Page 89 of The Grump

She groaned. “That was two years ago. Hmm. Then we have to watch the second one or Uncle Xander won’t understand any of it.”

I wanted to point out that I’d totally erased it from my mind, so I didn’t remember the first one either, but that seemed like the wrong thing to say. “I’m open to anything.”

“Chamber of Secretsis the one with the basilisk, right?” Bailey asked.

Bella looked at her as if she’d hung the moon. How could she relate to kids so easily, even those at the hospital? She’d been able to form a connection with every single one of them even though she’d only met some of them that very evening.

“Exactly. It is a bit scary,” Bella admitted. “When I read the book, I didn’t imagine the basilisk to be so frightening. It looked more like a snake to me, not a dragon.”

“I thought the same thing. I don’t know why, though. It did say it had scales. But maybe I imagined a snake because it was far less scary.”

“You got scared too?” Bella asked, mouth hanging open.

“Oh yeah. And in the beginning, when Harry was hearing all those whispers from the wall and we didn’t know what it was, that was even scarier.”

I didn’t think Bailey was making it all up. But she was clearly adding some dramatic effects for Bella.

“Yes, exactly. Me too. I was reading it under my covers with a flashlight because Dad said I was only allowed to read a few pages a day.” As I said, the girl was sneaky! “But once you start reading Harry Potter, you can’t just read a few pages. I’m not sure why he thinks that.”

“I’ll have to take your side on that.”

Bella looked like she wanted to jump over the table and hug Bailey. Instead, she simply ate her beignet at a faster pace. Harry Potter was always a fantastic motivator for her.

Since Bailey and I only had one, we finished first. Then Bailey looked around.

“You already have a Christmas tree,” she remarked.

“Yes,” Bella said breathlessly, mouth full of beignet. “It’s all in Gryffindor colors.”

“Red and gold. It’s truly beautiful!”

“Thank you. We love it too. Okay, I’m done. I’ll clean myself up, and then we can start watching. Uncle Xander, could you turn on the TV?”

I nodded. “Sure.”

Once Bella was out of earshot, I told Bailey, “You opened a can of worms, just so you know.”

We both rose from the table. I intended to go to the living room but then got another idea. I pushed her against the edge of the table and feathered my mouth over hers.

“Xander!”

“This is going to be the last chance I get to kiss you like this tonight. Bella will hold us hostage here until the movie ends. And I’ve been wanting to kiss you ever since we were at the hospital.”

“By all means, then, get your fill,” she teased.

I captured her mouth the next second. I knew I would never have enough of Bailey, just as I knew that my name was Xander LeBlanc. She tasted like powdered sugar. I deepened the kiss, holding her waist. She felt so damn good against my body. I sucked on her tongue and practically felt the second she started to get turned on. She pressed her thighs together and pushed her chest into me. I only pulled back because I heard footsteps, stepping away just in time.

“Uncle Xander, did you start the movie?” Bella asked impatiently.

I cleared my throat. “No, not yet.”

“Why? What were you doing?”

“We were...”

“Kissing?” she asked.

I nearly swallowed my tongue. Bailey gasped. “No, we were preparing to clean the table.” She turned around quickly, grabbing the plates.

---