Of course he did. “Normally, I wouldn’t suggest listening to anything Bo says, but in this case he was right. We are friends. So, my house is your house.”
“Mi casa es tu casa,” Bailey repeated in Spanish, earning a laugh from both Kacey and me. “What’s his name?”
I could feel my face turning red just from the question and cursed myself for thinking this was a good idea for a name. “His name? Umm… it’s… his name is… Duke.”
Kacey’s eyes immediately landed on mine following this confession. “You named your dog Duke?”
I tried to blow off her question as if it was a coincidence that I had given my dog the name she once told me she wanted to name our future son. “It’s a good name for a dog.”
“It’s a good name for a person too,” she mumbled under her breath, although I couldn’t tell if her voice was more of annoyance or pain. Not that it mattered. She had no right to feel either.
I stared at Kacey trying to think of a snarky comment to make in reply. Because that’s what I had to do, right? Say something to keep me from looking like the pathetic schmuck who couldn’t let go of the past. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Bailey’s laughter. I looked down to see Duke licking her face while she giggled and rolled around on her back.
“He likes you,” I said with a laugh.
“I like him too,” Bailey said as she sat up and placed kisses all over his face.
I looked toward Kacey, who also had a slight smile on her face now. I smiled back at her, and for a moment, I was transported back to a time when things were so much easier. Back when I had no question where I belonged and who I belonged with. I hadn’t felt like that for years and I wanted to hang onto the moment forever.
Unfortunately, Kacey must not have felt the same way. She removed her eyes from mine, so she could look toward Bailey. “Sorry to break this up, sweetie, but we have to get home so we can get everything ready for your first day of school tomorrow.”
Bailey’s face dropped into a pout. “Aw, really?” When Kacey nodded in return, Bailey patted Duke on the head, then walked past Kacey out the front door.
Kacey turned to follow, but turned around before she was fully out the door. “I’m sorry for just stopping by. When that girl gets an idea in her head, there’s no way to stop her. I promise we’ll give you space though. I truly am sorry… for everything.” Before I could respond, she turned around and walked away from me once again.
Chapter 3
“Where have you been?”
I had to pull the phone away from my ear as Bo’s voice boomed from the other end. “Dude, volume. We’ve talked about this.”
“Oh. Does it sound like I’m shouting? Because I totally am. I haven’t seen you since the barbecue. It’s been almost two weeks.”
“I picked up more clients. I’ve barely been home,” I lied. Barely left the house was more like it.
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s bullshit. I see your car in the driveway all the time. You’re hermiting away to hide from Miss Dark and Mysterious from college.” I opened my mouth to say something, but Bo started talking before I had the chance. “Don’t even try to fight me on that. I’m your best friend. I know you. Have you thought anymore about my suggestion?”
“I’m not having sex with her, Bo.”
Bo let out a low growl as if I had somehow hurt him with those words. “Fine. But have you at least tried talking to her?”
“Define talk.”
“Ask her what happened. Tell her you’re pissed off about what she did. Let it all out. I don’t know. Do whatever you need to do so you can move on from this and maybe someday we can all be friends.”
“You only want to be friends with her because you think she’s hot.”
“First of all, I don’t think she’s hot. It’s a fact that she’s hot. But no, that’s not why I want to be friends with her. I’ve talked to her a few times, and she’s actually really cool.”
“Traitor,” I mumbled, starting to become annoyed with Bo’s pushiness. He had the habit of getting on my nerves, but it was unlike him to push things this much.
“Whatever. I just think—”
His words were cut off by the sound of my doorbell. For a second, I worried it might be Kacey, but that didn’t make sense since she had been respectful of the space she promised to give me. I looked through the peephole to see my sister, Kylie, on the other side.
“Sorry, Bo. I have to go. Kylie’s here.” I rested the phone between my ear and shoulder as I opened the door for her and mouthed the word sorry.
“Kylie? Maybe I should come over.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“Fine. But at least tell her I said hello.”
“I won’t.”
Bo cackled, clearly entertained by our usual game. “You can’t keep us apart forever, you know. Romeo and Juliet found a way and thus so shall I.”
I shook my head, but laughed along with him. “Yes, but Juliet didn’t have me as a sister, and you’re far from being Romeo. Now, please let me go before I have to hang up on you.”
“I’ll let you go if you promise to come over for dinner tomorrow night.”
That was strange. Bo almost never invited me over to his house and he certainly never cooked for me. Most of the time he showed up at my house and insisted that I cook for him. “You’re inviting me over for dinner?”
Bo scoffed. “Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?”
“It is, but I’m ready for you to shut up, so you have a deal. I’ll see you then.”
I hung up the phone before Bo could say anything else. “Sorry, that was Bo.”
Kylie’s face lit up at the mention of Bo’s name. “Yeah. I figured that out. How is Bo?”
I rolled my eyes at my little sister’s blatant crush on my best friend. “Still too old and too douchey for you.”
Kylie snarled and stuck her tongue out at me, showing her immaturity. “I’m twenty-six. That’s only five years younger than you. Plus, girls mature faster than boys.”
“And I have no doubt that you are a million times more mature than Bo. Hence, why that is never going to happen.”
Kylie pushed past me and threw herself onto my couch, sighing dramatically. “You used to be the fun one. What happened to the sister who used to sneak me into college parties when I was only fifteen?”
She had her heart shattered. “She grew up.” I pushed Kylie’s feet off of my coffee table where she had them resting. “So, what’s up with you?”
“You know, just missing my big sis. Also, Mom and Dad are driving me nuts, so I had to get out.” She nodded her head toward my front door. “Cute neighbor, by the way.”
I felt my face turning red. “You saw my neighbor?”
Kylie looked at me in wonder. “You mean the little girl? Probably nine or ten? Yeah. She was outside playing.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think she’s nine or ten. Probably more like seven or eight if I had to guess.”