Page 50 of Best Frenemies

“Well…I guess that only leaves me with one choice,” she answers, and I quirk a questioning brow in her direction.

“And what’s that?”

“Kick you out of this condo for good.”

I laugh. “Good luck trying with that bum foot.”

“I could use the left one.”

“But then what would you stand on?”

“Fine. I guess I’ll have to utilize Plan B, then.”

“I hope Plan B doesn’t involve torture.”

“Just the metaphorical kind. I’m going to come up with an equally awful nickname for you.” She winks at me. “Tit for tat, you know?”

“I give you free rein to do your worst,Katy Cat,” I answer playfully and sit down in the chair across from hers.

“Okay,” she responds, and a mischievous grin crests the corners of her mouth as she picks up her fork from the table. “Shall we dig in,Mack-N-Cheese?”

“Mack-N-Cheese?” I bark out a laugh. “That’s your worst?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m just getting started,Big Mack.”

“Already been done, babe.”

She eyes me curiously.

“You utilized that one in the ER.”

“Oh God, I really don’t want to talk about all the things I said and did when I was high on morphine.”

Instantly, I think,she probably doesn’t want to talk about what Vicodin and a hot bath make her say and do either.But I definitely keep it to myself.

“Next time I have an emergency, they’re going to have to sedate me, Mack-aroni,” she adds and then giggles again. A real, girlish peal of laughter that leaves her pretty little lips like a song and urges a smile to damn near lift my cheeks to my ears.

“So, are all my nicknames going to be food-based?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it’s highly likely, Mack-aroon.”

I can’t not laugh at the last one.

Damn, this woman, she sure is something.

Once you peel away her prim-and-proper and always-professional layers, her center is soft and gooey and fucking fun.And sexy as hell when shereallylets herself go.

Katy twirls her fork on her empty plate, and I smile at the simplicity of her fidget. It took us an hour and a half and two microwave heat-ups to get through our plates between conversation, and I don’t know that I’ve ever had a more interesting night.

We’ve certainly come a long way from the first day we found ourselves in this condo together. Her smiles come easily, and her laughter rings off in waves of chest-seizing melodies. I take a quick swig of the beer I picked up at the market earlier and pause for her reaction to my explanation of my family dynamic.

“Wait a minute… So you’re only a few years older than me, but your parents could basically be my parents’ parents?”

I laugh. “Well…if I followed that sentence correctly, then I think yes. They had me fifteen years after they had my sister, Lizzy. Unexpectedly.”

“Wow.”

“It was great, honestly. I never knew a time when I didn’t have someone interested in what I was doing. My family is supportive in a way that made me want to be supportive of other kids who maybe didn’t get such a lucky draw.”

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