Page 29 of Slow Burn
Yeah, no doubt there was something very wrong with me.
"Oh, I love your accent," she cooed when Griffin spoke to her. My gaze flicked between the two of them, molars grinding together. I didn't like this. Any of it. This woman was messing with my equilibrium. She'd waltzed up to this fence with her honey-sweet voice and whiskey eyes and made me batshit crazy.
That was the only explanation I had for doing what I did next.
With a grunt or maybe it was a growl, I thrust her dog into her arms. "He keeps coming here because you keep leaving—" angrily, I stabbed my index finger in the direction of her door "—that thing open. It's not safe. Not for you and not for that damn rat of yours. And it annoys me!" By the time I was done with my little tirade, I was breathing hard.
Then the look on her face registered and a punch to the balls would've hurt less. She looked confused and so damn devastated. Licking her lips, she shut her eyes and swallowed hard. The action drawing my gaze to the slender column of her throat.
I wanted slide my fingers along her skin, curl my hand around the back of her neck and—
"Really?" she whispered. "We're back to that?" Her hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose. I knew I had to apologize; the words just wouldn't come. Like an idiot, I stared as she slowly opened her eyes and shook her head. "You know what? Whatever. I don't have the energy to deal with you." Without another word from either me or her, she pivoted and fled to the safety of her house.
"What in the seven hells did I just watch?" Griffin's voice sounded so suddenly; my entire body jerked.
I scrubbed a palm over my face and breathed out a deep, heavy sigh. "Hell if I know." My gaze flicked to Maddie's house once more before I turned my back to it. "I need a drink. How 'bout you?"
He stared at me for a moment before saying, "If your couch is available, I won't say no." Pulling his phone from his pocket, he swiped the screen to life. "I'll call Rae to let her know I'll be home tomorrow."
Leaving him outside, I stalked to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Jack and two tumblers. When I returned, he'd made himself comfortable in one of the Adirondacks facing the ocean.
I slumped into the one beside him and after pouring two fingers' worth of whiskey into both glasses, I handed him one and set the bottle on the ground. Leaning back in my seat, I savored the feeling of the alcohol burning its way down my throat.
"So what's the deal with the pair of you?" my friend asked after a long stretch of silence.
"Nothing," I muttered into the glass.
He sat up and studied me to the point where I felt uncomfortable. "You like her." There was no question in his voice; he was stating a fact. A very accurate one.
Scoffing, I looked him in the eye. "Have you already forgotten the exchange you witnessed moments ago? There's no like between me and her."
"Yeah, I'm not buying it." His all-knowing gaze pinned me with a hard look. "You know Angie would want—"
"Don't talk to me about what my dead wife would want," I growled.
Griffin, ever unfazed by my antics, shook his head. "As much as it hurts me to say this, you need to hear it. Angie might not be amongst the living anymore, but you are. Don't waste what is left of your life by shutting down any chance at happiness you might have." He picked up his drink and settled back against the Adirondack as if he hadn't just given me a shit ton to think about.
14
MADDIE
Eyes squeezed shut, I pressed two fingers against my temples and massaged.
"You're supposed to be the cool one," the reason behind my sudden headache whined.
Cracking my eyes open, I stared at the seven-year-old looking at me like I'd just taken away his ice cream. Which coincidentally I had. But it was eight in the morning, and his mother would kill me if I let him have it for breakfast.
Or at the very least, she'd never let me watch him when she ran errands again. As much as this little boy drove me batty, he made me happy in equal amounts. He was by far the brightest light in the Young family.
My hands came to rest on my hips, my uninjured foot slowly tap-tapping against the wooden floor. "Three scoops of ice cream and half of the bottle of chocolate sauce is most definitely not healthy. Your mom will have both our butts if you eat that."
My nephew, Tommy, narrowed his hazel eyes—the same shade as my sister and mine. "But if you don't tell her and I don't either, then how will she know?"
I bent over, putting us at eye-level. Lifting two fingers in the space between us, I motioned for him to come closer. He leaned in eagerly, more than ready to hear whatever secret I was about to divulge.
The sharp edges of my teeth dug into my cheeks as I tried to stop myself from smiling. "Moms know everything!" I said very loudly.
Tommy's little face contorted; I would've given anything to snap a picture of his sullen expression. "Not cool, Auntie Maddie." He crossed his arms in front of him and gave me the biggest pout he could. "Not cool."
