The two brothers exchanged a look. It was Steve who said, "Let's say we did. Were we not supposed to? Because if that was some sort of rule, you should've told us."
"Yeah," Anthony said. "And besides, it's not like we didn't warn them."
They went on to tell me that my aunt and uncle had tried to barge into the house, in spite of being told it was off-limits. My aunt, with her usual charm, had claimed she wasn't about to be deterred by a couple of two-bit flunkies who weren't even related.
Continuing the story, Anthony said, "which made her look like a giant dumb-ass, because we're brothers, you know?"
I hesitated. "I think she meant related to me."
"Eh, whatever," Anthony said. "Anyway, we told 'em, you try it, and you'll get the hose."
I was almost afraid to ask. "So then what happened?"
He grinned. "Guess."
I cleared my throat. "They, uh, tried it?"
He was still grinning. "You got it."
By now, I almost didn't know what to say. We were still standing in the foyer. I looked from brother to brother. "So you turned the hose on them? Just like that?"
Steve gave me a look. "Well, yeah. Once you threaten it, you gotta do it, you know?"
Funny, Ididn'tknow, at least not from experience, but it made a weird kind of sense.
"Yeah," Anthony agreed. "If you don't, they won't believe you the next time."
"By the way," Steve said, "someone dropped off a cake."
"Who?" I asked.
"Some chick. I didn't get her name."
I could think of only one person who might drop off a dessert. Cassie. I gave Steve a worried look. "You didn't turn the hose onher, did you?"
"Hell no," Steve said. "Jeez. What? You think we're stupid?"
I held up my hands. "Sorry."
"You should be." He made a scoffing sound. "No way we'd ruin a cake."
I stared at him. Was that a joke? From the look on his face, I couldn’t be sure either way.
When I looked to Anthony, he said, "Yeah. You get it wet, you gotta eat it with a spoon. Totally sucks."
Steve said, "And if it getstoowet, you gotta pull out a straw."
I felt my gaze narrow. "Where's the cake now?"
Steve flicked his head toward the kitchen. "The counter near the fridge."
While I made my way toward the kitchen, the brothers headed outside to retrieve the pizza and groceries from my car.
When they returned five minutes later, I was still staring at the cake. I had to ask, "Where's the rest of it?"
"Where do you think?" Steve said. "We ate it."
The cake had definitely come from Cassie. Even if I hadn't guessed already, the box with her shop's logo would've been a dead giveaway. As far as the cake itself, it was chocolate with white frosting. It looked absolutely delicious – well, what was left of it, that is.
