“Yeah, might be last week’s Chinese. Or maybe that was two weeks ago.”

I turn the corner into my kitchen and see her with half her body in the fridge and two full garbage bags at her feet.

“Christ, how long have you been here?”

“You’re lucky I’m not your mom. She would kick your ass for letting things get this gross.”

She pulls herself out of the fridge and turns toward me right when I’m about to give her a hug. “Don’t you dare come near me when you’re wet with sweat, Liam Beckett!” She backs up when I smile and go to do just that. “Hell no, you nasty pig!” She laughs and jumps over the trash bag she had been working on filling up and holds her hands up. “Do it and I tell Cohen you touched my boob!”

That stops me in my tracks.

“First, uh no. Second, not funny. The last time you pulled that shit I had a black eye for two weeks. And I’ll add that I didn’t even touch your tit, my shoulder brushed against it when we were stuck playing drunk twister.”

“Whatever,” she smiles.

“Yeah, whatever my ass. You didn’t get the black eye AND you spent an hour after it laughing your ass off.”

I reach past her and grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. Turning to look at her again.

“Why is there only water in here?”

“You should be thankful I considered that was safe enough to stay. I figured with them being in sealed bottles they could stick around. I thought about calling the CDC in to make sure there wasn’t something dangerous living in that fridge!” She throws the towel she had been wiping the fridge out with and I just barely move out of the way.

“So, I’ve been busy.”

“You work too much,” she says, changing the subject and grabbing a water of her own before heading to the sink to wash her hands.

“So you’ve told me, Mom.” I sigh.

She sticks her tongue out at me, same old Dani, when she can’t think of an insult back, out comes the tongue.

“I have my mom’s lasagna cooking and it should be ready by the time you hose your nasty smelling ass off. Then you can clue me in to why I left my family to come over here.” She smiles and I know she doesn’t mean it, but I feel guilty for pulling her away.

“Sorry, Dani. I could have waited a day or two.”

“Don’t be sorry, Lee. You know I’m joking. Plus, when I left my boys were watching a baseball game. They probably won’t even notice that I’m gone.”

I tip up the water and down the whole bottle in one go. I should have thought to bring water with me earlier, but I was in a hurry to get everything done.

“Where have you been anyway?” Dani asks before lifting her own water to her lips.

“Megan’s. Mowed her yard, weeded the flowerbeds and fixed up a few boards that had started to warp on her fence. Stuff like that.”

I turn and walk out of the room leaving a shocked face Dani with water dribbling out of her open mouth.

“Jumping in the shower!” I call over my shoulder and head off to get cleaned up.

Twenty minutes later I walk back in to my now sparkling kitchen to find Dani impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Tell me all of it. Now.” She demands with a smile.

“What do you want to know?” I ask, pretending I have no idea what she wants.

“You can’t drop a bomb like that and just walk away, Lee!”

“I told you everything. I went to her house this morning, did some work and came home.”

“Uh uh,” she nods, her smile growing. “And? Did you see Megan? Talk to her? Anything?!”

“Good Christ, calm down.” I shake my head and walk over to the table and sit down. “Where’s my mail?” I look up and see Dani hasn’t moved and now she looks like she’s about to come out of her skin if I don’t give her something.

“Junks in the trash, bills are over there,” she says with a point over her shoulder, “Now speak.”

“Impatient much?”

“Lee!”

“You act like I’ve never been interested in a woman before, Dani.”

“Well, you haven’t. Not like this.”

I pause and think, God she might be right. I dated through high school and college. I had a few serious girlfriends, but no one that I’ve had to work for it with. And definitely no one that I could see myself bringing home to meet my parents. Megan on the other hand, I can’t wait to bring her and Molly home.