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Avery
“Armadillos don’t taste that good. Or so I hear,” I say.
“They seem like they would be difficult to eat. With that hard shell and everything,” Travis comments.
My nerves are strung out. I might talk a good game, but I’m worried Estella will kick me out of that house. Typically, I wouldn’t feel an affinity for something like a house. I’ve just never been attached to a building. People? Yes. Listening to all of Taylor Swift’s number five tracks on repeat when I need a good cry? Definitely. Buildings, not so much.
“According to my brother, if you’re hungry enough, you will eat anything.”
Travis opens his mouth to ask what, so I cut him off. Estella gets a kick out of the two of us, but she has her limits.
“I didn’t ask. But you never know with him. He is a Fritz.”
“What’s a Fritz?” Jon asks.
I don’t roll my eyes, but it’s a close call. No, he doesn’t know my brother, so he doesn’t understand, but I’m agitated just being in the same room as Jon. Worse, Meredith, who hates all men on earth, seems smitten with him. Just like last night, she seems to be all in for Jon. She hisses at most men, including the very sexy and bulky—as in he could lift me up over his head with one hand bulky—Travis.
Oddly when Jon appears, she purrs. I need her to hate one man, the man trying to make me homeless, and she can’t even do that.
“That’s my brother.”
He studies me with those deep blue eyes, and I would normally sigh. Jon Howard is not who I thought he would be. I’d heard the name but never took the time to look him up. I know I should in my business, but he doesn’t exactly have a social media side to his business. I think he’s more on the security side of things. And while he did create the JSE, I see what it was supposed to be. The structure is more like a message board for posting stuff like get-togethers, not reporting on teenagers sneaking around.
Back to the hunk of man sitting next to me. I usually don’t go for handsome guys. Let me rephrase that. Conventionally pretty men are not my thing. I did that once, and it was a disaster, so I steer clear of them. Jon Howard is definitely pretty. Like, I am pretty sure he could be a male model or movie star or something.
His dark hair is more styled today, but I liked it when it was a mess last night. Then there’s his mouth. So full, so kissable, and he hasn’t shaved. I can just imagine those whiskers against my thighs.
Oh, no, not today. I can’t fantasize about a man who is trying to have me evicted.
Those amazing eyes narrow as he studies me. “What?”
He’s smart, and he’s good at paying attention. I can’t tell him I just imagined his head between my legs, so I do the one thing I’m good at: distract.
“Why are you so dressed up for dinner at your grandma’s house?”
He glances around the table. I will say that I’m a bit underdressed compared to everyone else. Unless I’m told there’s a dress code, I assume I just need to be clothed—including a bra. I’m wearing my newest shirt, and Estella takes pride in Nerdvana. She’s probably never been there, but she likes a woman-owned business from her town doing so well. Plus, I’ve eaten here a few times, and Estella never seems to care what I wear.
“It’s the way it’s always been.”
There’s a tone in his voice I haven’t heard in the short interaction I’ve had with him. This sounds more like a repeated rule. Something drummed into him.
“I really don’t care as long as you’re comfortable.”
His head whips around to look at his grandma. I don’t get it. I mean, I sort of do because Estella seems kind of scary. She has to be. The Howard family is a bunch of idiots, except those at this table. I did not come up with that notion on my own. I’ve heard Estella say it more than once. Not outright, but just the way she talks about everyone else.
Estella comes from a generation when women didn’t have a lot of power. It’s not great now, but she can still remember not being able to open a charge account without a male signature. Look it up. Insane, I know. Her husband was a douche canoe, from what everyone in town says. If she hadn’t taken over when she did, the entire Howard family would probably be bankrupt. While I’ll happily argue that there are too many billionaires running around, I know that Estella invests in this town.
Before Jon can respond to his grandmother’s comment, Bessie enters with our salads. This is so fancy compared to the way I grew up. Five kids, several pets, a grandmother, and my parents didn’t sit around being waited on. Life was loud, messy, and I loved it.
“What are you thinking, Avery?”
I glance down the table to Estella. She seems to relax around me. She’s stiffer tonight than she usually is with me, and I would worry that it’s because she’s about to kick me out of my house. I have learned that she always acts differently when it’s just us two. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I don’t expect anything from her.
“I’m thinking how different this is from how the O’Bryans eat.”
Nancy laughs. “Yeah, I bet. I have no idea how your parents handled five kids.”
“You have four siblings?”
