“And if you just happen to benefit in the process then that’s okay too, right?”
Milo sighed heavily. “You wound me.”
“Give me twenty minutes to shower and get dressed.”
“I’ll give you thirty in case you want to work in a little…”
“Stop talking, Milo.”
“I’ll be able to tell if you do,” he teased, knowing that it creeped me out. People actually asked us if we could feel each other having sex through our link. The answer was a grateful “hell no” each time. What kind of perverts asked that anyway?
“No French toast for you,” I said, mimicking the soup Nazi fromSeinfeld.
“We will see you in twenty minutes,” Milo said.
“We?Did you have an overnight guest or is this a split personality day? If so, which extra personality are you bringing? Diva Divine or Fanny Flair?”
“Ha ha ha. I love how you give my multiple personalities drag queen names,” Milo said dryly. “If you must know, I’m picking up Memphis on the way over. Don’t make the bacon too crispy, Maegan. I’d hate to chip one of my perfect teeth. We don’t like chewy bacon either.” He hung up without saying goodbye, leaving me to stare at my phone in disbelief.
“Uncle Milo is an asshole,” I told Lulu. She let out a loud snore while looking right at me. “Fine, but you’re getting up to go pee as soon as I get out of the shower.”
I didn’t linger in the shower taking care of the business that Milo alluded to either. Unfortunately, I made it a quick shower rather than a long, luxurious bath.
As I stepped out to towel off, I heard the loud roar of my new neighbor’s ginormous truck as he came home from work. I had yet to meet the man, or at least I assumed it was a guy based on his ride. Sure, women drove trucks, but they seldom drove trucks bigger than they needed. Maybe I was judging the guy harshly, but what did he need with a truck that tall with side mirrors that were bigger than my head? I’d understand if he was a farmer, but we lived in town, and this joker worked at night. I heard him fire up that diesel beast each evening about the time I drifted to sleep and he roared back home each morning when I was in the shower. I was curious about his identity, but not enough to do something about it.
As cold as it was in mid-January, Lulu got her business done and returned to the door quickly. I loved having a fenced yard on mornings like those so that I could watch from inside while she safely did her business. Cold weather didn’t seem to bother her, but I threatened to move to Florida at least once a day during the months of December through March.
Milo and Memphis showed up right on time, and I started making breakfast for the three of us while they entertained me with their good-natured bickering back and forth. They honestly sounded like a couple who’d been married for twenty years or longer. It was too bad we couldn’t convince our hearts and bodies who to be attracted to because Memphis made Milo laugh and smile as no one else did. That heat and attraction I saw in Milo’s eyes when he looked at Andy Mason during unguarded moments was missing when he smiled at Memphis across my kitchen table.
“Beefcake Andy sure has some talented hands,” Memphis said out of the blue.
I dropped my spatula on the floor while Milo choked on the coffee he’d just sipped from his cup. Memphis winked playfully at me as he pounded on Milo’s back while he sputtered and coughed. I had tried to encourage Milo to patch things up with Andy, who stared at my brother like he hung the moon when Milo wasn’t looking, but I had never tried to kill him in the process.
“Asshole,” Milo said to Memphis, his scratchy voice sounding like he had gargled a mouthful of rocks.
“Yes, I do have one of those, and it’s divine,” Memphis said nonplussed while he blinked his eyes innocently. “What’s with the name calling? I was just trying to tell you guys how Andy came over last night and used his big, strong hands to fix… things.”
Milo glared at him for several heartbeats before he responded. “I fucking hate you.”
“You fucking love me,” Memphis countered. He shook his head and continued. “You’re acting as ifIwas the thing Andy fixed, and I assure you that’s not the case at all. I had a leaking pipe beneath the bathroom sink, and my bedroom closet door kept sticking badly. Andy fixed those things for me.”
“Well, isn’t Andy just the jack of all trades,” Milo said bitterly.
“Oh, and I bet he masters quite a few of them,” I said then bumped Memphis’s fist when he raised it in the air. “Not that you’re thinking about all the things that Beefcake Andy can do to you with his big, meaty paws, Milo.”
“Stop calling him Beefcake Andy. It sounds barbaric. Andy might work with his hands and drive a truck, but he’s not some knuckle-dragging Neanderthal who should be reduced down to his body and dick size.”
“Who said anything about his dick?” I asked. “I believe the big and meaty reference was to his paws, as in hands, not his cock and balls.” Memphis threw his head back and laughed.
Milo’s face turned an interesting shade of red before he mumbled and said, “Both of you can shut the hell up.” A wicked smile spread slowly across his face then he added, “Unless you want to discussyoursex lives.”
“Who was talking about sex?” Memphis asked. “I’m pretty sure I said he fixed my closet door and bathroom pipe. Besides, no one wants to hear about my pathetic sex life. Hell, I can’t even get lucky in my dreams.”
I snorted. “Same here.” I shook my head over the sad trio that we made. The bacon grease on the stove popped and burned the flesh on my hand closest to the skillet. “Damn, that hurt.”
“It’s fate,” Milo said from behind me.
I remembered thatfeelingI had when I first woke up. I was pretty sure that getting splattered with bacon grease wasn’t the surprise that life had in store for me that day, but was it a sign of crappy things to come? It seemed that way when I dropped my keys in a puddle of dirty melted snow on my way to the salon. I had half a notion to go back inside my house and hide from whatever fate had in store for me, but one did not miss a hair appointment with Joshua Roman-Wyatt. A person had to book his services at least eight weeks in advance.
