Page 26 of You Chive Me Crazy

“You’ve definitely been reading my reviews,” Lucas said, nodding. “I guess I shouldn’t read into that either, right?”

“No. You shouldn’t.”

Alexa squawked in the other room. “Show me the money!”

“Sounds like someone wants to join us,” Marty said. “I’ll bring her over.”

Betsy brought in my blueberries and the other orders while Marty rolled in the bird cage and pushed it against the window that looked out to the backyard.

As I ate my blueberries in silence, Hank asked our hosts about their first date.

“October fourth, nineteen-seventy-five,” Marty said. “LA coliseum, UCLA versus Ohio State during a nationally televised football game.”

Betsy smiled. “We were in the student section, and the cameras lingered on us so long that our friends saw us on TV! I was having a hard time paying attention to the game because all I wanted to do was hold his hand. I don’t even remember who won the game.”

“Ohio state. Not that I was paying much attention myself,” Marty said, chuckling. “Betsy was the first and only girl I’ve ever loved.”

“You obviously knew a good thing when you saw it, and would not let it go, no matter what,” Lucas said, offering what appeared to be a sincere smile.

I glanced at Lucas, surprised something so romantic had come out of his mouth.

“Speaking of good things—this is simply divine,” Kay said, taking a huge spoonful of her mango ice cream and whipped cream, then moaning. “I would kill for another scoop of this.”

Alexa squawked. “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”

Marty shook his head. “Alexa, off.”

“Sorry, I’m having trouble understanding you right now,” the parrot said.

“No, you’re not.”

Alexa squawked again. “Please try again later.”

I laughed and popped the last blueberry in my mouth.

Out of nowhere, Lucas leaned closer and whispered, “I need to get you into bed.”

I choked on the blueberry.

He reached over and patted me on the back. “You okay?”

All I could do was nod a few times.

I knew he meant it was time for me to rest again, but I could have easily taken it out of context with the seductive tone of his velvety voice and the warmth of his breath against my ear. That was when the reality of my situation hit me hard. I was going to share a bedroom with the man I had loathed for the last ten years. That would have been awkward enough on its own, but did Lucas think we were also going to share the bed, or was that just my mind playing tricks on me?

ChapterSix

LUCAS

Sharing a bed with the woman who hated me to the core of my being was probably not the smartest move in the world, but I just needed to remind myself that sometimes you have to do uncomfortable things, when it is for the right reason.

Returning to the Love Shack, I closed the door behind us and waited for Zoe to initiate the conversation.

It didn’t take long . . .

Zoe slid past me and sat on the edge of the bed, looking up. “Okay, I need to brush my teeth and get ready for bed, but before I do, we need to establish some rules. Some boundaries.”

“I’m listening,” I said, leaning against the dresser, arms crossed in a protective gesture, because I had a feeling about what those boundaries would include.