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“Oh, yeah?” I’m genuinely surprised. “That’s awesome. Do you play football at school?”
“No.” Liam gets really quiet suddenly. “Well, my family, they used to like football, but they don’t anymore.”
I give him a strange look. What an odd thing to say.
“Why’s that? Are they Cleveland Browns fans or something?
“Uh, Liam,” Izzie chokes out. “I’m sure Brady doesn’t want to hear about our boring family.”
She starts chuckling awkwardly as she nudges Liam with her elbow. “Tell him about the other clubs you’re in.” She then looks up at me and adds, “He’s in a lot of them actually...a lot of interesting ones.”
I look over at Liam who shrugs and doesn’t look all that excited to talk about his other interests. I wonder why Izzie seems so desperate to change the conversation.
“Well, if you ever want to check out one of our games,” I tell him, ignoring Izzie, “just let me know. I can get you at least two free tickets and even a free team jersey.”
Liam’s face beams like the Northern Lights. I’ve never seen a kid look so damn happy. I truly made his whole day—possibly his whole life.
“Thanks, Mr. Brady!”
I give him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, kid. It’s no problem.”
I look up at Izzie, expecting her to look pleased and happy with how nice I’m treating her nephew, but instead, I see the exact opposite. She’s mad as hell! She’s looking at me as if I just told Liam to drop out of school, do drugs, and become a pimp.
Izzie puts her fork down and folds her hands as if she's about to make a speech.
“That’s not necessary, Brady.” She eyes me like she’s annoyed. “You’ve done enough for us with rolling out the red carpet and making us feel welcome, but you don’t have to throw free things at us. Trust me, you’ve done enough favors for us. Besides, Liam can’t go to the next game because it’s a school night, and he has a ton of homework. Don’t you, Liam?”
Liam looks deflated as he sinks into his seat. His dreams have been doused with gasoline and set on fire.
“Right,” he mumbles into his plate.
“Anyway,” Izzie starts. She clearly wants to change the subject. “So I called the termite people today, and I have some bad news for everyone.”
“Did the house get eaten?” Liam asks.
Izzie rolls her eyes. “No, of course not. But the termite guys are booked all this week. The earliest they can come to the house to fumigate is next week. And then, after that, they told me I’d need to wait another week to make sure the poison is all gone from the house. So, yeah, it looks like we won’t be back in the house for at least three weeks.”
When she tells me this, I can’t help but feel a tad happy and excited about it. Izzie, in my house forthreeweeks? Yes, ma’am.
But I must have a pervy grin on my face because Izzie quickly adds, “But I promise we’ll be out of your hair by this weekend.”
Fuck, and now I’m sad again.
“Why this weekend?” I’m seriously bummed. “Where else are you guys gonna go?”
“Well, my friend, Alex, will be back in town, and we can all move in with her temporarily.”
I wave off her remarks. I’m not sure who Alex is, but I’m sure she lives in a tiny one- or two-bedroom apartment—way too small to accommodate Izzie and Liam comfortably.
“Nonsense.” I finish my last bite of salad, and throw a napkin over the plate. “You’re staying with me. I don’t want to hear anything else. This place is a palace. There’s more than enough room for everyone.”
Izzie’s eyes look relieved, but her voice is conveying the opposite.
“Liam, I really appreciate that, but you have to admit that having us here is inconvenient. We barely know each other, and, so far, you’ve had to change your whole daily routine for us.”
I pick up my plate and start clearing the table. I’m honestly done with the conversation. How many times do I have to tell her that she’s welcome here? It’s ridiculous that she’s even thinking of staying somewhere else when there’s so much space here.
“Nope, you’re not going anywhere.” I grab her plate and Liam’s, and head to the kitchen. Izzie chases after me but says nothing as I load the dishes in the dishwasher.
