Page 35 of Legal

“My neighbor behind me, remember?”

“I thought her name was Mabel.” I shook my head. “Well, she looks like a Mabel. And what’re you doing taking wrinkle advice from someone who could pass for your grandmother?”

“God, Perry. She doesn’t look that old.” I started loading up the dishwasher; I might as well clean up while we were waiting.

“I don’t even notice any lines on you.”

“Then it’s working.”

I grabbed a towel underneath the sink to wipe up all the water I’d somehow splashed on the floor. The tiles were cracking, and I made a mental note to look into getting them replaced.

“Don’t you realize how good you look? I don’t get why you’re even doing these things.” I looked up to see her sucking on a piece of watermelon. Give it ten more years and she would. “I bet Chase would agree.” I stood up and threw the towel in the sink. “Why don’t you just call him?”

I took a long chug of my margarita; it was going down nice and easy. “Perry, I told you already I’m glad I haven’t heard from him. I don’t want to hear from him. Why in the world would I call him?”

“You’re lying to yourself, you know.”

I tossed my head back. She could be exasperating at times. “No, I’m not. I think he’s a great guy, and I like being around him. I accept that. But I also know that he and I are a disaster waiting to happen. It’s already gone further than it should have. And if he does happen to ever contact me, I will tell him that too. But as it stands right now, things are in a good place. Hopefully, I’ve seen the last of Chase Nolan.”

“You are such a stubborn ass.”

I turned on the oven light, peeking inside. Good enough. It was too nice of a day to stay cooped up in the house any longer. With the windows open and the fans on, it was pretty bearable—even Perry wasn’t bitching about it—but there was nothing like being in the fresh air on a picture-perfect afternoon. And tomorrow, I was making time to work on that damned air conditioner. It was at the top of my list.

Perry sprung off the counter. “Jills, your mood that night spoke volumes. Here I thought I was doing you a favor by coming over early—I know how whacked out you get sometimes—but that look in your eye… I thought you were going to come after me with a steak knife. You definitely wanted to be a part of the coming disaster then.”

I grasped her shoulders and stared her down. “Can we drop this, please? I was caught up in the moment, but I truly am relieved that you showed up when you did. So thank you. I had a great week, got a shit ton of work done, made a new commission, and pushed Chase from my mind. And on the off-chance that he hasn’t decided I have too much baggage, I’ll make it all clear to him.”

I let go of her and pulled a stack of plates from the cupboard. I was hoping that my rambling confessions that night had sunken in once he’d left. Chase was probably freaking out about being the first dick to grace a divorcée in years.

Good. He should be freaked out.

I balanced plates, utensils, and watermelon in one hand and nachos in the other. “Coming?” I asked her.

“I’m just gonna mix up another pitcher first.”

I nodded then headed to the back door, elbowing it open. I set everything down on the table underneath the umbrella. The patio appeared even bigger without all the people milling about. I had a great space for entertaining, but it was a light crowd this year. Probably because the holiday celebration wasn’t actually on a holiday. It wasn’t even worth setting up the volleyball net.

“So, what were you and Perry talking about?”

I glanced over at my brother, who had sidled up next to me. “Oh, she was just telling me how she’s thinking about breaking it off with you. There’s this other guy who asked her out and…” The look on his face made me stop. I almost felt guilty, but he deserved it. “Geez, you know I’m kidding, but—”

“I know, I know,” he whispered. “I’m in the middle of planning out the whole night. I’m gonna do it up right, make it special. She’ll love it.”

I grasped his chin and shook hard. “She loves you. Stop making her wait.”

“Yes, Mom.”

I pulled up a chair alongside Tony and Val while Stephen tended to the grill. Luckily, they were always more my friends than Mike’s, so I got to keep them after the divorce.

We chatted for a while, and I was just about to check on Perry before she barreled through the door. “Who needs a refill?” She had a frothy pitcher in one hand and a tall glass in the other. She handed me the glass. “Made another one just for you since you’re the only one who doesn’t know what tastes good.”

“Thank you.” I took a sip, and my entire body shuddered. “Are you trying to kill me here?” She’d gone to the other extreme and made it lethal.

“Stop being such a baby. At least it’s not sweet.” She topped my glass off with a bit of the stuff from the pitcher. “There, that should help.”

“Yeah, a quarter inch will make all the difference.” I tried it again and had the same reaction. I swore it was straight tequila with maybe one whole ice cube thrown in. I raised my eyebrow. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Quit whining and just drink it.”

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