"Yeah, and I'm Little Miss Lollypop," she said. "What of it?"
Little Miss Lollypop?I couldn’t help it. I snickered. And when I looked to Brody, he looked dangerously close to snickering, too.
But Waverly looked ready to pop. "Stop laughing!"
When I tried – and failed – to wipe the smile from my face, Waverly said, "You know what? Forget it. You're both fucking nuts. It's always 'the house this' and 'the house that.' Well you know what?" Her voice rose. "I fucking hate that house!"
And with that, she turned and stalked toward her bedroom. When the door slammed behind her, I swear, it shook the whole place.
This left me and Brody alone in the kitchen. With an awkward smile, I said, "So, honey, how wasyourday?"
As the question echoed out between us, I almost winced.Honey?I hadn't meant to say that. I forced a laugh. "Never mind. Bad joke." As I said it, I turned away, intending to slink back into my bedroom before I made an even bigger fool of myself.
From behind me, Brody said, "Wait."
I stopped and turned to face him. "For what?"
With no trace of humor, he said, "I've got a question."
"About what?"
"The house across the street," he said. "What happened with it?"
I wasn't quite sure what he was getting at. "What do you mean?"
He gave me a serious look. "I mean, why don't you own it?"
Chapter 38
Arden
I stared up at him. "Is that a serious question?"
Brody frowned. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
No. He didn't.In fact, he looked more serious than he had in a while. Still, I didn't get it. "Well, you must be joking," I said, "because youknowthe reason I don't own it."
"Which is…?"
"Becauseyouown it."
"But I didn't always."
As if I needed the reminder."Yeah, because you bought it from my cousin." I sighed. "And me. Sort of."
"You?" His eyebrows furrowed. "But you never owned it."
"Well, notofficially," I said.
"What does that mean?"
It was such a long, convoluted story, I hardly knew where to begin. "Well, you already know that my grandparents owned the place, right?"
"Right."
"Well, my grandma – she died about six years ago, right after I graduated from high school." At the memory, my heart clenched like it always did. Still, I went on. "And then, three years after that, my grandpa passed away." As the memories swirled, my voice grew quiet. "It wasreallysudden, too."
Brody took a single step closer, and then stopped. His gaze met mine as he said, "I'm sorry."
