Page 106 of Truth or More Truth
“Nope. Because, as Diego says, I’m a smart biscuit.”
Bobby barks out a laugh. “He’s a pretty smart biscuit himself.”
He turns onto a street that winds up and to the left. Over the past few minutes, the houses have consistently gotten larger, and now we can’t even see the homes. They’re hidden behind thick hedges and gates, with only a few lights twinkling through. Bobby turns into one of the drives and pulls up to a keypad mounted on a terracotta pillar. He punches in a code, and wrought iron gates swing open.
My mouth gapes a few seconds later when we follow a curve in the driveway and the Mediterranean-style home comes into view. The white exterior appears to be glowing due to the uplighting spaced around the perimeter.
I knew Bobby had money, but I didn’t realize he hadthiskind of money. Coming from a wealthy family, I’ve been in plenty of homes like this, but I doubt many are fully paid off, like Bobby said his home is. The place is both massive and gorgeous, and I’m sure we’re only seeing a portion of it from this angle. He presses the button on his garage door opener as we circle around the side of the house to the four-car garage.
As we pull inside, the door into the house flings open, revealing a pretty teenager with French-braided dark-brown hair. The smile on her face could not be any bigger, and I think I spy a dimple in her left cheek. She rushes to the car and opens my door before I can reach for it.
“Hi, Melissa! I’m soooo glad I finally get to meet you!” Kelli leans in and flings her arms around my neck. Her exuberance is as heartwarming as it is surprising. Bobby told me her personality is nothing like his, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.
“Kelli, give her some space, will you? You don’t even know if she’s a hugger,” her dad chastises as he climbs out of the car.
As Kelli lets go of me, I assure her, “I’m a hugger. You can hug me anytime you want. Let me get out of the car, and we can do it properly.”
After another hug, we make our way into the house, which is even more stunning than the outside. I’m surprised by the amount of color, but I expect most of the bright, colorful touches are due to Kelli, who’s wearing a color-blocked shirt that’s undoubtedly from United Colors of Benetton.
Kelli claps her hands together and asks, “Are you ready for the grand tour? Wanna see my room first?”
“Baby,” Bobby says, but then pauses when Kelli glares at him. “Sorry.Kelli,it’s late, and Melissa’s internal clock is on Central Time, which is even later. You can give her the tour in the morning. We all need to get to bed, so we’ll be rested and ready to talk tomorrow.”
Kelli pouts and tries to argue, but Bobby holds a hand up, and she presses her lips closed. It seems they’ve had this conversation more than once already. She gives us both a tight hug, tells us good night, and then heads to an outside door off the kitchen, which surprises me.
With a grin, she says, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite, and make sure to do a few things I’m not old enough to do!” And then she’s out the door, slamming it behind her.
I turn to Bobby with a questioning look. “What was that about?”
“She informed me she’d be sleeping at her mom’s while you’re here so you and I can have someprivacy.”
My cheeks heat. “You’re kidding.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Nope. She’s incorrigible, that one.”
“I guess so. But I’ll admit I’m not opposed to doing a few things she’s not old enough to do.”
Bobby chuckles as he grabs my bags and tilts his head toward the stairs visible through the entryway into the living room. “I’m opposed tonotdoing those things. Up the stairs with you, Pookie. No dawdling.”
forty-four
. . .
Itold Kelli not to come over to the house before nine in the morning in order to give us plenty of time to sleep. But since I’m used to getting up at five, and Melissa’s body is on Chicago time, we wake up with hours to spare. That doesn’t mean we have to actually get up and start getting ready for the day, though.
“Can we take a nap today?” Melissa murmurs against my chest. I woke up to her curled around my side, much like the morning in the trucker motel in Illinois, but with fewer clothes.
I tap my temple. “I’m putting it on my agenda right now.”
“You think Kelli is going to abide by your agenda?” she asks.
“I have every reason to believe she will not.”
Melissa laughs, lightly ruffling my chest hair. “I like her. Granted, I only spent a couple minutes in her presence last night, but she seems like a great kid.”
“A little overenthusiastic, maybe, but yeah, she’s the best.”
She raises her head to look me in the eye. “I love how much you love her.”
