“I did, and I didn’t use the top-shelf shit like she asked for either.”
“You’re devious,” Lucio says to her. “Totally badass.”
Daphne bows with a smirk. “I learned from the best.”
“What are you bowing about, Daphne?” Grandma asks as she takes the seat next to me.
“My deviousness.”
“Your father taught you kids all the bad things,” Grandma says as she pulls a bowl of peanuts in front of her. “Lord knows you didn’t learn it from me.”
Aunt Daphne stares at her mother in disbelief. “Ma, be serious. You’ve got a wicked streak as wide as anyone I know. It’s why you and Dad are such a good match.”
“I do not,” Grandma says before popping a peanut into her mouth and chewing slower than any human I’ve ever known. “I was always so innocent before I met your father.”
“Men will do that to women,” Daphne adds. “I mean, Delilah was so sweet until she met Lucio.”
“My wife’s an angel.”
“Oh, okay,” Daphne teases her brother.
“Who was Daphne being mean to?” Grandma asks.
“No one lately. We were talking about something that happened a while ago,” Lucio tells Grandma.
“To whom?”
“You know Wylder, Ma?” Daphne asks Grandma.
“He’s a handsome devil.”
Daphne snickers. “He is that.”
“What about him?” Grandma asks.
Kill me now.
I already know that by the end of the day, every single person in my family will know that I asked about Wylder—including my father.
“We were talking about his ex-wife,” Lucio explains.
Grandma shakes her head with a grunt. “She’s a hag.”
“Well, tell us how you really feel, Ma.” Lucio chuckles.
“Cheryl raised some wild kids, but Wylder didn’t live up to his name. He’s a good kid, but his ex-wife…ugh. The worst human being,” Grandma says. “I remember when his football team won State. I thought he’d end up like Vinnie and go pro.”
I jerk my head back in surprise. Wylder didn’t look like the collegiate type. He has the size, but for some reason, I can’t imagine him playing a high school sport. “Wylder played football?” I ask.
“He was one of the best until his brother broke his knee. Ended that poor boy’s future with one dumbass kick to the leg.”
“That’s messed up,” I whisper, feeling so bad for Wylder.
“His brothers are jerks. I never liked any of them,” Daphne states. “And after that shit went down with Rowdy and those dipshits, I didn’t care what neighborhood they came from. They, along with every other person in an MC, are on my shit list and banned from the bar.”
“But Wylder isn’t in the MC, right?” I ask, needing clarification. If he is, any thought of another kiss will quickly go out the window.
“No, baby. Wylder isn’t like his brothers. He was always a family man,” Grandma tells me, patting my hand with a smile. “He had his priorities straight, unlike the other boys.”
