Page 87 of The Usual Family Mayhem

Gram frowned. “Are you okay?”

No. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be okay again. It probably wasn’t possible to die of embarrassment. At least I hoped not.

“We know you were with him last night, honey.” Celia returned to the table. “That’s his robe.”

Admit it? Don’t admit it?I wasn’t a kid, but I still didn’t know how to maneuver through this situation. “I don’t—”

“I bought it for his birthday.” Celia dropped that bit of information then grabbed a scone for herself.

“Ah.” Of course she did.

“Did Jackson do something to you?” Gram asked.

Wow. How did I answer that?

Celia let out a little gasp. “He would never.”

Depends on what we were talking about because Jackson absolutely did, and it was great. I felt pretty lucky today as a result.

“Maybe that’s how she looks after...” Celia waved her hand in the air. “Sexual relations.”

Oh my God. “Please, stop.”

“Kasey!”

I jumped at the sound of Jackson’s stern voice. He sounded angry but looked adorable. His hair went every which way. He’d thrown on a T-shirt and pants but looked like he’d just rolled out of bed after a night of hot sex to find his car missing.

He stormed his way across the room and stood by the table. Frustration thrummed off him.

“Oh, dear,” Celia mumbled under her breath.

All of his attention was on me, and his tone wasn’t sexy or sweet. “What the hell is going on? Why did you leave?”

Gram snorted. “At least he put clothes on.”

“The way young people court these days is confusing.” Celia shook her head. “What exactly happened last night?”

Jackson’s expression was priceless. “I’m not giving you a play-by-play.”

“You need this.” Celia put a scone in front of Jackson even though he hadn’t bothered to sit down yet. “And I wasn’t referring to the sex. I can guess about that part.”

Maybe I could walk back to DC. “I’d like this conversation to be over.”

Gram didn’t make one of her usual warning sounds but she did smile. “I’m sure you would.”

“Kasey, I’m serious.” Jackson sounded like his patience had finally run out. “I thought you were making coffee then I couldn’t find you. Then I couldn’t find my keys. I had to call a rideshare to come over here.”

That was a lot of information and none of it made me look good. “Your coffeemaker is confusing.”

His mouth dropped open.

“So, you drove over here to use this one? Wearing only that?” Celia asked.

I gave in and split open the scone. This conversation didn’t show any signs of winding down and I still hadn’t eaten. “No, of course not. That would be ridiculous, as opposed to this discussion, which is totally normal.”

“I didn’t know about the report.” Jackson blurted that out.

He stared at me, like he was willing me to believe him. What a waste of energy. I already knew.

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