my throat and laugh the entire time.”
“Yeah, she would. But what I was going to say is you should come over to the house later.”
“So Rae could kill me?”
“We’ll see how the rest of the day goes.”
“What do you want me over there for?”
“I want to show you the plans for next door.”
“Plans?”
“Just hear it out, Josh,” Aaron said.
“Why don’t you have the stuff with you right now?” I asked.
“Because I know better. If I get you to the house with a beer and have Toby hand you the papers, it’ll be harder to get mad at me.”
I gently slapped Aaron’s face. “I hate you.”
“I know.”
“I’ll be over later.”
I walked away and had nothing but time to kill.
I ditched the crappy coffee and traded it for my phone.
morning love. how’s the pussy situation?
I smirked as I sent the text.
It took Amelia an hour to text back.
I hate you.
That was all I needed from her.
Which was a lie.
I needed more.
Maybe more than she could possibly give me.
Aaron whispered into Toby’s ear.
Toby sat in his booster seat at the table with a bowl of animal shaped crackers and a cup of apple juice.
It was a hard-fought negotiation as he giggled because Aaron’s breath tickled his ear and neck.
“Go ahead,” Aaron said. “Say it to Uncle Josh.”
“Great opprutunty.”
I started to laugh.
“You heard the kid,” Aaron said.
“You’re using your son to get to your best friend,” I said. “That’s cold. Even for a guy like me, that’s cold.”
“Business,” he said. “I play hard.”
I stared at Toby. “Tell you what, kid. Give me one of those crackers and let me think about it.”
“Half a cracker,” Aaron said.
“You’re going to break a cracker in half?” I asked.
“No,” Aaron said. “Toby, take a bite of a cracker and give Uncle Josh the rest.”
I slapped the table and rubbed my jaw. “Toby, who’s your favorite uncle?”
“You,” he said with a smile.
“I should get the entire cracker then, right?”
“Yes,” Toby said.
“No,” Aaron said. “We can’t let him win, Toby.”
“Are you using my son in a business deal?” Rae asked as she crashed our little business meeting.
“Oh, did it get cold in here,” I said.
Rae’s head snapped and she looked at me. She touched the side of her face and threw me the middle finger.
“Can you believe this guy?” I asked her. “Using his son this way.”
“You’re no help either,” Rae said. “Come here, Toby.”
She picked Toby up.
I stood up and put my arms out. “Want to come hang with Uncle Josh?”
“Yeah!” Toby yelled.
“Hey, I have an idea,” I said. “Why don’t you two go grab dinner?”
“What?” Rae asked.
“I’m serious. You two. Go out on a date. Grab a bite. I’ll hang here with Toby.”
Rae looked at Aaron with worried eyes.
I’d be a liar if I didn’t confess that it broke my heart that Rae wasn’t sure about me. Not that I gave her a reason not to be like that.
I reached for my glass on the table. “It’s soda. With nothing but melted ice in it. I’m not a fool.”
“I beg to differ,” Rae said.
“Not with Toby,” I said. “You know that. You have to know that.”
“Right down the street,” Aaron said. “Cassidy’s place.”
“Pizza?” Rae asked.
“Come on,” I said. I reached into my back pocket and threw some cash on the table. “My treat. Get out of here. For an hour.”
“I hate that you do this to me, Josh,” Rae said.
“You’re not the first woman to say that to me,” I said. “Maybe the first time I’ve heard it from a woman who is fully clothed though…”
“I hate him,” Rae said to Aaron.
She put Toby down to the floor and she walked out of the room.
“You really don’t have a filter, do you?” Aaron asked.
“Hey, think of it this way,” I said. “I get her mad enough that she takes that out on you later. Maybe she’ll break you and the bed.”
“That’s enough,” Aaron said, and he looked at Toby.
Oh yeah.
I crouched and opened my arms. “Hear that, little buddy? It’s just you and me for a little bit. You okay with that?”
“Yay!” Toby yelled.
He ran to me and I scooped him up.
“Thank you, Josh,” Aaron said. “Please don’t…”
“Go,” I said. Aaron walked out of the dining room. I looked at Toby. “Let’s mess with your old man quick.”
“Okay,” Toby whispered.
The kid made me laugh.
I hurried into the kitchen as Aaron was at the door to the garage.
“Hey, man,” I said.
Aaron turned. “Yeah?”
“How much can he have to drink?”
“What?”
“I don’t want him getting sick. Is he a lightweight like
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