“Well, you found us.” I go to the sink and wash the sticky pineapple juice off my hands, then drying them on a towel, I circle the counter and step between Oz’s legs until he accepts my hug. “You need to not stress so much. It’s not good for your health.”
“It’s literally my job, Beauty.” But then he pulls back and smiles. “How was your day? And why are you guys baking?”
“Day was fine, and Ben, of course.”
He snorts. “Of course. You’re too soft on that fucker.”
“That fucker being my brother?” I laugh. “Oh, and he told me to pass on a message.”
“Yeah?” Oz’s brows shoot up high, and his lips twitch with a smile. “What’d that asshole have to say to me?”
“He said to tell you that Mom doesn’t love you, and to meet him in the octagon tomorrow at seven sharp. He has something he wants to show you.”
“Is it a knuckle sandwich?” he questions with a snicker. “Because that guy has got to get better threats. He’s too damn soft now that he has a kid.”
“Can you two shut up?” Mom turns at the sink and shakes her head. “Ben’s not even here, and you’re still somehow arguing with him.”
“It’s a gift, Angel.” Oz pulls me in for one last crushing hug, only to release me and truly breathe out that sigh of relief. “Okay, I’m done. Work is over for today. I’m on call, but Alex is going out before I am, and now I’m going to pick up my son from Ma’s house. Stay for dinner, Beauty?”
“Can’t. I’m going to Ben’s, but I’ll head to the gym in the morning to watch you and him slam each other around the octagon. That sounds like bunches of fun.”
“For you.” He rolls his eyes. “I know I act badass, Beauty, but can we all acknowledge that Ben is a trained current contender?” He looks to Mom. “It hurts when he hits me, Angel.”
“So stop picking fights with him,” she exclaims. “He’s not fifteen anymore, and you’re much too mature to bicker with our son, aren’t you?”
“No, I don’t think I am.” Oz jumps up from his stool and digs into his pockets in search of keys. “When God made me, I think he forgot to toss maturity into the mold.”
“Gee.” Mom turns back to her bowl of cake mix. “Shocking. Go get Lachlan, then come back and we can chill out. Ben and Liv aren’t coming back here tonight, so once Lachlan’s in bed…”
Oz looks to me and grins. “Do me a favor, Beauty? Tonight, while you’re sitting across from Sasquatch at the card table, around…” He looks around the kitchen. “I dunno, nine o’clock, look into Ben’s eyes and tell him Oz said hey.”
“You’re disgusting.” I smack his shoulder and circle back around to Mom’s side of the counter. “Absolutely not. I will not be your messenger just to get Ben riled up. But then again,” I add on when my phone vibrates. I pick the device up, and read the screen. “Having Ben focused on you and not on me has its merits. Hello?” I move around the counter and head toward the living room. “I got caught up, but I’ll call Ben now and ask.”
“Oh…” Brenten’s voice is hesitant. Cautious. “Okay. Call me back.”
“Give me five. I’ll call him now.” I hit the end call button, then dial my brother.
“Liv? You okay?”
Of course Ben zooms straight past kind greetings and into panic mode. Its who he is, it’s a way of life for him. “Yeah, listen, Sasquatch, are the Devil Twins gonna be there tonight?”
“Er…” He considers for a moment. “Nope. I don’t think so. Why?”
“Just asking. Thanks. Mom and I are baking right now, then I’ll head on over.” I hang up again, redial Brenten’s number, and wait just a second for the call to connect. “Ben said nope, they’re not going to be there.”
“Okay. I, uh… um… okay.”
“Do you want to meet me out there? You know where Ben’s place is, right?”
“How about I come to yours first?” he counters with a smooth voice, like I don’t know what that means. “I’ll pick you up the way a gentleman is supposed to. Bring flowers to your door, tell you that you look beautiful.”
I roll my eyes to the ceiling and shake my head. “I’d rather a genuine compliment than something expected and rehearsed.”
“Not expected or rehearsed,” he purrs. “Just a constant state for you. Olivia Conner, town’s most beautiful woman, and lucky me, she’s all mine.”
“Mm.” I smile when Oz pokes his head through the doorway and watches me with a lifted brow. “I have to go, but dinner is at seven, so…”
“So I’ll pick you up at six thirty?”
I check my watch and consider. “Can you make it six-forty-five? I’m not going to get away from Mom’s for a little while yet, then I need time to shower and dress. I’d hate for you to have to wait in the hall while I was finishing up.”
“That would be a tragedy,” he jokes. “Six-forty-five. See you in a little while, Liv.”
“See you soon.” I hang up and slide the phone into my pocket, then I prepare myself and turn back to Ben’s proxy. “Not a word.”
“Brenten Pierce? Beauty! What the hell is wrong with you? Brenten fucking Pierce?”
“Oscar,” Mom growls once.
“He’s a pussy! You have a thousand men trying to catch your attention in this town, I hate them all, but Brenten Pierce! You’d be better off dating a mailbox, it’d have more personality.”
“Stop it.” I laugh and pass him on my way back into the kitchen. “Mom?”
“Oscar,” she repeats. “Leave her alone.”
“It’s Brenten Pierce, Angel!” Oz follows me into the kitchen and throws a hand out in exasperation. “Do you know what I saw him do today? Do you, Beauty?”
“I don’t want to know.”
“He picked his nose!”
I try to school the way my lips instantly screw up. The way my nose tries to turn away. “Everybody picks their nose.”
“Then he wiped it on his shirt!”
“It’s better than eating it. Mom, what do you need me to do?”
“Grease the pan, please—”
“But it was a sticky one,” Oz continues. “So he couldn’t get it off his finger. It was like watching a blind bird fly into glass over and over again. It was stuck to his finger, so he’d wipe it on his shirt. But then it was stuck to his shirt, so he’d try to flick it off, but oops, now it’s stuck on his finger again. Around and around and around it went until eventually, eventually!” he adds for dramatic effect. “He ate it!”
“Stop gossiping.” I swear I try to sound stern, but I’m forced to turn away, or risk him seeing my smile. “Leave him alone and stay out of my business. I’m not twelve anymore, Deputy.”
“I wish you were! When you were twelve, I was the only guy you were interested in. Now you’re twenty-five, and all these motherfuckers think they get to step up and try their luck at the roulette table.”