“Sorry,” she said. “Boxer’s never had a woman here. I’ll call next time. For the record, it’s almost ten. Hardly early.”
I inclined my head and accepted her apology and marveled that I’d slept so late. Then I remembered we’d woken up in the middle of the night for a chat…and other things. The other things made sleeping late easy.
The coffee was brewing but hadn’t finished yet.
“Sit,” I told her. “Get off those feet.”
“How did you know?” she asked as she walked to a kitchen chair. She sank down into it and moaned softly.
“I guessed,” I said in amusement.
“Good guess.”
“So, what’s this bone you have to pick with Boxer?” I asked.
“Jughead, here, taught Silas his ways with women.” She pinned him with another glare. “When I went to pick Silas up from school, not only did he have three girls buzzing around him, but they’d all baked him cookies. Cookies, Boxer!”
“What’s wrong with cookies?” he asked with a raise of his brows. “You make cookies all the time.”
The coffee maker was sputtering to the end of its brew cycle, and Boxer went to a cabinet and pulled out three mugs.
“None for me. I’ve already had my cup of caffeine for the day,” Mia said.
“Was he disrespectful? To the girls, I mean? Because I’ll tan his hide if that’s the case,” Boxer said lightly.
“No, he wasn’t being disrespectful,” Mia repeated. “He informed me he invited the three of them to dinner tomorrow night, and they all accepted.”
“Three preteen girls all vying for attention of the same boy,” I said. “That sounds like it could get a little catty.”
“Don’t worry, I taught Silas how to handle them,” Boxer stated.
“Handlethem?” Mia’s face suffused with color.
“She’s pregnant,” I reminded Boxer. “Can you try not to raise her blood pressure?”
Boxer brought the two mugs of coffee to the table and then took a seat. He patted his knee, and I immediately went to him and perched on his lap.
“Are you really pissed that I taught Silas how to flirt? Or are you pissed that he’s finally noticing the opposite sex?” Boxer asked.
Mia sniffed and quickly wiped her eyes. “He’s only twelve.”
“And you want him to stay a boy a while longer,” Boxer said. “He came to me, Mia. I swear.”
Mia nodded.
Boxer let out a soft laugh.
“What?” she demanded.
“He’s killing it. Three girls hanging around him? Maybe he can givemesome tips.”
It was my turn to glare at him. He grinned cheekily at me. “For when you throw me overboard because you get sick of my shit.” He wrapped an arm around me, and I sank back into him.
“I brought you a lasagna. It’s in the fridge,” Mia said.
I raised my brows at her. “You were pissed at Boxer, yet you brought him food?”
Mia sighed. “Yeah. Even when I’m mad at him, I feed him. No wonder Silas is doing great with the girls in his class.”