“Stop or my head will explode from all the compliments.” He ignored his sister’s laughter. “Order us an extra-large pie. One half extra cheese and?—”
“—the other all the toppings. I got it.”
Xavier grabbed them some beer while Auggie called in their order. In the other room, on a drawing desk, sat his current project. A cartoon to go with the advice column he’d been working on. It was silly, he knew, but he got a kick out of drawing out snippets of relationship dramas and problems.
Ever since Aunt Truth had decided to take him on as a silent partner, he’d been answering the advice column forSearching the Needle Weekly, a free weekly paper and streaming channel that had just sold Aunt Truth to an affiliate for some serious money. Now he had more work with better pay. Nothing close to his previous salary as an LMFT—Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist—but he didn’t need the money. His father’s lifeinsurance and investments had helped the entire family avoid deep debt for the rest of their lives.
He brought the beers to the table and watched Auggie surf through channels. They settled on a reality medical program.
She grimaced. “Ew. How the hell do you get a bike chain stuck in your thigh?’
They both cringed as the doctors proceeded to remove said chain, but they didn’t look away. Fascinated by other people’s messes, Xavier thought with humor.
An hour later, as they nibbled on pizza while watching a true crime show, Auggie said, “I know a guy I can set Mom up with. He’s nice and built like a brick.”
“Uh, I don’t know that she’s into beefy guys.”
Auggie frowned. “What’s wrong with working out?”
“Nothing. But Mom’s a little more cerebral.”
“Stereotype much?” Auggie huffed. “You know, we’re not all meatheads.”
“I know that. But I’ve also met a lot of your friends. Exactly which one do you think’s good enough for Mom?”
She opened her mouth and closed it. “Okay, so not Josh. Or Abe. But a few other names come to mind. I’ll feel them out first though.”
“Fine. I’ll do the same. I have a few guys from work that might fit. Problem is, few of them know how to leave their therapist hats at the office.”
Auggie arched a brow. “Isn’t that what Christine said about you?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “But she was just annoying.” He chuckled at Auggie’s exaggerated nod. “Hold on. I’ll get some paper and a pen so we can make a list.”
So he spent the majority of his Friday night with his twin drafting a dating list for their mother. Though he didn’t think any of the guys would work, at least it was a start.
And while he wrote down names, he tried not to think about how sad his circumstances had become that even his mother was gearing up to have a social life more exciting than his own.
CHAPTER 3
Justine woke up with the hangover from hell. “I hate you, Katie,” she mumbled into her pillow then swore as banging at her front door stopped her from going back to sleep. She mumbled a slew of curses and stomped her way to the front door, only pausing to see the time.
Eight-thirty in the morning. An ungodly hour by anyone’s account.
“What?” she snapped as she opened the door wide, expecting to see Katie.
Not the hottie from 2C.
He stood in shorts and a tee-shirt holding two coffees and a bag that smelled delicious. He also looked as if he’d stepped out of Katie’sSexy Men with Coffeecalendar.
She looked down at her oversizedFriends Don’t Let Friends Beer Goggletee-shirt that had seen better days. The neck had been stretched so that the shirt hung off a bare shoulder. It also barely hid her short-short pajama bottoms from view. Her hair stood on end, though she’d at least wiped off her makeup from the night prior, so she shouldn’t look like a goth racoon staring at male perfection.
He tried to bite back a smile, but she saw it and scowled.
He wiped the smile from his face and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for yesterday. I came over with a peace offering. Too early?”
A waft of coffee and sugar hit her, and she tugged the drink holder from his hands. “Come on in.”
He closed the door behind him and followed her into the tiny kitchen. Aunt Rosie had an eclectic sense of design, the open kitchen and living room small but furnished tastefully with smaller teak pieces accompanied by light fabrics. It felt like one of those tiny IKEA rooms but was expensively appointed with high quality pieces. Minimalist with everything in its place. As opposed to the opulent bedroom, full of different shades of reds and pinks and clutter.
