Page 64 of This Time Around

“I couldn’t resist,” Milo said then rotated the s’more so he could lick the marshmallow goo oozing out the side. He licked around the entire edge of the graham cracker sandwich.

“You’re such a dirty boy,” I whispered.

“What? Everyone does this.” We both knew he was teasing me.

“Um, Slugger.” Milo pointed to the end of my stick where my marshmallow blazed hot enough to fall off the stick and into the fire. As a consolation, he held the s’more in front of my mouth so I could take a bite. I would’ve preferred to kiss him and taste the dessert on his tongue, but we had an audience.

“This backyard is stunning, Maegan,” Jackie said.

“Thanks, Mom,” her daughter replied happily from the chaise lounge she shared with Elijah, who looked like he was about ready to nod off.

“It would be a beautiful place for a wedding.”

“Mom!” Maegan said in shock. Elijah’s eyes opened wide, signaling he was wide awake after that comment. What did Milo do? He laughed at their discomfort.

Jackie fixed her gaze on her son and smiled smugly. “I was just telling Milo that fall weddings are so lovely.”

Milo stilled and went completely silent. “Show me again how you make your marshmallows so perfect.”

I thought his awkwardness was totally cute. Why was Milo so nervous? Was he afraid I would get scared away if I knew they were talking about weddings. Hell, my mom had already started calling him Milo Miracle-Mason and her future son-in-law. It was a foregone conclusion to everyone who knew us that we would get married someday. Fall was only a few months away, and I doubted they expected us to get married that quickly.

“Maegan, did you take a lot of before and after pictures for that paranormal guy that Memphis has the hots for?” Dennis asked, changing the subject. Milo visibly relaxed in my lap and went back to eating his s’more while he waited for the right time to jump into the conversation.

“I sure did, Dad. I’m not sure when, or if, he’s really coming though,” Maegan replied. “He said he was interested and would head here when he finished filming in Nashville, but then he kind of fell off the face of the earth. The network announced a temporary hiatus in filming, and he’s kind of disappeared.”

“Intriguing,” Dad said. “What rumors are circulating? Personal crisis or network dispute?”

“No one knows enough about Lyric to really form a rumor,” Memphis said softly. “He has this loner vibe about him, but his crew seems to genuinely like him. Emory respects the hell out of Lyric, but even Em doesn’t know much about him.” It was impossible to miss the disappointment in his voice.

“Lyric will arrive when the time is right,” Milo said. “I just feel it.”

“What are you going to do with all your free time now that this project is finished, Andy?” Dennis asked me. The correct answer was that I planned to spend as much time naked with his son as I could wrangle, but I very well couldn’t tell him that.

“I’m not really sure yet, Dennis.”

“I think I have the perfect solution,” Elijah said suddenly. “We’re putting a softball team together. Games won’t start until late summer or early fall, but we’re starting practices in a few weeks. Interested? A little birdie told me that you are a hell of a ballplayer.”

Playing competitive ball again appealed to me, but it would cut into my time with Milo. Not only that, I wasn’t sure how busy I would be over the next few months. I had a few jobs to start next week and another few to bid. One thing was clear, I needed to hire some help because my business kept growing. I loved my job, but I loved Milo more. I didn’t mind working until nine or ten at night the past month for his sister because he often worked with me on various projects. Maegan would be family, so exceptions would be made for her, but I needed to be smarter about accepting jobs until I could hire a trustworthy crew.

“That was a long time ago,” I said to Elijah.

“That’s what Tucker said too,” Elijah replied. A sly smile crept across his face. “He figured your ego wouldn’t allow you to play with the likes of us.” Maegan elbowed him, and he winced. “Or maybe he said you were an out-of-shape has-been who wouldn’t be able to keep up with us.” Maegan went in for another jab, but Elijah evaded her pointy blow. “Don’t kill the messenger, Freckles.”

“All lies,” Maegan said. “Tucker wouldn’t speak that way about Andy.” Too bad Maegan didn’t look as certain as she sounded. I suspected there was a bit of truth to Elijah’s story, even if he did blow it way out of proportion.

“He’ll do it,” Milo said. “You’ll show them that you still got it. I’d hazard to say that you’re even better than you were back then because you’re not as cocky.”

“Um, thanks.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Slugger. I really liked your swagger, but I love the humbler version of you that came back to me.”

“Aww,” was heard all around the fire.

Milo leaned toward me and said, “And selfishly, I’m dying to see you in a jock strap again, or better yet, strip it off you.”

“Yeah, I’m in,” I told Elijah. “Just let me know when the first practice is, and I’ll show up.”

“Yes!” Elijah said happily. “The Blissville Bombers are totally going to kick everyone’s ass this year.”