The Player Next Door

He brushes his hair off his forehead and gives her a dimpled smile. “Hey.”

Her gaze flips from me to Cody, to Shane, and I can practically hear the curious questions that churn in her young but astute brain. Before she has a chance to voice any of them, though, her parents usher her past with an apology for interrupting and a “have a good weekend.”

Shane gives him a gentle elbow. “Who’s that?”

“Jenny. Just a girl in my class.” Cody’s cheeks flush.

“She’s cute,” he says nonchalantly before taking a big sip of his drink.

Cody gives a one-shouldered shrug but then his eyes flip to the corner where Jenny Byrd and her family are seated.

Shane smirks as he watches his son. He’s fishing. He wants to know if his son has any crushes yet.

And I’m too busy watching Shane watch his son to notice the platinum-blond woman flounce up to our table until it’s too late.

“Well now, what is my daughter doing with these two strapping young men?”

Oh God, Mom.

My cheeks flame as I try to ignore the fact that she’s dressed in a snug, snakeskin-print dress and impeccably matched heels that are so high, her muscles strain for balance. She’s literally turning heads all around us. “What are you doing here?” McTavish’s is more her style this early in the night, where there aren’t any children around.

“I felt like a change of scenery. Hello, darling. Fancy meeting you here.” She smooths a hand over Shane’s shoulder while batting her freshly installed eyelashes. They look good on her, I’ll give her that. But her perfume is as cloying as ever.

Shane flashes his signature crooked smirk. “Hey, Dottie. How’ve you been?”

“I’m much better now.”

I roll my eyes. The cheesy lines are always a variant of the same thing.

Much better now.

Better now that you’re here.

The night’s looking up now.

I’ve been so far removed from her for so many years, I’d forgotten how tacky she can be.

From beneath the table, Shane gives my calf a gentle nudge of warning. Behave, his eyes warn.

Mom shifts her flirtatious gaze. “And who is this handsome young man beside you?”

Shane throws an arm around Cody’s shoulders. “This is my son.”

Dottie’s perfectly drawn lips gape. She does shock and awe better than most. “Why did I not know you had a son!”

Because you barely remember you have a daughter.

Cody’s curious eyes flash from her to me, back to her.

“I know, I don’t look nearly old enough to be her mother, do I?” she mock whispers.

Cody shakes his head. “You look more like sisters.”

Shane chuckles.

And my mother, well, she fucking titters and preens. “Aren’t you just as charming as your father.”

Our waitress comes by then. “Hey, Dottie. Can I grab you something?”

“Hi, honey. Oh, I’ll probably just head on over to the bar in a minute. I wouldn’t want to interrupt Scarlet’s dinner.” She says this as she observes the empty space beside me.

Shane gives my leg another nudge, followed by a “you know what you need to do” look.

The glare I spear him with would make most men’s balls shrink, but Shane grins at me. Because he’s right and we both know it.

I release a resigned sigh. “Did you want to sit with us?”

She gives the booth another eyeball. “Well, I suppose I could, for just a minute or two. Scoot on over.” To the waitress, she winks and says, “A glass of chardonnay would be lovely.”

“I was barely older than you when I had Scarlet.”

“She was five years older,” I counter, giving Cody a severe look as he gnaws on a chicken wing. “And still way too young to have children.”

“But you turned out okay,” Mom says through a generous sip of her wine.

“That’s debatable,” I mutter under my breath, earning Shane’s chuckle.

“You did, honey. Maybe a bit uptight but otherwise fine.”

Uptight? My nostrils flare.

“So, Dottie, you still over on Brillcourt?” Shane interrupts, trying to defuse my impending explosion.

“I am! How’d you know I lived there?” Her eyes narrow. “You haven’t visited me before, have you?”

“No. He hasn’t,” I say more sharply than probably is necessary. At least she was considerate enough to not come right out in front of Cody and asked if they’ve fucked.

“I was going to say …” Her eyes rake over Shane’s face, his chest, his arms. “I can’t see myself forgetting a night like that.”

“You definitely wouldn’t.” Shane winks. He’s flirting with my mother.

I glare at him, a warning that if he keeps this up, I’ll throttle him later.

Shane clears his throat. “Actually, Scarlet and I dated back in high school. I used to pick her up from there almost every day.”

“Huh. I had no idea. Though, she never told me much.” My mom takes another sip of her wine. She’s like a baby with a bottle. “And that last year before she left for college was a disaster. Do you remember that, Scarlet? I’ve never seen a more sullen, moody girl. You were miserable. I couldn’t say a word without having my head bitten off. Anyway, yes, I’m still at Brillcourt but I’ve started looking elsewhere. The building has been falling apart for years. It’s impossible to get anything repaired. It’s a complete shithole.”