Page 149 of Thrust & Throttle

“Oh, that sucks.” She lifted the to-go container and handed it to me. “You have to settle for mud pie because I wasn’t sure what to bring you.”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile.

“It’s from Boots—with Uncle Bill’s compliments.”

“Uncle Bill, huh?”

“Yeah, I think he has a thing for you.”

I snorted. “I’ve never met the man. How could he possibly have a thing for me?”

“The night you tracked me down and found out about me and Dylan,” she said with a wry grin. “He was in the kitchen. So he definitely saw you in action. He said, and I quote, ‘Your sister sure is a spitfire. I like that.’ So, if you ever get sick of Duke, just know you have prospects.”

“Good to know. Fork?”

“I’ll get you one.” She headed into the kitchen and opened a drawer. “You look kind of down in the dumps.”

“The mud pie will do a lot to cheer me up,” I said. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

Waverly came over to the couch and plopped down, handing me the fork. “I’m a good listener.”

“I met with Ansel Prescott today,” I said.

“Oh yeah, that was today. What did he say?”

I sighed. “I’ve got to ask Duke to marry me.”

“Really? Why?”

I explained to her what Ansel had said.

“Wow,” she said when I was done.

“Yeah.”

“I guess that means he’s moving in here,” she said thoughtfully.

I shook my head.

“If you get married, you live together. That’s kinda how it goes,” she said.

“No. I mean, there’s not enough room in here for the three of us. What about that beautiful desk you redid for me? Not to mention the fact that you need a workshop. Remember?”

“I remember. So, we’re moving?”

“I think so.”

“We like,justmoved in here.”

“Duke’s shoes are huge.”

“Not to mention you guys are gonna be doing it at night. Better we have a few more walls between us. Oh, that reminds me, I need to invest in noise cancelling headphones becausegross.”

“You’re rotten, you know that?”

She grinned. “You love me.”

“I do love you.”

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