Page 52 of Knockout (Whiskey Dolls 2)

“Wha—how—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My pathetic attempt at a denial was cut off with a loud thump, followed by a muffled, “Ow,damn it,” carrying from my bedroom. All of a sudden I felt like a teenager being caught sneaking a girl out his bedroom window. So much for not letting Gram in on what was happening. The damn woman had the nose of a bloodhound; she could sniffanythingout. When the hell would I learn?

“Good morning, dear,” Gram called out as she blew a puff of air across her steaming mug.

There was a moment of silence, then Layla’s hesitant voice came through the closed bedroom door. “Good morning, Sybil. How are you?”

“Just fine, sweetie. Just fine indeed. Please don’t feel the need to come out and say hello. I’m afraid all your clothes are currently scattered around my grandson’s living room.”

Well shit. My fault for forgetting I’d stripped her naked in the living room the night before and failed to hide the evidence.

“Oh. Y-yeah. Um, sorry about that.”

“Nothing to apologize for at all. You’re both consenting adults. But seeing as your relationship has finally taken the turn I’ve been anticipating, I assume you won’t have a problem coming to the family reunion next weekend.” It wasn’t a question, and I had a feeling Layla knew that as well as I did.

“Uh...”

At the hemming and hawing that followed, Gram set her mug down and clapped happily. “Fantastic! Then it’s all set.” I heard another thump from the bedroom and imagined it was Layla banging her forehead against the door.

Gram lifted her purse off the kitchen counter and hung the strap over her shoulder. “I’m off then. That darling Antonio is waiting downstairs for me. We’re off to the farmers market. I’m going to introduce him to cheese that doesn’t come in single slice plastic wrap. He’s very excited about it.”

“Who the fuck is Antonio?” I asked as I followed her toward the front door.

“My Uber driver. He’s working his way through college. I told him we’d stop off and get him some essentials. You know how those college kids live. He needs a well-balanced diet.”

How in the name of God was this my life?

“Gram, you can’t—”

She spun back around and gave me a gentle pat on my cheek. “Oh, and BTW—” She actuallysaidBTW— “I informed everyone in the family newsletter that Layla was your fiancée. You’re having a spring wedding. Don’t forget that. Toodle-oo!”

And with that, she whirled out the door like a tornado, leaving destruction in its wake.

That was it. After this morning I was mostdefinitelyputting her in a home! And I was going to tell them she was a danger to herself and others so they’d hopefully lock her up in a padded cell and throw away the key.

23

Layla

As soon as I heard the front door click shut, I yanked open the bedroom door and scuttled down the hall as quickly as I could with Jude’s sheet wrapped around me, part of it trailing behind me and another part tangling up in my feet.

“What in the world just happened?” I squeaked as I reached the mouth of the short hallway that dumped out into the living room.

Jude was standing at the front door, his eyes wide, his jaw gaping open like he was trying to catch flies. He blinked at the door slowly, like he was waiting for someone to pop out and announce everything that had happened in the past handful of minutes was just a joke. Honestly, I was kind of thinking the same thing was going to happen any minute now.

We both stood there in complete silence, and when it became apparent that we weren’t being punked or what the hell ever, he finally spoke. “Fuck if I know.”

Clutching the sheet to me with one hand, I raked the other through my messy, tangled mop of sex hair, stopping when I came upon a particularly gnarly knot and nearly ripped a chunk out. “Okay, so...that really happened.”

“Apparently,” he deadpanned.

I was still struggling to wrap my head around it all. “Family reunion?”

Jude’s lips pulled into a wince and he rolled his shoulders like he was trying to work the tension out of them. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

My eyes bugged out and my brows lifted toward my hairline. “Fiancée?”

“That was ridiculous. I know that. I want you to know that I don’t expect you to do any of that. I’d never ask that. It’s just fucking cruel to subject you to those gargoyles.”

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