"For the land," I said. "It's right there on the beach andreallyvaluable, by local standards anyway."
Property values were relative, after all. If my grandparent's house had been located almost anywhere else, like in California for example, the land alone would've cost millions.
But here in Michigan, it wasn't like that. Between the smaller economy and harsh winters, beachfront properties weren'tcompletelyout of reach for an average person – providing they had a great job or lots of savings, preferably both.
Unfortunately, I had neither.
On the phone Cami was saying, "But the way you always talked, I thought your grandparents didn't have a lot of money."
"They didn't," I said. "But the house has been in our family for a long time, over a hundred years now."
It almost hurt to say it. Thanks to my own personal failure, the line of custody had ended with Jason rather than continuing on with me.
Still, I had to focus on the positive. "But now I don't need to worry, because it's going to be fixed up. See?"
"Oh sure," Cami said. "By your arch enemy. I mean, come on. You seriously believe he'll do it?'
Yes. I did.In spite of hismanyother flaws, Brody was the kind of guy who never went back on his word.
I recalledthatfrom high school, too.
I replied, "Yeah. I do believe him, actually."
She gave a snort of derision. "Like you believed Jason?"
Her words found their mark, and my stomach twisted with new worry. Or maybe it was just hunger. For all kinds of reasons, I hadn't eaten a single thing yesterday.
And now I was starving. In fact, I was so hungry, I was beginning to smell things – bacony things.
Ilovedbacon. I swear, even now, I could smell it wafting through the walls. I poked my head out from under the covers and took a tentative sniff. Maybe thatwasbacon.
On the phone, Cami said, "Well?"
By now, I was so distracted, I could hardly think. "Well what?"
"You were about to tell me what happened next."
"Oh, right. So anyway, once he gave me back my phone—"
"Wait, what? He took your phone?"
"Uh, yeah. Didn't I tell you?"
"No."
"Oh. I guess that slipped through the cracks. Anyway, when I was in the shower, he swiped my cell phone."
Her voice rose. "And youlethim?"
"I didn'tknowhe swiped it until it turned up missing," I said. "And even if Ihadseen him take him take it, what was I supposed to do? Tackle him naked?"
At the thought, something fluttered in my stomach. It wasn't hunger. Or at least, it wasn't hunger for food.
The truth was, even though Brody was the last person I'd ever sleep with, I wasn't blind to his appeal. And, when it came to sex, let's just say it had been a while.
For me.
Not him.
