“You’re no fun.”
“Sorry.” I sit up. “I love you, but I just can’t talk to you about that stuff.”
“Fine,” she grumbles. Then she asks, “When are you seeing him again?”
“Tonight.” I get up, grab my bag from the floor, and place it on the bed. “I just need to repack.”
“So you’re sleeping over at his house again?”
“Yeah.” I meet her gaze. “Unless you wanted to do something?”
Her eyes fill with mischief. “I’ve been meaning to clean out the downstairs storage closet. You could help me with that.”
“Very funny.” I smile, then tip my head to the side and ask, “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Me and the girls are taking a painting class in the afternoon, but after that, I don’t have any plans.”
“Do you want to have dinner with me, Calvin, and my parents tomorrow night?”
“Your parents?” Her brows rise as her eyes fill with surprise.
“They want to talk to me. We’re having dinner around seven. Calvin’s going to make reservations for us.” She stands as I ramble, then gently takes my face in her hands. “You don’t have to come,” I tell her softly as I look into her eyes.
“I’m coming.” She plants a kiss on my forehead, then lets me go. “I want to be there when you ask your dad about offering that jerk part of his company to marry you.”
I’m not looking forward to that conversation. “Thank you, Edie.” Over the last few months, Edie has become the mother I always wished I had growing up, and I can’t imagine dealing with my parents without having her there to offer support.
“You’re welcome. Now finish packing and go see your guy.” She walks to the door, then looks at me over her shoulder. “I would tell you to not do anything I wouldn’t do, but I would do it all, so I don’t see the point.” With that parting statement, she leaves, and I throw my head back and laugh. Once I have my hilarity under control, I finish packing and call Calvin to let him know I’m on my way.
“Bane, I missed you,” I say with a laugh once I’ve arrived. He jumps up on the fence with both paws to greet me, and I rub his head as he tries to get close enough to lick my face.
“It’s safe to say he missed you too,” Calvin says, and I smile over at him. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey.” My chest warms in a way that’s becoming familiar, and he smiles as he shakes his head before leaning over the fence to kiss me. I pull back, laughing and wiping Bane’s slobbery kiss from the side of my face.
“Bane, down!” he orders with a chuckle, and Bane falls from the fence as Calvin opens the gate and takes my bag off my shoulder.
“Did you make any headway in solving your cases today?” I ask as he takes my hand to walk the short distance to the front door, making me wonder if I will ever get used to the way I feel when I’m around him. I hope I don’t. I hope I always feel this flutter of excitement in the pit of my stomach when I’m in his presence.
“No.” I hear a hint of frustration in his tone, frustration I know isn’t directed at me. We talked a little this morning about what he’s working on—not details, just that he’s trying to solve the two murders that happened recently, and so far he’s hit nothing but dead ends.
“I’m sorry.”
“It happens.” He gives my hand a squeeze before letting it go to pull open the door, and once he’s closed and locked it, he carries my bag toward his bedroom and says over his shoulder, “I picked up the stuff to make spaghetti, or we can order in if you’re in the mood for something else.”
“Spaghetti sounds good to me.” I stop when Bane blocks me from going any farther; then I laugh as he pivots and shoves his head under my hand so I’ll pet him.
“He’ll get used to having you here.” I lift my eyes off Bane to meet Calvin’s gaze. “Until that happens, he’s going to be all over you for attention.”
“I don’t mind.” I rub behind his ears one last time, then step around him. I take my purse off my shoulder when my cell phone rings and then pull out my phone, shaking my head when I see it’s Lucy calling. I don’t press ignore like I want to. Instead, I swipe to answer and put it to my ear. “Yes.”
“I’ve been trying to get ahold of Lance,” she says bitingly. “He’s not answering. Is he with you?”
“No.”
“Oh.” She lets out a breath. “I thought—”
“You thought he’d show up here and I’d fall into bed with him,” I say, cutting her off. “I’m not you, Lucy.”