Page 91 of Skate the Line

“Do you think he’s good-looking?”

I pause.

Maybe I’ll wait a few more seconds.

“Nana!” Sunny chastises her.

Before anyone else utters a word about my looks, the faint voice of a woman filters through the computer.

“I have to go, sweetheart. It’s time for my breathing treatment.”

Strolling farther into the kitchen, Sunny snaps her head over to me but quickly looks away.

I swear her cheeks get pinker.

“Oh, wait. Is that him?”

Sunny is flustered. Her lip gets trapped beneath her teeth, and she mutters, “Uh-huh.”

“Hello,” I say, leaning down toward the laptop. She isn’t visible on the screen, but I know she can see me. “I’m Rhodes.”

The older woman laughs, but it’s more of a rasp. “Well, I have my answer.”

I grin, knowing what she’s referring to. I glance at Sunny. Her cheeks aredefinitelypink.

“Okay, bye, Nana. Love you.”

“Love you, sweetheart. Bye-bye.”

Sunny quickly closes her laptop. Her lips flatten, and she crosses her arms defensively.

As large as my kitchen is, it feels small with us both in here. I round the island and eye her from across the thick stone.

“Well?” I say, crossing my arms to mimic her.

Her big, brown eyes shift away from me. “Well what?”

“Do you?”

I’m not sure what made me ask her. Curiosity? In need of my ego getting stroked? Desperation to know what’s going on in her head?

“Do I what?” she asks.

Don’t do it.

I lean against the counter behind me and cross my legs at the ankles. “Do you think I’m good-looking?”

I did it.

Sunny’s pretty rose-colored lips part. “How?—”

I smirk, and she scowls at me.

“You were eavesdropping!”

I push off the counter. “It’s not my fault you were on a video call in the kitchen. I was only coming in here for my beer.”

“Yeah right.”Her eye roll excites me.

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