Page 44 of Keep You Close

“Oh, horse shit,” she said, but she was smiling as she leaned over to press a kiss to my cheek. “How’s the leg feeling?”

“It’s healing up. I’m hoping to be in a boot soon.”

“With even less of an excuse not to show up at my table,” she said, glancing past me, looking around.

“Who’re you lookin’ for, Ma?” Shane asked, following her gaze.

“That girl.”

“What girl?” Shane asked, looking as confused as I felt.

Until, little by little, the reality occurred to me.

She was looking for AJ.

Why, I had no idea.

But sometimes Helen got ideas up in her head. Shit that no one else but her knew about. But we somehow needed to answer for even if we didn’t know about it in the first place.

“The girl he has been living with for over a month now,” Helen said, waving at me.

“AJ?” Kingston asked, head tipped to the side. “Were we supposed to invite her?”

That was the wrong thing to say.

Helen’s brows rose.

“No. I wanted you all to talk about getting together, have her watch him get all dressed up, then have you show up to pick him up,” she said, looking at King, “and then just leave her there all alone.”

Kingston looked stricken at that. He was likely thinking of how rude it was not to invite her, considering all she’d done for me, and how easily she’d forgiven him for not mentioning that I might drop in at some point.

I went ahead and saved him.

“AJ had to work tonight,” I told her. “She’s covering for the single mom who has a sick kid.”

“Oh,” Helen said, softening. “That’s sweet of her. I keep hearing everyone talking about her. I’d like to meet her,” she said, giving me and Kingston a pointed look.

The thing was, I knew that AJ would love coming to the Mallick’s for Sunday dinner. This was exactly what she said she was envious of. A big, loud, loving family. And after being so alone for so long, I could understand the desire to experience just once what I so clearly took for granted all the time.

“I’ll invite her next week,” I told Helen.

“You better,” she said before making her way back to the kitchen where most of the women were likely gathered, trying to get everything ready at the same time.

The rest of the night went about as expected. Lots of talking, laughing, eating, and teasing.

As I sat there, looking around at literally everyone at the table who had a significant other aside from me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have someone there. To share smiles and knowing looks with. To lean into. To go home with and discuss the evening.

And, inevitably, the person who materialized in the fantasy was AJ.

The cynical side of me wanted to say it was simply because she was the only woman I’d been around lately who wasn’t my family.

The other part, though, knew it was because I just… liked the woman.

“So, I’ll take your silence as evidence that you’re not going to leave the girl alone,” Kingston said as we parked in the driveway of my place.

I took a second, staring at the dark backyard.

Then I sighed, glancing over at my brother.

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