I’m gonna be sick. “Cindy, nothing like that happened. I really did get a stain on my shirt—a salsa stain!—and he loaned me this shirt. That’s it. Is everyone really gossiping about me sleeping with Micah?"
"We don’t blame you, Iris. Micah’s hot! If any of us were single, we’d be all over that in a heartbeat.”
“Cindy, he’s a widower! The poor man’s wife hasn’t even been dead a year.”
She shrugs. “So?He’sstill got a pulse, and I’m sure he has needs like every other man.”
I can’t with this. The last thing I needed was the whole HOA discussing my hypothetical love life. Micah probably has been avoiding me because ofthis, not the shirt incident. Now I’ve got a metric fuckton of damage control to do, and I haven’t the first clue how to fix it.
“Look, while I’d love to discuss this more, I have to get going. Micah probably wants his shirt back, and I’ve got a ton of stuff to do around the house this weekend.”
“Sure, you do.” Cindy turns on her heel and stalks back to her house.
My feet drag as I walk up Micah’s sidewalk to his door. I feel like I’m doing a walk of shame, and I never even got laid. This is terrible. I’ve been living here for a couple of years, and this is the first time I’ve been the center of a true scandal. Karen’s probably got a target painted on my back now, just waiting for a reason to fine me for some imagined slight.
I press the doorbell with a shaking hand and wait for my punishment.
To my surprise, when Micah opens the door, he’s got a genuine smile on his full lips. He’s wearing a black wifebeater and jeans, his tribal arm tattoos on display. Hailey peeks around his leg and waves.
“Iris! What brings you over?”
I hold up the aforementioned shirt. “I realized I was holding this hostage, and I thought I’d better return it. Thanks for letting me borrow it, even if it’s caused quite the stir in the neighborhood rumor mill.”
Micah pinches the bridge of his nose with one hand as he takes the shirt from me. “I’m so sorry. Did Karen get to you?”
“By way of Cindy, yeah. I guess she’s too busy to butt in herself.” The subject matter makes me wish I hadn’t come over, so I change it. “You might want to wash that. I forgot to throw it in with my stuff last week. It’s probably pretty gamy.”
He raises a brow and, to my horror, takes a deep sniff of the tee. “Smells good to me. It’s not like you had it on for long, right? I’m sure it’s fine.”
He has no right to make smelling a shirt look that hot. “Well, I should go. You’ve probably got stuff to do. Dinner or something.” I’m mumbling and babbling, but I can’t seem to stop myself.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Huh?”
There’s that grin again. “Dinner. Have you eaten yours yet?”
I shake my head and try to fight the blush creeping into my cheeks. “Nope. Just logged off for the day. I haven’t had a chance to see what’s in the fridge.”
“Well, it’s not much, but if you don’t mind dinosaur chicken nuggets with mac and cheese on the side, you’re more than welcome to join us.” Micah reaches down to ruffle Hailey’s hair, which for once isn’t in an elaborate braid. “I’d make something else, but I already promised the munchkin here her favorite for Friday.”
I find myself smiling back, even though I’m still more than a little mortified at holding onto his shirt for so long. “I’d love to. Dinosaur nuggets sound amazing.”
“Great!” He steps aside and gestures for me to come in. “Have a seat in the living room. I’ve got a movie on for Hailey. Hope you like the classics. It’sLand Before Timetonight.” He winks. “As you can tell, there’s a theme.”
“C’mon, Miss Iris!” Hailey grabs my hand and pulls me inside. “We can sit in my beanbag. It’s big enough for a grownup.”
I let Hailey drag me through the house to the living room. She waits rather impatiently for me to get situated in the beanbag, then hops up next to me and snuggles close. I’m not sure what to do with a tiny human clinging to me, so I just put an arm around her little shoulders. The movie appears to have just started, with the opening credits playing.
The kitchen timer dings just as Littlefoot’s mother dies. Hailey seems unfazed, so I figure she’s seen this movie before. When I was a kid that moment tore me up, and I didn’t have a recently deceased mother to make it that much more painful. She’s resilient, that’s for sure. I’d probably be a hot mess watching something like this if I were her.
Micah brings in the plates and hands Hailey and me ours right there on the beanbag. I guess he doesn’t care if it gets spilled on, though I do note that he pairs tonight’s dinner with a white wine rather than a red for me. Probably trying to mitigate another stain disaster.
“I’m surprised you let her watch this. I’d think the mom thing would be upsetting.”
He shrugs and plops down on the couch. “It’s one of her favorites. I figure whatever makes her happy, y’know? The scene doesn’t seem to bother her.”
“No problems withBambiorThe Lion King?”
