This Time Around

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  “It’s my favorite room in the house too,” Andy said.

  I crossed the room and handed him the bottle of water. “Pizza will be here in thirty minutes. You must be hungry.”

  “Starving actually. I have a really bad habit of getting caught up in my projects and losing track of time. I haven’t eaten since I left Books and Brew this morning.”

  “Andy, you didn’t stop to eat lunch?”

  “I didn’t feel all that hungry until you mentioned it,” he said, shrugging his shoulders and taking another long drink. I watched the way his throat moved up and down while he drank. Who knew that could be sexy, but like always, my hormones got the best of me when he was near.

  “What time is it anyway? Three o’clock?”

  “Try six o’clock,” I told him.

  “Get out of here.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. “Damn, I guess I really did lose track of time.”

  It would be the last time I allowed him to skip lunch if I could help it. “This room is looking amazing.”

  “I like the color scheme Maegan picked out for it,” Andy said. “She’s picked a rich, warm stain for the wood floor, trim, and the crown molding and a soft yellow for wall paint.”

  “That does sound pretty,” I replied. “Kind of funny how she’s suddenly good at that, isn’t it?”

  Andy met my gaze, and we both laughed. Maegan had looked for any excuse to shove us together, so it was only fitting that her ghost, as I started to think of the apparition, was the one to finally force our hand.

  “Get the idea out of your head, Milo. I stink.” He stepped away from me when he saw the ornery gleam in my eyes.

  “I never said I was going to shove my nose in your ball sack,” I told Andy as I took the few steps that separated us. “I don’t want to spunk up my future niece or nephew’s room. I just want a little kiss.”

  “There’s no such thing with you, Milo.” I noticed that he stopped walking and let me catch him. “You only know how to give me a boner.”

  “I promise to be good,” I said, sliding my hands slowly up his magnificent chest. “Sorta good.”

  “Yeah, right. Follow me.”

  Andy led me to the bathroom next door and closed us in. He might’ve thought he stunk, but I thought he smelled manly and delicious. I’d been downwind from him after a doubleheader in nearly a hundred-degree weather. That was stinky.

  Long wet kisses, fumbled clothes, and a hand job later, I practically skipped down the steps. Damn, I loved Andy’s big hands, and the way he could jack us off at the same time.

  “Don’t get any of that on my journals either,” Maegan said when I re-entered the room I left them in. They’d set up two sawhorses and a piece of plywood to form a makeshift table.

  “Any of what?” I asked, looking down at myself. Everything was all tucked away nice and neat. Maegan hadn’t even looked up from her reading, so how did she even know?

  “I don’t need a twin link to know what took you so long upstairs,” she said, answering my unspoken question. She looked up from the journal and raised one brow.

  “What did Emory say?” I asked. “He wasn’t here long.”

  “Twenty minutes,” Memphis replied. “You were up there longer than you thought.”

  “This house is like a time vacuum or something,” I told them. “Andy thought it was only three o’clock. He didn’t even stop for lunch today.”

  “That’s not good,” Mae said, sounding concerned. “I don’t want Andy wearing himself out. I’m not on some tight deadline where I need this house fixed next week.”

  “He knows,” I told her. “Andy said he got wrapped up in his projects and didn’t realize how late it was.” Kind of like how I lost track of time wrapped up in his arms in the upstairs bathroom. Maegan’s smirk said she knew where my mind had gone. “Emory,” I prompted.

  “It’s definitely a male presence, but he’s not exactly sure if it belonged to Anthony or a different man,” Maegan said almost absently as she returned her attention to the journal she had open. “Oh wow,” she said then turned the page to continue reading the script.

  “What is it?”

  “These are Anthony Bliss’s journals,” she said. “I’ve discovered the real reason behind the curse placed on his family.”

  “Really?” Memphis and I said, stepping closer to her.

  “He said that a woman, who was reported to be an enchantress, caught his father in bed with her husband. She put a curse on both men. John Bliss didn’t die in his mistress’s bed; he died in his male lover’s bed.”

  “Ohhh,” Memphis and I said.

  “Of course, I don’t think that has anything to do with Anthony’s disappearance since he was a pretty young kid when his father died.”

  A door slammed somewhere from upstairs.

  “Wasn’t me,” Andy hollered down.

  Suddenly, a strong whiff of tobacco floated through the air.

  “It’s Anthony,” Maegan said firmly. “No one will convince me otherwise. We’re going to solve his death and set him at peace.” She reached for her phone and started tapping keys.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Did I say I wouldn’t nag?” she asked. “If so, I lied. There’s an amazing story here, and Lyric Willows is the only man for the job. I’m sending him an email.”

  I looked over at Memphis who bit his lip nervously. “It won’t be long before you get to cock whisper with the paranormal whisperer.”

  “Hush,” Memphis teased. “We don’t know he’s coming.”

  “Ha! That was fast,” Maegan said. “He said he’s filming in Nashville right now but plans on coming here as soon as he wraps up.”

  Another door slammed loud enough to make us jump.

  “Anthony sounds pissed,” I said. The doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Pizza delivery,” I told them breathlessly.

  I left Maegan and Memphis laughing at my jittery reaction while I retrieved our food and drinks. When I got back, Andy had joined them.

  “Gimme, I’m starved,” he said when he locked eyes on the pizza.

  “We know,” Maegan and Memphis said at the same time.

  I shrugged when Andy looked at me. “We’re not as sneaky as we thought.”

  “Make sure you deduct your make-out sessions with my brother from the hours you put on your bill,” Maegan teased.

  “I smell pizza,” Elijah said, coming through the door.

  “Oh my,” Maegan said with a mouthful of pizza. Elijah did have a very striking appearance. He was tall, strong, and looked damn good with a badge clipped to his belt and a shoulder harness strapped to his back and shoulders. “Babe, I need to show you something.”

  I expected her to show Elijah the journals, but instead she took him upstairs. I snorted and went about eating my pizza.

  “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” Memphis said wistfully.

  “That’s all about to change,” I told my friend, earning a doubtful frown.

  “Yeah, right. Lyric Willows isn’t just going to roll in here, take one look at me, and fall in love.” I looked at his messy, curly hair, big brown eyes framed by black-rimmed glasses, and firm lips that hid a breathtaking smile. I believed enough for both of us.

  “You’ll see.”

  With everyone pitching in to help, Maegan’s dream home was ready for her to move into by mid-June. It wasn’t fully renovated, but only a few rooms remained untouched. Maegan said she’d worry about them when she was ready to fill them with kids. All her main living spaces weren’t just habitable, they shone like polished gems. Maegan truly had an eye for diamonds in the rough. As pleased as I was with the interior work I did, I was proudest of the exterior work.

  Bliss House was once again an architectural feast for the eyes instead of being a dilapidated eyesore that leaned toward creepy. I admit that I didn’t have Maegan’s same vision when I first toured the house, but I quickly got on board with her plans. Aft
er finishing the interior, I focused all my energy on the exterior. I had inspected the cedar board siding, stone, stucco, and mortar looking for cracks and other concerning damage beyond the normal things you’d expect to find on a house that old. Beyond filling and sealing a few cracks, all the exterior issues were as cosmetic as the interior.

  Ivy had covered the entire east side of the house, which actually looked natural on the stately home. Unfortunately, I had to cut it all away to inspect and repair portions before I could power wash the entire structure to prep for painting the stucco, cedar siding, and trim around the roof, windows, and ornate pieces fastened to the stucco sections.

  Maegan chose an ivory paint for the stucco and a deep-brown color for the trim, which accented the diverse colors of stone on the rest of the house. Elijah helped me do all the exterior work while Maegan, Milo, Dennis, Jackie, and Memphis worked on the landscaping. I don’t mean they simply cut the grass and cut a few shrubs either. They had to cut back decades of overgrowth before they could even see what they were working with. I learned that Milo had a green thumb and was passionate about landscaping. It was fun watching him take charge and oversee the grooming, relocating, and planting. I liked it even more when I glanced down and saw his perfect ass on display, until I nearly fell off the ladder.

  We worked tirelessly as a unit to help make Maegan’s dreams come true. When we were done, Maegan hosted a cookout to celebrate and thank us for all that we did. As much as I loved barbecued or smoked meats, my favorite things were the abundance of side dishes. I couldn’t get enough of the potato salad, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and seven-layer salad.

  Once it got dark, we sat around the firepit and stared into the flames while roasting marshmallows for s’mores. I wasn’t sure where I was going to put the gooey, chocolate treat after eating two helpings of strawberry shortcake, but I was going to give it my all.

  The problem with making s’mores was that you had to be patient, and it took technique to make good ones. You needed to hold your marshmallow above the flame just so and let the heat toast the marshmallow, because if you just stuck it in the flame, it would catch fire. That meant the outside was charred while the inside remained firmer than I liked for my s’mores. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the crunchy charred ones on occasion, but not for my s’mores. So, I kept rotating my metal stick until all sides were a golden brown then assembled the perfect s’more; graham cracker, section of Hershey’s bar, marshmallow, another piece of chocolate, and the top graham cracker. Then I squeezed it together so the marshmallow would start to melt the chocolate.

  “How do you do that?” Milo asked, pulling his stick out of the flames. His marshmallow was a raging ball of fire, sizzling as the sugary substance lost its form and plopped to the grass. “Well, damn.”

  “It takes patience,” I told him. “Kind of like winning someone’s heart back after you broke it.” I leaned over and kissed his pouty lips. “I love you.”

  Milo smiled sweetly and said, “You know what you can do to prove it?”

  “Teach you how to toast the marshmallows properly?” I asked.

  “I guess that will work too,” he groaned.

  I crooked my finger at him, and Milo sprawled across my lap, making sure to wiggle a little extra to entice me into doing his work for him. I handed him my precious s’more and demonstrated my toasting technique.

  “Mmmmm, so good,” Milo said around a mouthful of s’more. “What?”

  “You’re supposed to be paying attention so that you can do this for yourself next time,” I said then nipped his earlobe. I felt a tremor of awareness move through his body.

  “I couldn’t resist,” Milo said then rotated the s’more so he could lick the marshmallow goo oozing out the side. He licked around the entire edge of the graham cracker sandwich.

  “You’re such a dirty boy,” I whispered.

  “What? Everyone does this.” We both knew he was teasing me.

  “Um, Slugger.” Milo pointed to the end of my stick where my marshmallow blazed hot enough to fall off the stick and into the fire. As a consolation, he held the s’more in front of my mouth so I could take a bite. I would’ve preferred to kiss him and taste the dessert on his tongue, but we had an audience.

  “This backyard is stunning, Maegan,” Jackie said.

  “Thanks, Mom,” her daughter replied happily from the chaise lounge she shared with Elijah, who looked like he was about ready to nod off.

  “It would be a beautiful place for a wedding.”

  “Mom!” Maegan said in shock. Elijah’s eyes opened wide, signaling he was wide awake after that comment. What did Milo do? He laughed at their discomfort.

  Jackie fixed her gaze on her son and smiled smugly. “I was just telling Milo that fall weddings are so lovely.”

  Milo stilled and went completely silent. “Show me again how you make your marshmallows so perfect.”

  I thought his awkwardness was totally cute. Why was Milo so nervous? Was he afraid I would get scared away if I knew they were talking about weddings. Hell, my mom had already started calling him Milo Miracle-Mason and her future son-in-law. It was a foregone conclusion to everyone who knew us that we would get married someday. Fall was only a few months away, and I doubted they expected us to get married that quickly.

  “Maegan, did you take a lot of before and after pictures for that paranormal guy that Memphis has the hots for?” Dennis asked, changing the subject. Milo visibly relaxed in my lap and went back to eating his s’more while he waited for the right time to jump into the conversation.

  “I sure did, Dad. I’m not sure when, or if, he’s really coming though,” Maegan replied. “He said he was interested and would head here when he finished filming in Nashville, but then he kind of fell off the face of the earth. The network announced a temporary hiatus in filming, and he’s kind of disappeared.”

  “Intriguing,” Dad said. “What rumors are circulating? Personal crisis or network dispute?”

  “No one knows enough about Lyric to really form a rumor,” Memphis said softly. “He has this loner vibe about him, but his crew seems to genuinely like him. Emory respects the hell out of Lyric, but even Em doesn’t know much about him.” It was impossible to miss the disappointment in his voice.

  “Lyric will arrive when the time is right,” Milo said. “I just feel it.”

  “What are you going to do with all your free time now that this project is finished, Andy?” Dennis asked me. The correct answer was that I planned to spend as much time naked with his son as I could wrangle, but I very well couldn’t tell him that.

  “I’m not really sure yet, Dennis.”

  “I think I have the perfect solution,” Elijah said suddenly. “We’re putting a softball team together. Games won’t start until late summer or early fall, but we’re starting practices in a few weeks. Interested? A little birdie told me that you are a hell of a ballplayer.”

  Playing competitive ball again appealed to me, but it would cut into my time with Milo. Not only that, I wasn’t sure how busy I would be over the next few months. I had a few jobs to start next week and another few to bid. One thing was clear, I needed to hire some help because my business kept growing. I loved my job, but I loved Milo more. I didn’t mind working until nine or ten at night the past month for his sister because he often worked with me on various projects. Maegan would be family, so exceptions would be made for her, but I needed to be smarter about accepting jobs until I could hire a trustworthy crew.

  “That was a long time ago,” I said to Elijah.

  “That’s what Tucker said too,” Elijah replied. A sly smile crept across his face. “He figured your ego wouldn’t allow you to play with the likes of us.” Maegan elbowed him, and he winced. “Or maybe he said you were an out-of-shape has-been who wouldn’t be able to keep up with us.” Maegan went in for another jab, but Elijah evaded her pointy blow. “Don’t kill the messenger, Freckles.”

  “All lies,” Maegan said. “Tucker wouldn�
�t speak that way about Andy.” Too bad Maegan didn’t look as certain as she sounded. I suspected there was a bit of truth to Elijah’s story, even if he did blow it way out of proportion.

  “He’ll do it,” Milo said. “You’ll show them that you still got it. I’d hazard to say that you’re even better than you were back then because you’re not as cocky.”

  “Um, thanks.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Slugger. I really liked your swagger, but I love the humbler version of you that came back to me.”

  “Aww,” was heard all around the fire.

  Milo leaned toward me and said, “And selfishly, I’m dying to see you in a jock strap again, or better yet, strip it off you.”

  “Yeah, I’m in,” I told Elijah. “Just let me know when the first practice is, and I’ll show up.”

  “Yes!” Elijah said happily. “The Blissville Bombers are totally going to kick everyone’s ass this year.”

  “The only day I won’t be able to commit to practice or games is Wednesday,” I told Elijah. I was in a really great place in my life, and I hoped to be a beacon of hope to those who needed it. I couldn’t help but think of the progress Keeton had made in a short time. While he wasn’t laughing and joking it up, he had joined us for burgers on a few occasions, and I felt like he was on the cusp of sharing his story with us. Sadly, Rebecca was back in rehab after a relapse, but she was due for release soon. I wanted to be there to show my support when the time came.

  “Games are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Sunday afternoons,” Elijah said. “I think we’re going to practice a few times a week up until games start then practice will depend on the number of games we have each week.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  “This has been a fun time, but we need to go home. Alli Cat has probably shredded Andy’s new work boots in a fit of rage.” Milo stood up from my lap and stretched. “Oh my God! I hurt in places I never knew I had.” He bent over to stretch the muscles in his back, and I suddenly had something I was looking forward to a lot more than my first softball practice with the guys.