“Sit down, monkey man. I’ll get you more of your own.” Will took a sip of beer before heading to the fridge.
Over the hum of the microwave, he could just make out the conversation about school and hating studying for his upcoming map test. Will shook his head. Andy was ready for it. They’d been working on states and capitals and the locations of each for over a month. He knew it cold.
“So,” Aly hedged, her lips pursed. She was about to hit them with something they wouldn’t like. Both she and Andy pulled that same face. “Garry was wondering if you might want to come by after school tomorrow. I’m tiling the kitchen—”
“And he needs me to be the adorable kid.” Andy tucked his hands under his chin and flashed a fake as hell smile.
“More sweet; less demon,” Will teased.
“You’ll have to help me with that. We can’t all have your savior glow.” Andy smirked.
Aly’s gray eyes flicked back and forth. “I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m getting a strong vibe about how they’re portraying you both.Wrong.” She hit the last word hard and ruffled Andy’s hair.
“Hey!” Andy’s faced scrunched up, the look indignant.
Will couldn’t help but laugh. Being with his family might feel like chaos, but these two? Being with them felt like home.
Andy huffed. “See if I come tomorrow.”
But Andy did, and even though he tried to hide it on the drive from school, his excitement about being on the show again was palpable. Through the trek across the parking lot and for the duration of the trip, even while navigating security at the house, Andy was all smiles.
“Whoa.” The words were out of his little mouth the second they crossed the threshold. And Will didn’t blame him. It didn’t look like the same house. Entire walls were gone, opening up the first floor. Big windows lined the back of the house, and the clean gray color pallet brightened everything up.
“Shh.” A man holding a boom mike frowned over at them.
Will shook himself out of his awe and scanned the space. Behind a large island, Aly stood with a tile cutter, the nearest cameras rolling. The room was crazy. Lights hung from all angles, and a handful of people held reflectors pointed directly at her. Two guys with cue cards stood by rolling cameras, and at least four boom mics floated in the air. But Aly was the picture of calm as she chatted about how to correctly split the tile around an electrical box. Her smile was radiant and alluring as she set the angle on the diamond saw before making a cut. Every time Will watched the show, he was drawn in by how she naturally explained each process. Like she was talking to a friend, not thousands of viewers. How personal it all felt. He would have never known she was surrounded by such chaos.
What was it about her that emitted that sense of calm? Because off-screen, she wasn’t organized. Half the time, she didn’t have a plan for the following week, so it wasn’t because she had her shit together.
“That’s it,” Garry called.
Suddenly, chatter erupted all around. Aly spun, and her lips lifted when she spotted Will and Andy. He couldn’t pull his eyes off her as she brushed her hair over her shoulder and waved her brother over. It was too loud to make out her words, but she laughed and messed with Andy’s hair as he jerked his chin toward the wet saw.
“Looks like she’s winning him over.” The female voice came from behind Will, and he turned to find Aly’s friend observing the siblings. Today, the ends of her hair matched the lavender of her eyes, and he couldn’t be sure whether the eyebrow ring was new. But the skintight leather pants and crop top fit in as terribly on the construction site as what she’d worn last time.
“Lily.” She pointed at herself, like he might have forgotten.
“I remember,” he assured before his attention drifted back across the room to Aly.
She fist-bumped her brother, but Will had missed the reason for the praise. They were finally bonding, and Andy was opening up to her more and more. A slew of people stepped back and moved away en masse as the show’s host came up to the counter.
Will’s hands fisted at his sides. Who the fuck wore jeans that tight or cut off the sleeves of their shirts anymore?
He shook his head in disgust when Logan sent a sleazy smile Aly’s way. Will wanted nothing more than to stalk over and step straight between Aly and the fucking tool but—
“Did Aly mention the Christmas party on Saturday?”
Will startled at Lily’s voice before turning back to her. He cleared his throat. “No.”
“She really needs something for it.” Lily flashed a smile and leaned toward him.
He crossed his arms and leaned back subtly. He thought Lily had gotten hisnot interestedhint when he’d met her, but he wanted to make sure that was still loud and clear.
“What’s that?” His eyes drifted again to Aly, who was helping Andy mortar the tile to the wall. In the last week, he’d put a lid on his feelings for her, but that didn’t mean they weren’t still simmering inside him. If anything, the brewing emotions were only getting stronger when kept in the dark.
“A date,” she murmured.
Will whipped his head around to Lily, a spark igniting inside him at the thought.