“Excellent.” Cynthia smiled a little too widely at them, and Xavier wondered who had actually been manipulating who, exactly.
Auggie gave a tiny shrug. “Mom, a friend of mine wants to meet you. I was talking about you, and he asked if you were as good-looking as me, so I said, hell no. My mom’s a straight-up honey.” She laughed at Cynthia’s blush. “I’m happy to give him your number if it’s okay with you.”
Their mother looked happier. “Sure. If it’ll make you two stop nagging, then I’m all for it.”
Xavier gave her a stern look. “Nagging? Really? Because we care?”
“Don’t use that hurt look on me, boy. I perfected that pout with your father years ago.”
He grinned. “And just like Dad, you still fall for it.”
“Oh. For that, you’re doing the dishes.”
Auggie stuck out her tongue at him.
“And Auggie, you’re drying.”
“Crap.”
Xavier laughed and spent the remainder of the meal telling his mother about the latest advice cartoon he’d drawn and the bevy ofDear Aunt Truthemails they continued to receive.
But he made no mention of Justine, though she continued to remain in his thoughts throughout the meal.
And he didn’t understand why he couldn’t get the sight of her fine ass andamazingbody, loosely covered in that old, overlarge tee-shirt, out of his mind’s eye.
CHAPTER 7
Monday evening, Xavier sat in the courtyard by the fountain in their apartment building, sketching in his notepad, and inhaled the fragrant scent of sweet peas, honeysuckle, and lilacs. To add to the variety in color, the red rhododendrons added another burst of vibrance to the verdant garden.
The fountain trickled, and a cool breeze eased the warmth of the encroaching summer, a surprising heat wave hitting them early.
He sat at a picnic table, enjoying the darkening blue sky with the umbrella closed, and watched Top kneeling, getting in a last bit of weeding and pruning around the bushes in one corner of the courtyard.
“Can feel you watching me,” the older guy grumbled. In his mid-fifties, Max Dixon wore his salt and pepper hair military short. That gray hair and the wise eyes in his brown, craggy face the only things showing his age. He still maintained an incredibly fit body and had the spring in his step of a man in his prime.
He’d retired as a Master Sergeant from the United States Marine Corps a few years ago and had moved into the TuscanCosmo Apartments to serve as the building’s caretaker. He didn’t say much, but he wasn’t as stern and uncompromising as he outwardly appeared.
“I like watching you work, Top. Makes me feel relaxed.”
The older man grunted in amusement. Xavier had gotten pretty good at reading the guy and knew Top actually liked him. Not just because Xavier was an ideal tenant, but because Xavier had served in the USMC as well, back when he’d been young and stupid.
Top glanced over his shoulder, saw Xavier grinning, and snorted. “Pain in my ass.”
“So it’s been said. Tell me, if you had to ask advice about something, what would it be?”
Top turned back to his work. “Hmm. I think I’d ask how to get my shower to stop leaking. Because I replaced what I thought was a damaged O-ring but nothing changed.”
“No, I meant a relationship question. Are you dating anyone?” He hadn’t seen a ring on the man’s finger.
“Son, I’m not interested. No offense.”
Xavier snorted. “That’s not why I’m asking.”
“Maybe I’m married.”
“Are you?”
Top sighed. “No. And you’re still talking to me.”
