Should I have let her stay upset?Would it have been better if I’d not tried to comfort her at all?
Maybe I should have said screw it and given in to the almost irresistible desire to kiss her.No, not that.It wasn’t the right time.She was upset, and I was comforting her.It’s not my dick’s fault he got confused when Maya’s sexy curves pressed against me.To him, having her in my arms meanttime to get hard.But that wasmyproblem to deal with, not hers.
And then there was that damn phone.It rang, and her whole demeanour changed.
But who could it have been?Ex-boyfriend?Bill collector?Parole officer?
If Maya wouldn’t tell me who had made her so upset, there was only one thing left to do: ask Nana.
“Not a chance in hell, you little shit.”
“But Nana,” I started, only to snap my mouth shut in resignation.I knew Nana well enough to know that if she refused to tell me, there was nothing I could do to change her mind.
“Don’t youbut Naname, kiddo.If she had wanted you to know, she’d have told you.”
She made a good point.Even so, curiosity was eating me alive.Who the hell kept putting that scowl on Maya’s face?If I could figure it out, I could make it stop.
“Fine.”She didn’t want to talk about Maya?That was okay.I’d question her about another thing that had been bugging me.“How about you tell me about this memory thing, then?And maybe after that you can tell me why you hired Maya and moved her in two years ago without even mentioning it.I didn’t even know you’d retired until I showed up and found a stranger running the store instead of you.Care to explain that?”
She pursed her lips at me, guilt and mischief dancing in her eyes.“I forgot?”
“Bullshit.”
“Pfft.I don’t answer to you, kid.”She smiled.“But if you must know, you were busy working for that god-awful Chambers man.So I hired someone and let her move into the second apartment.I didn’t want to bother you with the details.It’s not that serious.”With a flick of her wrist, she changed the subject.“Enough about me.Let’s talk about you.How’s the job hunt going?Have you given any thought to ditching marketing and moving here for good?”
I chuckled.Nana had never understood what I did for work—or why I did it.Honestly, the money was the important part to me.I’d decided a long time ago that I would do whatever it took to pay Nana back faster.
“I’m not sure the Pattersons want me here for that long, Nana.Hell, I’m not sure I can survive any more helpful tips from Mrs.Patterson about annotatingHot Dudes, Hotter Planet.Did you know she takes insanely detailed notes?Explicitnotes.”I didn’t know how to explain it, but some of her notes were even worse than Mr.Patterson’s sketches.I was still contemplating bleaching my eyeballs after reading a few of her moredetailedtexts.
“Don’t be such a prude.Being advanced in years doesn’t mean we can’t get our sexual engines revving anymore.”
Ew.
“I heard that.”
I huffed a surprised laugh.“You did not.I said it in my head.”
“It was written all over your face,” she said.“Now, speaking of revving engines…”
I groaned, pressing my palms into my eyes.“No more talk aboutsexualengines, Nana.I can’t take it anymore.”
“Not me, smartass,” she said with a laugh.“I’m talking about you and Maya.Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you moon over her.”Resting her chin on her folded hands, she fluttered her eyelashes comically.“And the way you stare into the distance like a lovesick fool every time you talk about her.”
I spluttered.“Nana—there’s nothing—I don’t—It’s not like that,” I finally choked out.
“Mm hmm.”She narrowed her eyes.“Promise me you won’t mess around with her.She’s been through some difficult times and needs a man who will be all in.She’s not one of your flings.”
“Nana.How many times do I have to tell you I’m not like that?”I ran a hand through my hair and changed the subject.“I’m worried about Maya.Every time that phone rings, it’s like she can’t decide whether to scream or cry, and I want to help her.”Ineededto help her.“That’s all.”
“Fine,” she relented.“But I’m still not telling you shit.You wanna know?Ask Maya.”
She picked up her abandoned book.“Now, if you don’t mind, I have some fat, cold, alien meat sticks to get back to.”
“And that’s my cue.”I stood abruptly, barely suppressing a gag.“I’ll see you tonight, Nana.Greg’s arriving this afternoon, so he’ll come too.”
She ignored me, already engrossed in her book.
I shuddered.You’re scarred for life, Liam.You will never recover from this.
