Page 17 of This Time Around

“Wait!” Maegan’s outburst startled me.

“What?”

“Eat your damn pizza first.”

I ate two greasy, delicious slices then made some phone calls. Paul thought I was calling for his nephew’s number but seemed okay that it was for business. Mike and Chris, electrician and plumber, were a little sketchy about going inside the Bliss House, but they agreed to meet me also. I promised to call them back with a firm date and time once Maegan got us access to the house.

When I left Maegan’s house after a third and fourth slice of pizza, I was relieved that I at least made one Miracle twin happy that night. What the hell was I going to do about the other one?

“Inever thought I would return to this house after the way our last visit turned out,” I said, looking through the windshield at the large, run-down Tudor home that Maegan wanted to buy. The same sister who conveniently couldn’t meet the guys inspecting the house because she had an urgent meeting with an appraiser about a brooch she found the previous week while crawling through cobwebs and dust. This wasn’t just some musty, dusty abode either; it was the house where we discovered the dead body of the guy who lured Maegan there with the intent to do ungodly things to her. I couldn’t repress the shiver that worked its way through my body. What the hell was she thinking?

“The things we do for your sister,” Memphis said.

“You love the thrill of the hunt just as much as she does, Memphis.” I pinned my friend with a look that dared him to disagree. Memphis moved to Blissville to help take care of his cousin, Emory, after he had brain surgery to remove a tumor. Memphis fell in love with our small town and ended up staying. Blissville gained a beautiful citizen, and Maegan and I found an amazing friend. “I find it odd that she’s not here tonight since this is herdreamhouse and all.”

Memphis grinned at my air quotes until he looked past my shoulder. His eyes got large like Alli Cat’s did late at night when I watched television. She loved to freak me out by making me think a ghost, or the grim reaper, was behind me.

“Don’t do that,” I told him.

“Um, I think I know why Maegan is suddenly unavailable. Did she tell you who we were meeting?”

My heart sank. I knew without looking who had arrived and made Memphis’s eyes widen. I turned and looked anyway.Why, Mae? Let it go.“She said a few guys are coming to look at the wiring, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning. She assured me that the realtor, Becker, would also be on site to make sure nothing was overlooked. She didn’t tell me thathewould be here.”

Memphis snorted. “He’s not Lord Voldemort, Milo. You can say his name.” Memphis’s eyes got bigger and bigger, which told me that Andy was approaching his car. I would not let him see me rattled. Some might call me vain, but I was glad I had dabbled a little concealer under my eyes to cover the garish, purple bags from not getting enough sleep. I didn’t want Andy to see that he’d gotten the best of me.

I opened the door and climbed out of Memphis’s car then plastered a fake grin on my face and boldly met Andy’s gaze. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said calmly.

Andy’s wry smile said that he saw right through my bullshit. He didn’t stop walking until he nearly had me pinned against the car. “I could say the same for you, but I’m not disappointed.”

I expected things to be awkward between us the next time we met, and I wasn’t wrong. It was just a completely different kind of awkward, as in the sporting-a-hard-on-in-broad-daylight-with-no-means-of-relieving-it kind. Andy knew it. I’m sure it was written all over my face, and if not, it was hard to miss the erection that was weeping in my pants for him to put us out of our misery.

“W-w-what’s going on?” I asked. Where had the disappointment I saw last night disappeared to? He resembled the cockier Andy Mason I’d fallen for all those years ago instead of the wounded, mysterious man who returned to me—well, Blissville. I hated to admit it, but I missed the swagger. It appealed to my baser needs and made me want to fuck like an animal.

Andy’s sly grin spread because he knew it too. “I’m here to do your sister a favor. This home is her dream, and I want it to come true.” Andy reached out and rubbed my bottom lip. “Why are you here, Milo?”

“This home is Maegan’s dream, and I want it to come true,” I repeated, sounding almost as breathy as Peach.

“We’re finally in agreement on something,” Andy said.

“Hey, Andy,” Memphis said cheerfully.

Andy looked away so he could greet Memphis over the top of the car. “How’s it going, cutie?”Cutie?I had the insane urge to kick him in the balls. “I’m surprised you agreed to come back here. These Miracle twins seem to get you into a lot of trouble.”

“I live for trouble,” Memphis said suggestively.

Yeah, he was living dangerously talking to my man like that.My man? Oh, hell no. “Listen, do you two need a private minute? I could go wait for Becker and the other guys on the front porch.”

“Memphis,” Andy said, “could you give me a minute with Milo?”

“You got it.” Memphis took off so fast I could almost hear the air move.

“Cutie?” I asked when we were alone.

“He’s fucking adorable, and you know it. In fact, I thought maybe the two of you had something going on for a while after he first moved here. You seemed to have your heads bent together a lot and kind of existed in a bubble that didn’t include anyone other than Maegan.”

“There’s only ever been friendship between us,” I said. A week ago, I would’ve had a witty comeback, but I was exhausted from circling around him for two damn years. I was done running and playing games.

“Because you were interested in someone else?” Andy pushed.