Chapter Six

A hand waved in front of Matt’s face.

He blinked and the bar came back into focus.

Carla stared at him over the rim of a blue cocktail that had set him back twelve bucks, not eight. A bit steep for a place serving warm beer for a dollar, but it was what it was. He had other things on his mind.

Like Lexi dating a cop.

Matt should have felt better. The man had, at least once in his life, passed a background check. He was probably trusted with a service weapon, though not by Matt. He’d apparently brought Lexi there for a reason other than cheap booze, considering he’d sipped water for the duration of his stay.

But Matt didn’t feel better.

Matt felt like shit.

Carla’s gaze had drifted to the man Lexi had pointed out, and even in Matt’s distracted state he saw her pupils flare with interest. Normally that’d be his cue to turn on the charm, but that night he couldn’t have cared less. “Hey,” he said, drawing her back, if only for a moment. “I have a headache. Do you mind if I take you home?”

One of her coiffed eyebrows listed upward. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

He sighed. “Do you want to go or not?”

She sipped the drink, her attention sliding briefly back to the other guy, who acknowledged Matt with a tip of his chin. “Nah, I’m good. Brad said he’d like to get to know me.”

Brad. Matt withdrew his wallet. “I’ll at least cover your ride home.”

She glanced back at her new friend, glossy strands of hair glinting in the dim light. “I don’t think I’ll be needing that,” she purred. “But thanks.” She stood and dragged a fingertip along his bicep. “If she means that much to you, just go for it.”

“Excuse me?”

She batted her eyelashes in a move that wasn’t so much coy, he figured, as an attempt to call him out. “Lexi. You never know until you ask.”

“It’s not like that,” he sputtered. “We’re just friends.”

“Sure you are,” Carla said knowingly before turning and swinging her hips back to Brad, who lit up like a kid being led into a chocolate factory.

Matt looked away, to the warm beer that sat barely touched in front of him. He left it there, threw down a twenty for his drink and Carla’s, and headed for the door. He’d been ditched by two women in less than an hour, which had to be a record, but the funny thing was he couldn’t have cared less about them.

Lexi, though. For some damned reason he couldn’t have cared more.

…

Dave took Lexi straight back to Matt’s. He’d been a perfect gentleman who not only charmed Lexi but also had his previously surly sister smiling by the time he pulled up to the curb. Clearly a great guy, but for Lexi, sparks remained elusive. She did, however, say she’d like to stay in touch, and his grin upon hearing so made her feel more than a bit guilty.

She tried not to think about that as she headed into Matt’s house. After a few moments of assuring a sleepy Waffles that he was the best boy, she stepped into the shower and washed away the staleness of the night.

She didn’t hear Matt come in.

She was still wondering how his date had gone early the next morning when she left for Elsie’s.

Matt’s grandmother lived in an assisted living retirement condo. Lexi had been sad to lose her as a neighbor when she’d announced the move after their high school graduation, but she soon realized how great of a move it had been. Elsie thrived with the social aspect—she even went skinny-dipping with a few other residents, if Elsie, the security footage, and one horrified administrator were to be believed—but what made them all sleep better was the availability of a twenty-four hour medical staff.

Elsie preferred to think of herself as independent, however, and while that might have been technically true, she was a nightmare resident for any HOA. When the condos put in window boxes, each one had been planted with tender new petunias. Lexi had been at the presentation and had gained an utter appreciation for the care the staff put into giving each resident small gardening tools and gloves to care for their tiny window plots. The next time Lexi had visited Elsie, her petunias were gone, replaced with an “herb” Elsie swore helped her arthritis.

Lexi steered into a parking spot and downed the last of her coffee before heading inside. The condos were designed for residents to age in place, so they all opened to a central hall, lessening the chances of a dementia patient wandering off and shielding everyone from door-to-door salespeople and solicitors. Lexi signed in, pausing with bated breath to see if the front desk had any more of Elsie’s antics to share, but the woman merely wished her a cheerful good morning and went back to her paperwork.

Elsie was all the way at the end of the hall—far from the pool, her window box not in view of the front parking lot or visitors to the outdoor common areas—and the woman stood in her doorway waiting for Lexi. “It’s about time, child.”

“I’m early,” Lexi told her.

“Well, my hair won’t set itself,” Elsie grumbled. Her housecoat threatened to fall open.

Knowing Elsie, and not prepared for the early morning edition of naked grandma, Lexi gently tugged the tie that circled Elsie’s waist. “Your hair hasn’t changed in twenty years, Elsie. There’s not a strand on your head that doesn’t know where it belongs.”

“These old geezers here don’t know that,” Elsie said, ushering Lexi into her living room. “They’ve got nothing to do all day but gossip. There’s no reason to let them bring my grooming into it.”

Lexi thought of Matt and Carla and the woman the gamer kid had swiped from him and realized just how much he and Elsie had in common. Both were always on the prowl for something. Lexi might have found the connection—separated by gender, two generations, and more than five decades—amusing, but that stupid knot wouldn’t leave her chest. She realized she was frowning and straightened. “Are you ready? Where’s your crossword book?” Elsie liked to do crosswords out loud with Lexi while she did her hair, and Lexi wanted to do anything but think about Matt.

“Forget that. What’s on your mind?”

Lexi sighed. This had to be a new record. She had no clue how someone widely believed to be half off her rocker could be so observant, but that was Elsie for you. She tended to defy the odds and—as a direct quote—damn their expectations. Which was exactly what she’d said when an administrator had told her that she was never again to swim naked in the pool, after which Elsie pointed out there wasn’t a rule against it and the admin stated they expected residents would know better. Unfortunately, Lexi preferred Elsie’s colorful story to her own, but she might as well spit it out. “I caught my kitchen on fire, so I moved into Matt’s guest room for a few weeks.” Deflection would have been futile. Elsie would figure it out in a heartbeat, then grill her about why she hadn’t wanted to admit to living with Matt.

Elsie’s eyes blazed to attention. “A fire? Was anyone hurt?”

“No, we’re all fine. Waffles was at Matt’s.”

“I see.”

Was Elsie upset with her? She had put Matt in danger, indirectly, but living next door to Lexi and any cooking appliance might as well be considered high risk. “It was an accident,” Lexi rushed to say. “I was trying to bake a—” No, she didn’t want Elsie to know that. It was a surprise. “Anyway, it’s only temporary. The contractor said it would be about three weeks, and I’m in the guest room. Between his twenty-four-hour shifts and my nine-to-fives, we probably won’t see each other that often, but—” She thought of him going all father-of-the-bride on perfectly respectable Dave while Matt’s own date stood there, poured into a dress that wouldn’t keep an ingrown hair a secret, and suddenly wondered if Elsie thought her living with Matt meant…something else. Elsie was far from conventional, but Lexi had heard her mention proper courting more than once, and if she thought Lexi and Matt were…yeah, no. Despite the rather errant direction Lexi’s thoughts had taken of late, that was a huge no. “If I don’t kill Matt in the next three weeks,” she blurted, “it’ll be a miracle.”

Elsie had watched, expressionless, which hadn’t helped Lexi’s rambling. Now, she arched one unruly eyebrow and said, “With your cooking?”

“No,” Lexi said slowly, certain Elsie had to be teasing her, not that it mattered. “With my hands around his throat.”

Elsie released a relieved sigh. “Well, in that position, at least you can’t cook for him.”

Lexi blinked.

“You can promise me that, can’t you dear? To not cook anything in his house?” Elsie waved a hand. “Maybe the microwave, if you’re careful, but just for yourself. Let him fix his own food.”

Stunned, Lexi didn’t say anything for a long moment. Elsie didn’t seem to notice. Finally, Lexi asked, “Do you still want me to do your hair?”

“Well, why else are you here?” Elsie fussed, grabbing her crossword book and plopping into the chair with the ease and flippancy of a teenage girl. Lexi had a sudden flash of gratitude that Elsie had needed Lexi’s mom years ago—not for her poor health then, but for giving Lexi her friendship with Matt. “Old dice game,” Elsie said, launching right into crosswords. “Six letters, starts with K.”

Lexi looked down over Elsie’s shoulder, frowning. “The book isn’t open yet.”

“I looked at it earlier while I was waiting for you.” She turned to a partially completed page and waited, pen poised.

“Oh.” Lexi started on Elsie’s hair, fluffing the bedhead out of it. Lexi wasn’t a stylist and she never did anything more monumental than fixing the parts Elsie couldn’t see, but that was the worst-kept secret in the room. Elsie loved the routine and the company. They both did.

“Kismet,” Elsie said.

“Huh?”

“The dice game,” she said gleefully. “It’s Kismet.”

Lexi waited a moment before asking, “Aren’t you going to write it down?”

“Of course,” Elsie said, not lifting her pen. “What the fortune teller said, past tense. Eight letters.”

“Fortune,” Lexi said. “No, not enough letters.”

“Ends in a d.”

“Foretell…foretold.”

“Yep, that’s it.” Elsie angled the book away, scribbling in it. “Hey, you should know this one. Rapid oxidation with heat and light. Ten letters, ends with n.”

Lexi thought for a moment. “Ignition?”

“Longer. What starts a fire?”

“Combustion?”

“Yes, thank you.” Again, Elsie hadn’t written a thing.

Lexi’s eyes narrowed. Kismet…fate. Foretold. Combustion. What was the next answer? Lexi set her house on fire, surprising no one? “Are you making this up?”

“For heaven’s sake, do I look like I write crosswords?”

“You don’t look like you’re doing one.”

Elsie swatted at Lexi’s words like she might an irritating housefly. “I’ll fill it in later. I don’t want to move my head. Might make your task more difficult.”

“You’ve filled it in every other time.”

“I know, and do you know what Gladys said about my hair?”

Lexi choked back a laugh. “Suit yourself,” she said.

Elsie remained uncharacteristically quiet for a few moments before asking, “Is my grandson giving you a hard time?”

Lexi had to look at the woman before answering, because there was absolutely no telling what the actual question was. Knowing Elsie, it was more likely to be a sexual innuendo than a straightforward question, but either way, the answer was the same. “No, but I feel like I’m in his way.”

“You’re fifty feet closer than you were last week. Hardly a nuisance.”

“Tell that to his date. She was pretty disappointed to realize when she saw me there that he hadn’t invited her over early for dessert.”

Elsie put down her book. “He invited a woman over when you were there?”

Oh, boy. What had Lexi started? “Well, he knew I was going out. I think he was just curious.”

Elsie harrumphed. “Nosy is what he was. So you were…meeting a friend?”

“A friend picked me up.” Inwardly, Lexi groaned. This conversation would definitely get back to Matt, and she had no clue how it would sound in translation.

“Interesting timing,” Elsie mused.

“Not really. He just wanted to…interfere.”

“Does he normally interfere by parading his girlfriends in your face?”

“Well that would imply he’d actually been in a relationship, so no. But also no, he doesn’t make a point of introducing me.” The memory made her cringe the way an embarrassing moment might, and she wasn’t sure why. It couldn’t have been because of Carla herself. Lexi had seen Matt at dozens of fire department and community events, always surrounded by women, and she’d never thought anything of it. Last night was probably the first time she’d seen him in a more intimate setting, and while he’d been too busy sticking his nose in her business to flaunt the absolute sexiness of his date, the whole he’s with her thing seemed to be stuck in Lexi’s head. On repeat. Which, frankly, she found annoying. She’d met a decent guy right out of the gate, and yet she couldn’t get her mind off Matt. New and exciting prospect versus the guy whose underwear she’d been washing for the better part of a decade. That was no toss-up.

“Are you flushed?” Elsie asked, studying her in the mirror.

“It, um, it is a little warm in here,” Lexi fibbed.

“Yes.” Elsie patted the back of her hair, knocking away Lexi’s hand. Lexi hadn’t done much, but as usual, Elsie checked herself out in the mirror and declared the session a success. “Can you help me with my dress?”

“Of course,” Lexi said.

Elsie, as she was prone to do, dropped her housecoat and reached for the dress hanging on the back of the door. Naked grandma. Lexi immediately noticed a bandage covering an inflamed area on her shoulder. “What happened?” she asked, peering more closely. Lexi was genuinely concerned, but it also gave her something to look at—something, that was, other than an eighty-five-year-old woman in thong underwear.

Elsie swatted her away. “I’m fine. It’s a fresh tattoo.”

Lexi blinked. Twice. “You got a tattoo?”

“Yep.” Elsie beamed. “Handcuffs. I wanted that bald fellow from that FBI show but the artist said my skin might be a bit too thin—”

Lexi immediately flashed to Elsie’s Derek Morgan obsession. “Shemar Moore? You wanted a tattoo of Shemar Moore? You can’t even see it back there.”

Elsie waved a dismissive hand. “Honey, if I can’t ride around on his back, he might as well ride around on mine.”

Lexi held back a laugh. “Too bad you had to get something else,” she said as she helped Elsie into her dress.

Elsie patted her hand. “Nah. Might spark some creativity in one of these old geezers around here. And you. Give Matt hell. That boy could use some shaking up.”

“Yes ma’am.” Lexi didn’t have a clue what Elsie meant by that, but she’d learned long ago to go with her flow. In that spirit, she gathered her stuff and headed for the door, but before she made it through, Elsie touched her arm.

“Hell is one thing,” she said somberly. “So is the shaking. But I meant what I said before.”

“What’s that?” Lexi asked.

“Don’t make him eat your cooking.”