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“Uh…” Confused, I stared down at her and slowly shook my head. “No.”
“No?” Warm brown eyes shone up at me and her lips tipped upward. “Are you lying to me, love?”
Completely fucking thrown, I shook my head again. “No, I just…”
“You just what, love?”
“I need to leave,” I heard myself tell her, still confused as fuck at this tiny woman. “I, ah, wouldn’t have stayed at all, but I couldn’t climb the gate to get out.”
“It’s a tall gate,” she replied with a knowing smile. “I’ve climbed it a time or two back in the day.”
Well, shit. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” She offered me a devilish grin and headed off down the hallway. “Follow me, Joey love. No child leaves my house without a full belly.”
“I’m not a child,” I replied, reluctantly trailing after her.
“How about no friend of my son leaves on an empty stomach then,” she called over her shoulder, leading me into the kitchen. “Man, woman, or child. Does that suit you better?”
Hovering in the kitchen doorway, I watched as she busied herself with setting the island with cutlery. “I’m not his friend, either.”
“Well, your sister certainly is.”
“Yeah, well, when it comes to my sister and your son, labeling them as friends is fairly naive, not to mention an outdated notion.”
“Intuitive,” she mused. “You know what, Joey love, I think you might be right.”
“Your son could do a lot worse,” I heard myself say, immediately shifting into defense mode as I watched her plate a heap of scones onto a serving dish. Scones. She was making scones and tea in an actual fucking teapot. “But he couldn’t do better than my sister.”
Her lips tipped upward. “Is that so?”
“Just putting it out there.” Shrugging, I folded my arms across my chest. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“I could say the same thing to you.”
“How’d you figure?”
“Well, aren’t you doing the same to me?” She smiled over her shoulder before moving for the kettle.
“With all due respect, lady—”
“Edel.”
“Edel,” I reluctantly corrected. “No offense, but you’re the one with the mansion. I think it’s fair to say that your story is self-explanatory.”
“You’d be surprised, Joey love.”
“Yeah, well, listen, I know you already know about our family.” There was no point in denying our circumstances to this woman. Her son knew all about us. Besides, she had eyes in her head. She could see the marks on my sister. Either way, I was done with the pretenses. I was done with the bullshit. “Your son’s been sniffing around long enough to figure out we’ve got shit to deal with at home, which means you do, too. I just don’t want you to judge my sister based on bullshit that she can’t control. She couldn’t be more different from the rest of our family.”
“You sound like you’re including yourself in that statement.”
“Because I am.” With my skin itching and my body cold to the bone, I forced a nod. “Shannon’s the best person I know.”
“Oh, Joey love.” Sympathetic brown eyes locked on mine. “Why do I get the feeling that Shannon would say the exact same thing about you?”
Unsettled by the way she looked at me, and with the mother of all headaches attacking my senses, I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned against the doorframe.
“Are you alright, love?” Concern flashed across her features. “Do you need to sit down?”
