Page 84

I smacked him on the shoulder. “Zander!”

Jimmy smiled into his beer before sneaking a glance at me. “I retired my yoga mat after that. It had served its purpose.”

I gasped in mock horror. “What? Yoga as a ruse to meet women?No.”

“Woman,” he corrected. “Just you.”

“Awww,” Ivan cooed. “You newlyweds are so cute. I promise to cover Zander’s innocent eyes if you need to follow that story up with a public display of affection.”

“Zander hasn’t been innocent since he left the womb,” I said. “Pretty sure he came out knowing what channels the naughty movies were on. There were too many times growing up when he didn’t change the channel fast enough.”

“Hey, now. Quit talking about my baby boy like that,” my mom admonished.

“Thanks, Mom,” Zander said.

“He may be slow with the remote, but he’s handy with an excuse,” she said. “I still remember the time he told me the cat sat on the remote and changed it to the naked station. Since I could see the cat out the front window in the yard, it wasn’t the bulletproof defense he thought it was.”

I laughed. My mom didn’t tease often, but when she did it was gold.

My dad had been mostly silent, which was his way. He stared hard at Jimmy before grunting. “Treat her right, and we’ll have no problems. If she wants to do yoga, you do yoga.” He turned to me. “You too, Melly. Treat him right. He seems okay. So far.”

That was as close to acceptance as we’d get from my dad, but I’d take it.

***

I’d just slid beneaththe sheets after making sure my family was settled when Jimmy propped himself in the bathroom door, toothbrush in his mouth. One hand braced on the door frame above him to take weight off his leg, and I enjoyed the play of muscles in his torso.

“Ey wike woar famulee,” he said.

I smiled. “I think they like you too.”

He turned back to the sink to spit and rinse before making his way slowly to the bed. “It’s fun to see you with them. You’re usually self-contained. I like watching them tease you.”

“Glad someone’s having fun.”

He gave me an arch look, and I relented. “I love them. It is nice having them here. I hadn’t realized how much I missed them. Phone calls aren’t quite the same.”

“Do you think your mom is going to forgive us for not inviting them to the wedding?”

“You caught the ongoing digs, huh? I don’t know. It was the right decision at the time, though. I didn’t want to worry them.”

“What about now?” he asked as he moved onto the bed beside me.

“Now what?”

“Why aren’t you telling them about your surgery? I thought you’d want to tell them in person.”

I frowned. “They don’t need to know.”

Jimmy frowned back. “Why would you keep it from them?”

I tried to smooth my face, but I knew it looked mulish. “They don’t need to know. It serves no purpose. They’ll just be upset about it. I’m fixed now.”

“Yes, but they love you. They’ll understand.”

I shook my head and stared up at the ceiling. “It’s taken care of. They’re hurt enough about missing the wedding.”

“Melena, I think you should tell them. What if it’s a genetic issue? Shouldn’t they know?”