Thaddeus looked uncertain. “I suppose I could do that.” He gave a self-deprecating smile and turned to face me. “My plans for the weekend are pretty much trashed after yesterday. But Ithought you said you worked Saturdays, and I wouldn’t want to hold you up.”
Tap inclined his head my way. “That’s generally true. My boss is an arsehole like that. But we don’t really need to workthisSaturday, right, Ry?”
I looked daggers at Tap.What the fuck is he playing at?“You generally complain if Idon’tgive you work,” I countered. “Why so magnanimous all of a sudden?”
Tap countered my threatening look with a sunshiny smile. “I’d earn a fuck ton of brownie points if I take Will out shopping, and believe me, I could do with them. It’s been a while.”
My glare lost none of its heat, but there wasn’t much I could say to that. Tap hadn’t had a Saturday off in a couple of months. “Fine,” I relented. “We’ll give tomorrow a miss.”
Tap beamed. “Excellent. I might even get laid twice in one day for that.” He spun to Thaddeus. “So, you can stay?”
Thaddeus finally grinned. “Sure. Why not? But you can leave the breakfast clean-up for me, in that case. I’ve got my laptop in my briefcase, and a bit of thinking time is exactly what I need. Can you recommend a tow service?”
I grabbed a business card from the fridge and handed it to him. “They’re not as cheap as some, but they’re honest and reliable.”
Thaddeus read the card and set it on the table. “Thanks. And I better have your number as well, in case the council come back.”
“Of course.” I pulled out my phone and we exchanged numbers with Tap smirking at me from the other side of the table. The man was really starting to piss me off. When I repocketed my phone and gave him the squinty eye, the fucker smiled happily.
“Help yourself to anything you need,” I told Thaddeus, gathering my keys and water bottle from the countertop. “Thereare beers in the fridge and plenty of food. Both guest rooms are made up, so take your pick. Ziggy usually comes with us, so you don’t have to wor—” I stopped when I saw said dachshund sprawled over Thaddeus’s feet, snoring loudly rather than bouncing on his toes as he usually was when we were readying to leave.
Tap grinned at the dog. “I think Ziggy is having a home day.”
I groaned and caught Thaddeus’s eye. “Do you mind? He doesn’t roam. He’ll stick to the gardens and lawns, although he might pay another visit to the hens. You’ll hear it if he does. Just rattle his food bowl and he’ll come running soon enough.”
Thaddeus’s face lit up. “I’d love the company.”
I huffed. “Let’s see if you feel the same way after he’s badgered you all day for attention.”
Thaddeus smirked. “Not much different from my ex then.”
I laughed. “Glad to see you’ve kept your sense of humour.”
He shrugged. “What am I going to do? Cry over the man’s cheating arse? I did enough of that yesterday. He doesn’t deserve more.”
His words took me back to another place and another time. Another heart that needed mending. I hoped he did a better job of it than I’d done back then. “True, but maybeyoudeserve more tears. Just because your ex is a lying, cheating prick doesn’t mean he didn’t hurt you. You can grieve for yourself without crying for him, right?”
Thaddeus stared at me from the table, blinking furiously, and I suddenly wanted five minutes alone with the man who’d put that look in his eyes. He nodded slowly. “You might be right, but on an entirely different subject, should I feed Ziggy while you’re gone?” He scratched Ziggy’s ears, and the dachshund all but purred.
I nodded. “Please.”
Thaddeus’s eyebrows scrunched. “When?”
I shrugged. “When I’m home, I feed him around five, but it varies. He’ll let you know.”
Thaddeus looked slightly panicked. “That’s very . . . vague.”
“A quarter of a cup of biscuits, no more. Don’t believe his lies.”
Thaddeus blinked. “What happens if I give him too much?”
“He’ll explode.”
Thaddeus’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “Wh-what?”
“Just kidding.” I grinned. “I keep his food in a bin in the laundry. He gets a snack sometime in the afternoon, and there’s a box of treats above his food. Give him two. We’ll be back around six. Call if you need anything. The drawer in the coffee table has every phone and laptop charger known to humanity, and the Wi-Fi password is on the fridge.”
Tap rolled his eyes. “Of course it is.”
