Page 22 of The Roommate Problem
“Gran,” he answered, continuing to rub the aloe into her skin with gentle circular movements. “She taught me everything I know about flowers and plants. Including how aloe is good for burns.”
“Agatha is a peach. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Mo’s lips curled up in a soft smile. “You know she and my nonna were best friends.”
He squirted a bit more gel on her hand, rubbing between her fingers, making sure to get every area the hot pan had touched. “No. I didn’t. She mentioned something about knowing your grandmother, but it’s…been a while since I’ve come to visit.”
One pale blonde eyebrow rose. “Nonna and Agatha met at Stitch and Bitch and—”
“What is stitch and bitch?” He looked up in horror. He’d never heard his grandmother swear in her life. She washed his mouth out with soap if he even said damn as a kid.
“It’s a kind of knitting and crochet group where a bunch of people get together to work on projects and gossip.”
Gossip had never been his thing, or large groups of people for that matter, but he could see his grandmother enjoying something like that.
“It’s a blast! I went once, but I’m crap with yarn. I tried to make a scarf, and it ended up looking like a…I think Nonna called it a blanket not even a feral cat would use.”
“Harsh.”
Mo laughed. “Yeah, Nonna was a hoot.” Her smile slipped, sadness entering her eyes. “I miss her.”
“When did she pass?” Because from the way she was talking, he knew it wasn’t a distance kind of longing.
“A few years ago, but some days it seems like yesterday.”
He got that. Though he knew it would happen one day, he’d be lost without Gran. He was thankful every day she was still kicking. And she would be for many years to come if she’d just agree to sell the shop and let him take care of her.
“Um, August?”
“Yeah?”
“I think the aloe’s all rubbed in now.”
He glanced down to see himself holding Mo’s hand, no longer applying a medicinal salve but caressing her wrist with the pad of his thumb, rubbing back and forth the way one might do to comfort a lover. Embarrassed and horrified, he quickly snatched his hand back.
“Yeah, um.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I hope that made it feel better.”
“It did, thank you,” Mo said, her lips pressing together, a gleeful mirth filling her face.
At least one of them could find humor in their odd situation. August went back and forth between uncomfortable tension and reluctant acceptance on a daily basis.
Trying to diffuse the unintentional physical familiarity, he grabbed another cookie. “These really are amazing, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She winced slightly, nose wrinkling as she admitted, “And as I said, they’re apology cookies. I’m sorry I forced you out last night. Clearly my Mo-dar needs a little tweaking, so if you’re up for it, I’d like to take you out again and show you a part of the city I feel pretty sure you’re going to love.”
He grunted, finishing the cookie he shoved in his mouth and grabbing for another. Perfect, and now the thought of another Mo’s night on the town had him stress eating. “I doubt that’s possible.”
Mo grabbed the rack of cookies before August could snatch one.
“Hey.”
“No going out, no cookies.”
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I thought you said they were apology cookies?”
“They are.” Mo lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “They’re also bribery cookies.”
Was she serious? He really didn’t want to go out again, but he also really wanted another cookie.
Knowing she wasn’t the type of person to take no for an answer—considering he tried that last night and look where it had gotten him—he pointed a finger. “No greasy food, no noisy bars, and no trying to hook me up with anyone.”
