“No, she just wants to sleep with me tonight,” he grumbled.
“If you’re not careful, you’ll end up as husband number five.” His face paled as I walked out of the room. Sometimes it was just too easy to rile him up.
15
DASH
“Hey,we’re heading over to Lee and Laura’s place,” Brock said as he came downstairs.
I glanced over my shoulder at him from my recliner. “Why would we do that?”
“Because they were cleared to get some of their things from inside.”