“You keep saying.”
“And you keep ignoring.”
He leans toward me. “Alyssa, I’d like to drive you to your grandmother’s and I’d love to meet the woman who raised you to be such an…”
I arch a brow as he looks up and to the left, like he’s searching for the right word.
“Amazing woman,” I supply.
“I was thinking more along the lines of a stubborn, pain in the ass, ornery…”
“Ornery. Are you like a hundred? Even my grandmother doesn’t say ornery.”
“Well, if the shoe fits.”
“Speaking of shoes. We’ll need to stop at my place before heading to the nursing home. I can’t wear my rubber boots in there.”
“We’ll.” He points a finger back and forth between us. “As in you and me?”
“Yes, Alek, you can come. I want you to meet her now. When my hair turns gray after twenty-four hours, this way my grandmother will understand Why.”
He laughs, and I love this sound as it trickles through me. When was the last time I had such a fun and easy conversation with a guy? “You mean ninety-six hours, and I love the color of your hair by the way.” His compliment silences me, as he stands and eyes my plate. “Did you have enough?”
“More than enough. Do you think I could give Captain Jack the meat from a rib?”
“That would only make you his very best friend, and we can all use a friend, right?”
He’s right. We could all use a friend, and I’m pretty sure I made a very good one today. Tonight, however—and this is so not like me—I might want to change that relationship to friends with benefits.
6
Alek
“Just up ahead, take a right.”
I flick on my signal light and take the turn. Alyssa leans into me—back in her clean overalls—and I catch the scent of her skin. Still lightly soapy from her earlier shower, despite her swim in the pool.
“That’s my parking spot right there,” she says, and I ease Moxie into the big spot that also accommodates the trailer.
I take a look at the apartment building. “How long have you lived here?”
“Not that long. Just one year. After my grandmother went into the nursing home, I didn’t want to stay in her old house alone.” She reaches for the door handle. “It was big and lonely and always made weird creaking sounds.”
“Maybe a pet would have helped.” I bought my house as an investment, and the thrill of hearing my echo wore off in about thirty seconds.
“Then I’d be that old cat lady at twenty-five.”
As I laugh at that, she looks off into the distance, her expression soft and…sad. “It’s been on the market for a while.”
“You don’t want to sell it, do you?” I ask.
Her shoulders shrug in a non-committal way. “Just so many memories.” She gives a humorless chuckle. “I used to think I’d always live in it, and raise my family there, and pass it down from generation to generation. But the upkeep is expensive and with Grandma in a nursing home…”
I get the sense she needs the money from the sale. “I’m sorry you have to sell it.”
I slip from the vehicle and an elderly lady comes from the apartment, holding the door for us.
The lines around her blue eyes crinkle when she sees us. “Alyssa, darling, how are you?”