Page 73 of Sweet Little Thing

“He cooks and cleans this shit up. If I had to clean up, we’d be ordering takeout every night,” Mack said as he popped another mushroom into his mouth.

“A masterpiece can’t be produced in structure. Chaos. It takes Chaos,” Marty said.

Mack rolled his eyes and asked me, “You want a beer?”

“No, thank you,” I replied.

“She’s not a beer drinker. Look at her. She’s got the wine look. A roséwine. Am I right?” Marty asked.

I had no idea what kind of wine drinker I was,but I wasn’t drinking again any time soon. “Water would be good.”

Marty opened the fridge, took a bottle out, and handed it to me.“Water it is. But those steaks would be good with a glass of red.”

A door slammed, and seconds later, Shay came strolling in with three bakery boxes.

“Those don’t say Hannah’s on them,” Mack said, sounding annoyed.

Shay sighed. “That’s because they aren’t from Hannah’s. The Elswoods had a dinner party last night, and so much shit was left over. I have a variety of delicious sweets. You will eat them and be happy.”

“Dammit, Shay. I wanted that pie.”

“This was free. Suck it up, eat the expensive free sweets I brought, and be happy. Some celebrity chef made this stuff.”

Mack stalked to the fridge and jerked it open, then took a beer out and opened it. “I don’t know why we put up with you. You can’t even bring me the damn pie I want.”

Shay sat the boxes down. “Because I’m lovable, and you can’t live without my witty jokes.”

He snarled. “Fuck that,” he mumbled as he turned to look at me. “She’s why I drink. I swear.”

Maybe it was just me, but I felt chemistry burning off both of them. I wondered if they even realized it. There was a definite attraction between the two. They might not want it, but it was there. I shifted my eyes to Marty, who was watching me. He winked again and smirked. Like we shared a secret, he saw it too. Hanging out tonight might be just the thing to get my mind off my life.

Chapter

Forty-Four

Beulah

“I’d like to say that I’m glad you’re who Mack brought to dinner tonight and not another mindless bimbo,” Shay announced opening the third box of treats she had brought.

We had finished the meal. It had been delicious even if I hadn’t been hungry. Marty might make a huge mess, but he was a talented cook. [

“They aren’t mindless. Ask Beulah. She had a neighbor who was a stripper who needed to put herself through college and take care of her kid,” Mack shot back at her.

“Yes. Well, that kind of stripper isn’t the kind you bring home. The last one thought that chocolate milk came from brown cows,” Shay said before putting a cream filled tart in her mouth while looking pointedly at him as if daring him to explain that.

“She was kidding,” he muttered.

“No, she was serious. She also didn’t know Hillary Clinton was once the First Lady. She had no idea who Bill Clinton was,”Marty reminded him. “But she did look good in the dress she had on, so I can understand why you missed her lack of intelligence.”

Mack let out an annoyed huff as he reached to slide one of the boxes across the table. As he peeked inside, he said, “In her defense, Clinton’s last year in office was four years before she was born. I hadn’t expected her to even know who Hillary was. She would have been like ten or something when Hillary last ran in the presidential campaign”

Shay began to laugh as if that was hilarious, throwing her head back and cackling loudly.

“WHAT!” Mack barked at her.

She covered her mouth, trying to muffle her laughter. Marty was grinning too. “Dude. We didn’t know she was that young. I’d have kept that to myself. I’m not sure that is legal.”

Mack shoved a cookie in his mouth without responding.

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