Page 36 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
Chapter 06
“ANDREW?” LILLIAN YELLED across the house. “Can you listen for the timer!”
“What?” He was all the way back in his bedroom and she could barely hear him.
Groaning, she started quickly toward his room while trying to unclip her hair from on top of her head. The clip was somehow tangled up in a mass of uncombed hair. She walked into Andrew’s room, battling to free her hair. “Andrew,” she said again, distracted by the pain on her scalp, “please listen for the timer on the oven.”
“Timer on the oven,” he repeated, staring at her. “Got it.”
“I’ve set it—ouch! Dammit! Sorry, I set it to go off before the lasagna’s done, so it can still do the last bit of cooking in the oven when it’s off. I know it’ll
be hard for you to take out and put on the counter, so I’ve got it perfectly set up—dammit, this hurts—so when I get back with Cayden, it’ll be ready.”
“What about the vegetables? Want me to take care of those?”
“I’ll heat them up when I get home. It’s green beans. They’ll only take a few minutes until they’re ready.” She tried to twist her hair the other way around the clip, but it only made the tangle worse. “How did this happen?”
“Do you need help?”
“I don’t know.”
“Executive decision: I’m helping. Come here.” Lillian didn’t fight back and sat on the bed, letting go of the mess and letting Andrew have a go with it. He took the clip gently in his hands and worked with tiny strands. “What time does he land?”
She looked at her phone. “In about half an hour.”
“It doesn’t take long to get there. You won’t be late.”
“I hope not.”
“Even if you are, he’ll be fine.”
“I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour. The flight tracker says it’s due to land on time, so—”
“Hey, Lillian,” Andrew interrupted, looking at her in the mirror. “Calm down. I know you’re excited.”
She paused. “I’m not excited.”
“Oh, totally. You’re dreading his arrival. That’s why you showered, used body spray, and put on something other than that huge sweatshirt.”
“How do you know I put on body spray?”
“I’m sitting right next to you, Lillian.”
“Is it too much?”
Andrew gave her a sneaky smile. “It’s not too much. He’ll love it. Now, take a breath and relax. I’m almost done with your hair.”
She took a few deep breaths. “You sound like Amelia.”
“Well, I am her brother, so that makes sense.”
Lillian got a flashback of the three of them making a huge pallet of blankets when they were younger, staying up all night and watching movies. “Thanks for doing my hair. I don’t know how you’re already almost done with it. That’s the worst knot I can ever remember having.”
“It was pretty bad.” She felt something come loose and he handed her the hair clip. “Here you go.”
“You’re a miracle worker.” Lillian gave him a quick hug and stood up, prancing to the door. “How do I look?”
“Like a million bucks, as usual.”
