Chapter Twenty-Three
Lainey
The three of us fell into a comfortable conversation while we ate dinner in my living room, and I found it wasn’t hard to put aside my grudge toward Adam.
Brian sat in the chair, Adam on the couch, and I sat on the other side of the coffee table on the floor next to Conor, who was asleep on his blanket after Brian had gently rocked him until he conked out.
“Is your sister still working in the ER?” Brian asked as he went into the kitchen for seconds.
“Yeah. I mean, as far as I know. I haven’t talked to her since last week, but she didn’t mention anything then. Why?”
“I was surprised we didn’t see her when Adam went to the ER yesterday. It seems every time I’m at the hospital, she’s there.”
“I know she works a lot, probably not as much as you, since she does get a few days off each week. But I think she averages like fifty to sixty hours a week.”
“Hopefully once Adam starts, I’ll be able to get a few days off, too.”
I turned to Adam. “When are you starting?”
“Well, provided I pass my background check, ten days after the doctor clears me to travel. I’m going to go to Massachusetts to get my Bronco from my parents’ pole barn and my boxes out of their basement.”
I couldn’t help but grin when I asked, “Are you worried they’re going to find something during your background check?”
He didn’t hesitate to reply, “Not even a little. I’ve never had so much as a parking ticket. And last I checked, my credit score was seven-eighty.”
“I’m assuming that’s good?”
He blinked, like he was waiting to see if I said I was kidding or something before he responded.
Finally, he asked. “What did you say your degree was in?”
“I don’t have one, yet. I was supposed to graduate last month, but I took my final semester off to have a baby and buy a bakery. When I finally do get my degree, it will be in accounting.”
“And you’re not sure if a seven-eighty credit score is good?”
I pressed my lips together to try to keep from smiling to no avail.
Adam caught on.
“Oh, you’re screwing with me.”
My voice was soft, so Brian wouldn’t overhear, when I replied, “You said we couldn’t do that, remember?”
His voice was equally quiet.
“Baby girl, it’s not because I don’t want to.”
Brian reappeared with more food on his plate and demanded, “What are you two whispering about?”
I smiled at him as he sat back down.
“We were wondering if you were going to eat all the fortune cookies.”
“Of course not. I’m not a rude dick. It looks like there’s enough for us to each have two.”
Adam explained, “Pam said she included extras in case we don’t like our first fortune.”
I stood up, carried my plate to the sink, rinsed it off, then picked up the six wrapped cookies from the counter before returning to my spot on the floor. I laid them on the table and commanded, “Pick one.”
Adam shook his head. “Ladies first.”
Brian reminded me, “Remember you have to add, ‘in bed,’ after you read your fortune.”
I chose a cookie from the middle of the pile, broke the seal of the plastic wrapper, and pulled the crispy wafer from the packaging.
“I get to pick again, if I don’t like this one, right?”
Brian replied, “Only after we’ve all picked one.”
“Okaaay… here goes!” I said dramatically as I cracked the cookie and popped the piece that fell on my leg into my mouth as I took the little slip of paper out and unfolded it.
“It’s time to move forward from the past.”
I shot Adam a pointed look while Brian proclaimed, “In bed!”
Adam’s expression remained neutral as the three of us contemplated the fortune’s meaning.
“I guess that’s appropriate,” I murmured as I munched on the rest of the cookie.
Brian nodded. “That is a good one for you.”
“You wanna go next?” Adam asked Brian.
Brian was still working on the rest of his kung pao chicken. “Nah, you go.”
Without any fanfare, Adam plucked a cookie from the assortment, took it from the wrapper, and broke it open.
“Now is the time to take a chance.”
Brian added, “In bed,” and I pressed my lips together to try and hide my smug grin.
“The fortune cookie gods have spoken,” I said authoritatively.
“That’s a good one for you, too,” Brian observed before leaning forward to select his.
I was still watching Adam when Brian said, “Aw, this is bullshit. I want a do-over.”
“Read it,” I demanded.
“You will be happy with your spouse,” then he added, “in bed.”
I lifted my shoulders. “I mean, that’s a good fortune. It’d suck for you to be unhappy with your spouse—in or out of bed.”
“Yeah, well, but I don’t see even a girlfriend in my future anytime soon,” he said as he snatched another cookie from the shrinking pile and opened it.
“What the fuck?”
I giggled at his outrage.
“Read it!”
“You will have a long and fruitful marriage.”
“Sorry, Bri. But I’m afraid it’s out of our hands. The fortune cookie gods are demanding a sacrifice, and it appears your bachelorhood is it. I’d ask if Conor can be your ring bearer, but it sounds like this might be happening before he can walk.”
****
Adam
After we finished dinner, we had about an hour left to get the camera installed before it got dark.
Unfortunately, Brian hadn’t accounted for how tall a ladder we’d need if we wanted to place the camera in its optimal location.
“We’ll come by first thing in the morning,” he assured Lainey. “But I think you should stay at my house tonight, to be on the safe side.”
“I’m not staying at your house. I’ve already put Conor to bed, and I have to be at the bakery first thing in the morning. I’m not leaving my apartment—that means whoever wrote that letter wins. And I refuse to let that happen.”
“Fine, then Adam is sleeping on your couch again.”
I am?
After a nanosecond of thought, I realized that was probably the best option. Then my mind flashed to what she’d told me earlier about how she’d wanted to ride me on her couch. Or wished I’d slipped into bed with her.
Staying here with that knowledge could be detrimental to my “staying out of trouble” plan.
It was no surprise that Lainey was not on board.
“Not happening,” she declared without a moment’s hesitation.
And while I understood, and maybe even agreed with, why I shouldn’t stay, I was still a little offended at how quickly and easily she dismissed the idea.
I interjected, “Now, hold on. You said I was helpful when I slept here.”
“And you were, but that was befo—” She didn’t finish her thought, only shook her head and blurted out, “It’s just a bad idea.”
Brian was determined to find out what had occurred between us.
“Why?”
“Well, for starters, he’s too big for my couch.”
“I have an air mattress he can use,” Brian offered.
I turned to her with a smile. “He has an air mattress. Problem solved.”
“The air pump will wake up Conor.”
“We’ll blow it up at my house.”
I raised my eyebrows at her, as if to say, “What else you got?”
“I will be fine. Adam is still recovering. The last place he should be sleeping is on an air mattress.”
The solution seemed easy to Brian.
“So let him sleep in your bed.”
Shawn had been Brian’s best friend since childhood. I wouldn’t think Brian would be on board with that.
I felt my eyes go wide at the same time Lainey’s hand flew to her chest and she demanded, “Excuse me?”
Brian shrugged. “He can sleep in your bed; you can sleep on the air mattress.”
“Ohhhh,” she and I said at the same time.
Yeah, that made more sense.
“What did you think I meant?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m not really sure. That’s why I was confused.”
Lainey was more direct. “I thought you were advocating we sleep together.”
The thought didn’t seem to scandalize Brian as much as I thought it would. His response was not at all what I was expecting.
“I mean, you’re both consenting, single adults. You do you. Or, I guess in this case, each other.”
Lainey gasped. “Brian Michael O’Shaughnessy! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“I do. And thanks to how much I work, she’s the only one I’ve been kissing.”
“Yeah, but the fortune cookie gods are on your side,” I said with a laugh.
“Okay, so it’s settled. Adam is staying here in Lainey’s bed—whether he’s alone or not is up to you guys.”
Lainey emphatically replied, “He will be alone.”
“I’m not sleeping in Lainey’s bed. She needs her rest; she doesn’t get enough as it is. The air mattress will be fine.”
Brian stood and walked toward the door.
“You guys work that out amongst yourselves. You need me to bring anything back with the air mattress?”
“Why don’t I go with you so I can grab some clothes for tomorrow and my toiletries?”
“Good idea,” Lainey chimed in as she and I also made our way to the now-open door that Brian was standing in.
He pointed a finger at her. “Don’t get any ideas about not letting us back inside. I’m not above kicking your door down.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s against the law.”
Brian grinned at her. “Welfare check. It’s justified.”