Catastrophe Queen

“Huh. Maybe I should take away the whiskey and see if the cigarettes finish her off,” she muttered, grabbing her own glass. She sipped. “Sorry. It’s a rough week.”

“Don’t worry about it. If I had to live with my elderly relatives, I’d drink, too.” I grinned and leaned against the table.

She tipped the glass toward me. “I like you. If you weren’t her boss, I’d take you as a son-in-law.”

“Mom!”

I burst out laughing as Helen winked at me. “She’s fine. You should have heard what your aunt was saying.” I turned to look at Mallory and paused.

Holy shit.

Her dark hair fell around her shoulders in loose curls. Her blue eyes seemed brighter than usual, thanks to the dark colors that were swept over her eyelids, and her full lips were painted a bright shade of red that perfectly matched her dress.

A dress that hugged her body from her breasts to her knees, revealing curves I didn’t know she had.

I knew she was beautiful, but right now, she was downright sexy.

And a part of me wanted to rip the dress right off her.

“I don’t want to know,” she said, fiddling with a button on her blazer. She peered up through long eyelashes, pausing when she saw me looking at her. “Hi.” Her voice was a little squeakier than normal. “Do I look okay? Your mom was vague on the details, and honestly, I was too busy wondering how not to fall over in my heels when you told me. If it’s too much, I can go change or—”

I smiled slowly. “You look beautiful. It’s perfect.”

“Oh.” Shock flashed in her eyes. Her cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink as she briefly dropped her eyes. “Thank you.”

Her mom watched the entire exchange with a smile from behind her glass—one that quickly dropped as an elderly man joined us in the kitchen.

He looked over Mallory before turning to me. “Who are you and why are you giving my granddaughter bedroom eyes?”

“Dad!” Helen gasped.

“And that’s our cue,” Mallory said, reaching for me. She grabbed my arm and tugged, dragging me toward the front door. “Bye, Mom, Grandad, see ya, bye, don’t wait up!”

She literally yanked me through the door and slammed it behind us. Her sigh was heavy, and she met my eyes with a resigned look. “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I touched her arm. “I was totally giving you bedroom eyes for a second there.”

Her jaw dropped.

Laughing, I touched her back and guided her to the car. “Come on. Let’s go before we’re late and Mom loses her mind at me.”

“You were giving me bedroom eyes?” She stared at me.

I stopped us a few feet from the car. “Eyes on where you’re walking. I watched you trip on the rug this morning. I don’t want to be responsible for you breaking your ankle in those heels.”

She shoved me in the arm with a half-smile. “I was focusing on not spilling your coffee.”

“True.” I released her to open the car door. “And somehow, you managed not to.”

“Exactly. Give me some credit.” She grinned and got into the car.

I closed the door behind her then walked around to the other side and got in myself. “Let’s go, shall we?”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – MALLORY

I was not cut out for this.

That much was painstakingly obvious.

I hadn’t even stepped foot in the vast, wooden double doors that were apparently the entrance to this huge-ass house, and I already knew I’d stick out like a sore thumb.

Agreeing to this was a mistake.

That didn’t even take into account that this little adventure had started off as a total nightmare. First with Aunt Grace answering the door—I still had no desire to learn what she’d said—then my mom, then Grandpa, and Cameron himself admitting he’d given me bedroom eyes.

I was fairly sure he’d been teasing me, but he had given me a long, good look when he’d turned around. It wasn’t like I was an expert at flirting. I always looked a little out of my depth when I actually tried, and that included eyeing people up.

Jade once told me I looked like I was plotting a guy’s murder, and unless you’re a serial killer, it’s probably not that sexy.

So maybe Cameron had been giving me bedroom eyes.

That just made this an even worse idea than it already was.

I hesitated as Cameron reached for the door. Nerves fluttered in my stomach, mostly because I wasn’t sure I was ready to meet his parents. At least, not in a formal setting like this.

Why couldn’t they have popped into the office where I could have escaped?

“Hey.” Cameron stopped with his hand on the door. “You’ll be fine. I promise I won’t leave you alone all night.”

I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, either. “I don’t know enough about real estate to be of any use here at all.”