“This is a beautiful house,” she said. “Thank you for having me.”
Deb made a tsk sound. “Oh, I’m glad you came. The house has been too quiet this week.”
Seth wrapped his arm around Deb’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. Between me and Vince, you’ll be searching up and down for earplugs soon enough.” He winked at her and we followed them into the house.
“Hey, Liam,” Nicole, Seth’s fiancée, said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you. Wish it was under better circumstances,” she added in a quieter tone.
“You too. And me too.”
The house had an open floor plan with a large great room that had a three-story view of the mountains at the back of the property. And through those windows, I could see Chad fiddling on his phone as he looked at the grill, confusion written in the wrinkles between his eyebrows. Bob stood beside him, scratching his balding head and looking even more confused.
“Hey, Liam.” Chad’s wife, Naomi, stood from the couch and came over, wrapping me in a half hug.
“Hey yourself,” I said, hugging her back.
“Oh, hi,” she said to Tori.
“I’m Tori.” She went to shake Naomi’s hand, but Naomi held open her arms.
“I’m Naomi, and I’m a hugger.”
“It’s a chronic condition,” Seth told Tori out of the side of his mouth.
Naomi rolled her eyes. “Ignore him,” she said to Tori. “He’s just bitter because he lost his Nerts winning streak to me.”
“I’m not bitter,” Seth said, his mouth in a flat line.
“You’re bitter. Trust me, I can tell. When I beat him at Monopoly, he didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day,” Nicole said, nudging him and causing us to laugh.
Tori grinned back at Naomi. “You play Nerts too?” she asked. “I grew up playing it, but no one else ever knows what it is.”
“Are you good at it?” Seth asked.
“Pretty good.”
“Well, then,” Seth said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Tori with challenge in his eyes. “Tori is not invited to play the next round of Nerts.”
Nicole laughed and shoved him. “Why don’t you go help Bob and Chad with the grill and leave us alone to chat?”
“Uh, there’s a reason I’m in here and not out there,” Seth said looking pointedly out the window. “You know I’m not good at that stuff.”
“I got it,” I said, taking the beer Deb handed me. “Thanks, Deb.”
“What do you want, Tori?”
“Oh, water probably. Need to keep my wits about me if I’m to engage in a Nerts battle later on.” She winked at Seth and earned a high five from Nicole.
Seth shook his head and said, “I mean, I’m pretty sure I said you’re not invited.” I knew Seth’s humor was on the dry, sarcastic side and not always immediately obvious to outsiders. But Tori took it in stride.
“I know,” Tori said, and a smile curled her mouth. “I heard you.”
Nicole whooped and Naomi laughed. “Finally, someone who isn’t afraid to challenge Mr. Competitive over here,” Nicole said, bumping her shoulder into her fiancé. “Just be warned, he’s a baby when he loses.”
“‘When’?” Seth asked. “That implies I lose a lot.”
“You’re right; it does.” Nicole raised her eyebrows and took a drink of Seth’s beer.
“I don’t know how much more my pride can take,” Seth said, turning to me. “Come on, let’s figure this grill out before Chad blows up the house on accident.”
“Oh, he’s not that accident-prone,” Naomi said, flapping her hand.
“Really?” Seth asked. “Remember when he insisted he knew how to drive a dirt bike. He climbed on Will’s two-fifty and flew right into the ditch with it?”
Naomi laughed.
“To be fair,” I interjected and pointed the neck of my beer in Naomi’s direction, “I’m pretty sure he was trying to impress a certain someone.”
“Oh, are you and Chad childhood sweethearts?” Tori asked, giving an appreciative smile to Deb when she handed her a glass of ice water.
“Sort of.”
“What she means,” Seth said, “is that she hung around us boys a lot growing up until one of us liked her enough to want to keep her around.”
Naomi playfully swatted Seth. “I’m Will’s cousin,” she explained. “So, I was around a lot growing up.”
“Yeah, and her stalking finally wore Chad down long enough for him to marry and impregnate her.”
“Oh, you’re terrible,” Naomi said with a laugh. She put her hands on his back and pushed him toward the back door. “Go, please, let’s not blow up the house