placed it high on the bookshelf out of her reach. If dogs could curse, Petunia would have rattled off a blue streak.
Will leaned down to pet her. “What is this thing? It almost looks like a dog, and yet it’s totally distorted.”
“That, my good man, is an eating machine. Hamburgers. Cookies. Entire chickens. Spare auto parts. Doesn’t matter, she’ll eat it, especially if it’s coated in sugar.” I gave her a kiss. She smelled like corn chips.
“Her ears are long.” You could tell Aidan was dying to touch one.
“And soft. Go ahead. She loves to have her ears stroked.”
He did so gently. “Why come they’re so long?”
“Supposedly, so she can sweep more smell toward her nose. But really it’s so she’ll be able to collect the last bits of food from her bowl.” And I showed him how Petunia could easily suck on their ends.
Aidan chortled. “I want a dog like this.”
Petunia bayed in approval.
Will said, “I thought you wanted to use the bathroom.”
“Oh, yeah, right.” And hopping up, Aidan followed my directions to the end of the hall.
“Close the door!” Will yelled. Then, as way of explanation, said, “We live in a house of men.”
“Oddly enough, I live in a house of only women. My grandmother, mother, and me.”
He smiled, his teeth a blazing white. Which was when it hit me that this guy, who was by far the hottest member of the male species I’d ever seen off a screen—J.Crew looks, square jaw, gorgeous bone structure, and those eyes—was also standing in our kitchen, where I frequently whipped up my disgusting creations, like pizza-bagel egg sandwiches with hot sauce and salsa.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Nah, thanks. I snuck some of Aidan’s candy.” His gaze drifted to Marmie’s half-open bottle of wine and leftover cheese and bread from dinner. “So, where’s your father?”
Adults cringe when they hear this question because they feel sorry for me, the half-orphaned child. But having known nothing but a brilliant absentee dad with zero directional sense, it’s really no big deal. I find it kind of funny.
“My parents broke up before I was born, though since they’re both scientists, I’ve long held suspicions that I’m indeed an alien.”
Will laughed.
I said, “And your tale of woe?”
“Mom’s in L.A.”
“Oh. Okay.” Kind of odd. “Permanently?”
He stroked Petunia under her flabby chin. “We don’t know. My parents separated last year when Dad got this offer to teach at Tufts. Mom didn’t want to shut down her interior decorating business in California and Dad wanted to return to the East Coast, so we’re doing a test run. Can the three Blake men survive on their own?”
Already I had a million questions. Why didn’t he and Aidan stay with their mother, for starters. But I didn’t think it right to ask, considering we’d talked maybe twice.
Will stood, shook Petunia hair off his cape, and lowered his voice. “Aidan doesn’t know this, but actually it was Mom who wanted the break. From us.”
Geesh. That was harsh. I mean, my mother also lived thousands of miles away, but that was because she worked as an internationally renowned nerd, not because she was in need of some “me” time. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s L.A. It does weird things to people sometimes. Dad and I are hoping that she’ll snap out of it.”
The toilet flushed and I decided it might be wise to change the subject. “And how’s Aidan liking Boston?”
“So-so. He really misses our home and his buddies. He hasn’t been sleeping in his own bed since we got here, so he’s been sleeping with me.”
A vision of Will Blake in bed popped into my head and I blushed, rushing back to the safe, neutral subject of his brother. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Mostly a bad thing. He kicks constantly and tends to wake up with the sun. Then he drags me out of bed to watch cartoons. I’m seriously sleep-deprived.”
I could not be held accountable for my actions if someone dragged me out of my bed at dawn to watch cartoons. “May I just be so bold as to say that sucks?”
“You may. But if sleeping with me helps Aidan adjust, then it’s worth it. That’s one reason why I’m going to Denton instead of a boarding school—so I can be here for him. That said, I’m majorly bumming about leaving L.A. and . . .”
Here comes the part where he mentions a hot girlfriend.
“. . . anyway, it’s kind of weird going to a school where you don’t know