He cleared his throat. “I have plenty of room. You’d have a bedroom and a bathroom all to yourself. And like Ms. Silverman said, he’s doing well. Let’s not mess that up. I know this is different, but we can make it work.”
Her sigh was about the size of lake Michigan, but she nodded. “A hotel would be too expensive anyway.”Hotel? What did that mean?But Aly went on without clarifying. “You’re right. But maybe next time, make it a conversation rather than a demand.”
Will smirked. “Fair enough. Do you mind if I talk to Andy about it?”
“That’s fine. Tell him I’m staying with you through New Year’s and that we’ll figure it out from there. But I want to make one thing clear: this isn’t indefinite,” Aly countered.
Will did his best to hold back a glare. Now wasn’t the time to hound her about it. After staying with him for a few weeks, she’d see that Andy was exactly where he was supposed to be. “I have to get back to work and finish up so I can fly home tomorrow.”
“Do you need a ride from the airport?” he asked.
“Nah, I’m good. I’ll call you when I land,” Aly assured before hanging up.
Ten minutes later, he had to chuckle as he walked in his door.
“Boom diggity. How you like them apples?” Corey’s voice echoed through the house.
He’d asked his best friend to hang out with Andy while he was gone, but who the hell knew what Corey was up to. Will headed through the living room and back to the kitchen at the rear of the house.
“Cor!” Taran, Corey’s fiancée, snapped from across the kitchen table.
“What? I can’t let him win.”
“It’s okay, Aunt Taran. We both know what he does.” Andy cackled, the sound bringing an immediate smile to Will’s face.
“You cheating again, bro?” Will asked as he took in the NFL Spot-It game on his kitchen table. His best friend was the sorest of sore losers—although he wasn’t much worse than the average professional baseball player. Winning was everything. Normally, he wouldn’t stereotype, but every professional athlete Will knew had issues with losing.
“Of course he’s cheating.” Taran shook her head.
“I’m insulted by the implication you’re making, chipmunk.” Corey crossed his arms and tipped back in the chair. He was going to fall over and bust his ass, but Will kept his mouth shut. He’d told him not to do that many times, but his best friend never listened.
“Implication?” Taran’s voice rose on the word. “Cor, we’re outright calling you out. I should write a blog post about it.Corey Matthews might be fair on the mound, but God forbid you play cards with the man.”
“You’re cute when you’re all fired up.” Corey sent an air kiss to his fiancée.
“Gross,” Andy complained.
The oversized child’s chair skidded an inch, and Corey slammed the front legs down, his wide eyes darting to Will.
“Don’t.” Will shook his head. The chairs were probably forty years old and had made it through his band of brothers. Yet Will had no doubt they wouldn’t live through much more time with Corey Matthews. “One day you’ll break my chair.”
“I’ll buy new ones.”
“I don’t want new chairs.” They might be old, but they had belonged to his parents. And on quiet nights when no one was around, it was nice to sit with the memories of family meals at this table. He studied Andy, who was spinning the lid of the Spot-It game on the table in front of him. And now these chairs were where the two of them sat together in the evenings. “Are you staying for dinner? I made vegetarian chili.”
“You mean flavored beans. Got any good stuff we could use to doctor it up?”
Taran whacked Corey hard on the back of the head. “I’m not eating anything that breathes.”
Andy peered up at Will, eyes dancing with mirth, and pressed his lips together, fighting hard not to smile. Yeah, his best friend and his girl were idiots, but they were Will’s idiots, and he loved them.
Will moved over to the cabinet and pulled out four bowls.
“You know.” Corey came up next to him. He opened the drawer and pulled out flatware. “I had my doubts about you doing this dad thing with him.” He tilted his chin toward the table and lowered his voice. “But you’re a fucking natural at this. I knew you’d love the excuse to not have to come out with me, Mr. Homebody, but I thought for sure you’d be crawling out of skin by day four with just the chaos he’d cause.”
Will chuckled. “Yeah, well, I’ve had my moments. Kraft Mac and Cheese smoothie day was a big one.”
“I told Taran that I feel crappy for not being more supportive. She said I should tell you.” Corey shrugged and leaned back against the counter. “But it’s cool, and I’m glad you’re happy. You probably would have hated a dog. They’re a fucking mess.”