“So,” Remy started, his lips twitching, “you taking her out on a date?”
Thrusting my hand into my hair, I growled under my breath. “I don’t know. I mean, I hope so, but there was a lot of yelling still going on by the time I left.”
Remy whistled. “The dude was that pissed, he didn’t calm down? I know you almost took out some of her property and scared the shit out of them, but surely he understood you had reasons?”
“I caused a family war.” I slid down in my chair even more until my neck was resting on the back of it that only came up to my shoulder blades when I was sitting upright. It was both a defensive and sulky move, but I’d be damned if I could help it.
Remy paused as the words sank in, but then he leaned forward and cupped his hand behind his ear. “You did what now?”
“I caused a family war, okay?” I stood up abruptly, unable to keep my legs still. “The guy was yelling at me, then this woman came out of the house who looked just like Addy, so I’m assuming it’s her mom. She took all of five seconds to figure out what was going on and then laid into the guy. They were yelling at each other in different languages—given that there was a lot of pointing at me, I assume I was the topic—and then Mrs. Valtolina came out onto the porch, yelled hello at me, and then started laying into the guy as well.”
Remy blinked rapidly. “What did Adrienne do?”
“She was just watching them like I was. I’ve never heard an argument in two different languages before. I don’t even know if they knew what the other one was saying.”
“Mrs. V loves you after we helped repair that leak on her roof a couple of months ago. I’m surprised she didn’t tell Addy to speak to you.”
I flinched slightly. “After Mrs. V screamed at the guy, she stood behind the woman with her arms crossed and just nodded, like she understood what she was saying. I figured I’d caused a mini-riot, and it’d be safer for me to come home and approach Adrienne another day.”
Remy choked on the mouthful of beer he’d been swallowing and began hacking to clear his lungs. It wasn’t attractive, but I’d been in his shoes—that shit stung, and the hacking was an immediate response for your body to fix it.
“You just left?” he gasped, coughing again as he thumped his chest harshly.
“What else was I meant to do, man? There was screaming, and some of it was in Italian.” That much I knew, which likely meant the woman was doing it in Malaysian, given what I knew about Addy’s family. “I think that was her parents, you know.”
He stared at me incredulously, letting out small coughs periodically. “You think?”
Sinking back into my chair, I glumly watched the flames dancing. “What do I do, Remy? I’ve done everything I can to get her out of my mind for six damn months. I mean, who thinks that much about someone they only spent a couple of hours with in a crowded bar? It’s dumb, but that’s what happened. Then the first day I feel like I can cope with commercials and fucking jingles, I see my tormentor at my neighbor’s house and almost run her over. Who does that?”
“The same guy who causes a family war after it.”
Glaring at him, I drained my bottle and set it down on my right side while reaching for a full one from my left. Yeah, I’d come prepared. I needed this after the day I’d had.
“Why are you suddenly so happy? Normally you wouldn’t say much and just grunt and shrug your shoulders.”
“After that story, you expect me to stay mute? I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t laugh or have something to say after hearing it.”
“Well, go back to being normal,” I muttered, waving a hand at him. “I don’t like this new chatty version of you. It’s not helpful.”
This time when he threw his head back to bark out a laugh, he did it with enough force to tip his chair—which he’d been leaning back in—over, landing with a thud on his back.
Unfortunately it didn’t stop him laughing, but it did distract him for a few moments while he tried to catch his breath and stop laughing at the same time. That allowed me to finish my new beer and pick up the last full one I had waiting. I may need to drown my sorrows, but I wasn’t willing to get drunk and risk having a hangover in the sun tomorrow. Hangovers were usually killers but in the Floridian sun? It was like a death sentence or the worst form of torture ever.
Finally extricating himself from the chair, Remy rolled onto his knees and slowly got to his feet, his chest heaving as he tried to gulp in oxygen.