Page 16 of Just This Once (Stone Family #2)

“You should do it!” Clara says enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically. “I mean, you need the extra income, and Dante’s a great guy.”

I scowl at her. “You know this is all your fault.”

Her eyes go wide in innocence, hand to her heart. “ My fault? ”

“You pushed us together that night, and you’re pushing us together now.”

“I wouldn’t say pushing ,” she says, poking around the candy in front of her.

Marianne gestures around us. “It feels like you’re auditioning for a new Netflix show about matchmaking, and yet there are no cameras.”

“Oh my god! I would love that.”

“I know. You’d be good at it.” Marianne smiles at her wife indulgently, and I roll my eyes. Clara and Dante both have that same annoyingly endearing thing of being terribly likable.

Which I hate. As an unlikable woman.

Clara absently places her hand on Marianne’s thigh, while the other flits through the air. “All I’m saying is you two had chemistry?—”

“Chemistry?” Andi looks between us for an explanation. “With this Dante guy? Who is that?”

“No one,” I say, but Marianne jumps in to explain in simple terms.

“He’s the contractor of The Nest renovation.”

“And one of my best friends from high school,” Clara says then lowers her voice, adding, “Tar and Dante hooked up a couple weeks ago.”

“I had no idea.” Andi gasps, playfully scandalized, and I chuck a Tootsie Roll at Clara. Marianne picks it up to eat.

“Because we don’t talk about it,” I say, shooting pointed glares at my so-called friends.

Andi leans in to whisper, “Talk about it to other people or right here, because… What’s the deal? Are you into him?”

“I am definitely not into him.”

Marianne eyes me like she doesn’t believe me, while Clara shakes her head. “Oh, come on. How could you not be?”

“Easy. It was a one-time thing, and he now works for me. I told him that it has to be professional between us. No flirting or anything.”

Clara snorts. “Good luck with that. That boy can’t help himself.”

“He’s been good so far,” I say defensively. “Mostly,” I amend, thinking of a few moments that would not be categorized accurately as completely professional.

“And he wants to rent your apartment?” Andi asks, still trying to piece it all together.

“Yeah.”

“Well…” Andi pops a Twix into her mouth. “Speaking from experience. Kinda hard to ignore the other person when you’re living under the same roof.”

Clara clucks her tongue as if that’s been her evil plan all along, and for some reason, I find myself justifying it. “Technically, we wouldn’t be under the same roof. The apartment is a separate unit. He would have his roof, and I’d have mine.”

Marianne props her chin on her hand. “So then, you’ll rent to him?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” I ask, offended. “Thirty years of friendship lost over a man who wears a red bandanna like a headband.”

Marianne laughs. “It’s more than thirty, and that’s actually kinda cute.”

That’s the whole problem. It is cute!

Goddamn it.

“What’s he like?” Andi asks to no one in particular, and I assume Clara will jump in, but she doesn’t. Merely stares at me instead.

I focus my attention on carefully balling up the empty candy wrappers. “He’s competent and surprisingly thoughtful.” I recollect the conversation he had with Maddie the other day. “He’s patient and… ”

“Kinda hot,” Marianne cuts in when I trail off, my mind on his smile, glistening wet after he went down on me during our night together. When he sucked and licked and fucked me with his tongue like it was his job.

“Very hot,” Clara adds, and I lift my gaze to find all three of them staring at me.

“Yeah. He’s hot. Whatever. But he’s also a good person. Just, like…intrinsically good.” From how he cares for his workers to how he treats a young girl to how he was and still is a stand-up friend to Clara, he’s good .

While I don’t know everything about Dante—hell, I don’t even know an eighth about him—I doubt there is anything I could learn about him that would make me dislike him. As much as that fact annoys me.

“Maybe I should give him a chance,” I say slowly, and Marianne places her hand on Clara’s leg, keeping her in her seat, as if silently telling her to sit still as Frankie dances around. He can feel it too.

The energy shift.

Maybe he can subliminally understand his pal is going to be around again.

So, I suppose, the decision is made.

I thump my fist on the table, conceding the fight. “All right. I’ll let Dante rent the apartment.”

Marianne nods as if she’s known all along. Andi smiles and sticks a lollipop into her mouth. Clara, that she-devil, takes out her phone, and I snatch it away.

“I don’t need any more little birdies flying around. I’ll send Frankie to kill ’em.”

She bends, accepting the dog’s kisses when he licks her cheek.

“Frankie’s not a killer. No. No, you aren’t.

You’re the best boy, aren’t you? Yes. Yes, you are.

” She peers over at me, her perfect teeth glinting under the kitchen lights.

“At least until Dante moves in. Then he might become the best boy.”