Frenemies

Grandma hobbled out of the living room with her cane tapping against the floor. She was already dressed in her pajamas and bathrobe, and her slippers slapped against the wood panels. “Should have told him to kiss you properly or not at all.”

My jaw dropped. “Were you spying on us?”

“Keeping the neighborhood safe,” she said without batting an eyelid. “Now go to bed before I go and tell him to shove his cheek kiss up his ass and kiss you properly.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t. But do you really want to risk it on the off chance that I might?”

I stared at her for a moment—with her silver hair in rollers, not a lick of makeup, but a damn mischievous look in her eyes.

“Damn you, woman,” I snapped, storming past her to take to the stairs.

Grandma yawned. “That’s for God to decide, dear.”

***

The knitting needles weren’t enough payback.

That’s what I’d thought all last night while lying in bed. Not about the feeling of Mason’s lips on mine.

Nuh-uhhh. Not at all.

I still had to pay him back for the clown in the box.

I knew exactly how I was going to do it, too. Now that Maya was gone until Friday night, the gloves were off, and the prank war was officially on.

I locked the store, pocketed the keys, and headed for my car. After a quick stop at the bank to deposit the cash I’d taken on this unusually busy Monday, I hid my house key in the zip pocket of my purse and turned for home.

I had it. I was a genius.

I knew Mason was at work and Grandma was off doing something with Evelyn. That in itself was alarming, but I was going to give the old ladies a pass today so that I could pull off my next prank.

It was really kind of hard when you didn’t have full access to the place where the person lived.

I pulled up on my driveway, happy to see Mason’s car parked up on his. I got out of the car and made a show of digging in my purse for keys I’d already hidden, then spent the next two minutes “emptying” my purse on the porch table.

Damn.

No keys.

Oh, the shock!

I threw everything back in my purse and pretended to make several phone calls. I had no idea if Mason could see me, but I also knew that my grandmother wasn’t the only curtain-twitcher in this neighborhood, so I had to ham it up a little in case anyone decided to mention anything to him.

That’s right. I’d thought this through.

I tossed my phone back in my purse and walked across both mine and Mason’s yard to get to his front door. I knocked, and when there was no answer, I knocked again.

Harder.

“Who is it?” he yelled from inside.

“Imogen!”

“Oh!” A moment later, he opened the door wearing nothing but a towel for the second time since he’d moved in.

I blinked at him. “Why are you always in a towel when I knock?”

“Trying to tempt you into realizing what you’re missing, obviously. What’s up?”

“My cousin took my keys this afternoon and didn’t bring them back and Grandma isn’t home. I’m locked out. Can I stay here until she comes back?”

His eyebrows shot up. “You’re willingly asking to hang out at my house?”

“You won’t even know I’m here.” I held up my hands.

“I doubt that.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing. Come in. I’ll go and put some clothes on, unless you’d rather I wore less.”

“I take it back. I’ll sit in my car.”

He grabbed my arm, laughing, and dragged me inside. “I’m screwing with you. Make yourself comfortable while I get changed. I’m sorry if the dog slobbers on you. She’s a little needy.”

“Noted.” I went through to the living room and perched on the edge of the sofa. Dolly ran over to my feet and wagged her tail, jumping up at my legs in a bid for attention.

I was happy to oblige her, and I spent the next few minutes scratching behind her ears and on her belly until Mason came back downstairs and she was distracted by the sound of food from the kitchen.

“Good day at work?” he asked, joining me in the living room.

“Busy,” I replied. “You?”

“It was good to be back. It’s been a while, with moving and everything. I’m happy to get some consistency back.”

I nodded slowly. “Totally. Sorry to bug you like this.”

“You’re not bugging me at all. It happens. Why did your cousin take your keys?”

“She left something here when she was here the other day. She’s a pain in my ass.” I sighed. “It shouldn’t be long. Grandma should be back soon.”

“Doesn’t make a difference to me, Immy. I have a turkey chili in the slow cooker if you need to eat.”

“You have a slow cooker?”

“No need to sound so surprised. I like to eat dinner like everyone else.”