“Really, Reardon?” Aunt Annabeth drawled as she set burgers and fries in front of both of us. “You’re a grown man, town lawyer, and upstanding citizen, yet you can’t stop fighting with your cousin like you’re ten years old.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” I muttered, chastised.
I caught Jasmine’s smirk, and I knew she’d seen our aunt coming and had set me up. Jasmine had always been the most cunning of our group.
“And you,” our aunt said, turning her attention to Jasmine. “When are you going to settle down and get serious with a man? You aren’t getting any younger.”
Jasmine was still sputtering when our aunt walked away.
I dipped my fry in ketchup and smirked back at her.
“Yeah, Jazzy, how come you’re not married with a pack of kids?”
“Suck it, Ass,” Jasmine replied with a frown. “How come the whole family isn’t up in your business, asking why you’re still single? Dillon either … And with Rena out of town, it’s like the whole family has decided to gang up on me. It’s been worse since Gabe got engaged.”
“That’s funny, it’s been better for me,” I replied, rubbing it in. “It’s like he’s taken the fall for me and Dillon, and we’re totally off the hook. At least for a while.”
“It’s not fair,” Jasmine grumbled as she cut her burger in half, then in fourths. “Dillon and I run the company together, we both work all the time, yet I’m still getting hounded about settling down with some random guy.”
I watched my cousin sigh deeply, then square her shoulders, bite into her juicy burger, and smile as the flavors hit her tongue. Just like that, she was over it. That was the thing about Jazzy; she was quick to anger, and just as quick to let whatever had upset her go. She was a naturally happy person, and I always knew if I just let her rant, she’d be fine in a few minutes.
“So, back to you and Chloe talking,” she began, and I knew I needed to give her the story or she’d just keep bothering me, or make up her own tale about what happened, then spread that around.
“We both ended up going to see Star Wars alone, and when I saw her in the theater, it seemed weird to ignore her, so I went over and sat with her. We had cake and coffee after to talk about the movie and then talked about her moving here and getting settled in. That’s all that happened.”
For some reason, Jasmine looked really happy about Chloe and my random meet-up, but I tried to dissuade her from thinking it was something it wasn’t by saying, “She still seems mad at me about the dealings I had with her as Gabe’s lawyer, and I think she has the idea that I harbor some sort of resentment against her or something. There’s nothing between us, Jasmine, so stop reading in to things.”
“Do you harbor resentment toward her?” Jasmine asked softly, the playfulness gone from her tone.
I looked at my cousin, lifted one shoulder, and admitted, “I don’t know, maybe a little bit.”
We finished up our lunch and called goodbye to our aunt, then Jasmine walked me to my office before continuing on toward the Lewis Sporting Goods main office.
Thinking about Chloe after my conversation with Jasmine, I decided it was time for me to have a serious conversation with her and clear the air, hopefully while enjoying a nice dinner with her in my home.
Hey, it’s Reardon. I was wondering if you’d like to come by tonight to see the subdivision and have some dinner.
Chapter Eight ~ Chloe
I’d gone back in forth in my mind, ignoring Reardon’s text for most of the afternoon. I wasn’t sure what to make of him, and although I wanted to see the subdivision and his house first hand, I could always just set something up with a realtor.
Still, the last couple of times I’d been with him, things had been easy and comfortable, until I was inevitably reminded of how we came to be in each other’s lives, and the way he’d reacted toward me at camp.
When I’d driven to the school to pick up Chris, he’d come running out and stopped at my window, rather than going to the passenger side, so I knew something was up.
“Hey, Mom,” my handsome, slightly awkward since he was going through puberty, son said when I rolled down the window.
“What’s going on?” I’d asked warily, wondering why he hadn’t called me if he wasn’t ready to be picked up.
“Some of the guys from the football team are heading to the diner, can I go with them?” he asked, his brown eyes pleading.
“How are you going to get there?”
“We’re going to walk.”
Chris must have been able to tell I was about to argue, because he butt in with, “C’mon, Mom, there are like six guys from the team going and it’s just a few blocks away. We’ll be fine.”
“How are you going to get home?” I asked, already starting to cave since I knew how important it was for him to make friends.