Page 49 of The Roommate Problem
She sure was, but he gave a noncommittal grunt. “Should I start bringing in the rest of the centerpieces?”
Gran didn’t answer him. Instead, she raised an arm and waved at Mo when the woman looked up and spotted them from across the room. Mo smiled, waving back. She called over the two girls, saying something to them with a soft smile that had them handing the pillow back to the boy and offering him a hug, the way children do when they’re made to apologize. Then she leaned in and whispered something to all three of them that put big smiles on their faces and a bounce in their feet as they all nodded and went running off again.
Wow.
He’d never admit this to his grandmother—because she’d take it for something it wasn’t—but Mo was very impressive. No way would he have been able to handle those rambunctious kids in a way that had them apologizing and running off happy. What had she said to them?
Guess he was about to find out. Mo rose and said something to her partner, who was still checking things off her clipboard, before heading in his direction. The bright smile on her face made his blood heat. It was the same smile she’d gone to sleep with the past few nights she’d spent in his bed. A content, utterly happy expression he almost envied.
A beautiful sight. Mo’s smile.
“Hey, you two,” Mo said once she reached him and Gran. “The flowers look absolutely stunning.”
Gran reached out to hug her. “Thank you, Mo. And may I say you yourself look stunning. I love that dress. Don’t you think she looks beautiful, August?”
He grunted when his grandmother not so subtly elbowed him in the stomach. Rubbing the offended spot, he lifted a shoulder, going for nonchalance when he felt anything but about the way the dress clung to her curves perfectly.
“Yeah, nice dress.”
Mo chuckled. “Please, August. All this flattery will go to my head.”
“I apologize for my grandson.” Gran glared up at him. “I thought I taught him how to compliment a lady better than that.”
A devilish glint lit Mo’s eyes as she replied, “Oh, I’m sure when he puts his mind to it, he can be very complimentary.”
His eyes narrowed. He gave the most infinitesimal shake of his head, warning her not to go there right now. She was skating on thin ice. His grandmother wasn’t a stupid woman; she could read subtext better than most. She always guessed the ending of films twenty minutes in. Made it hard to enjoy going to the movies with her.
If Mo kept hinting at what they’d been doing, Gran would be on his case to put a ring on it. Best to nip this conversation in the bud right now.
Speaking of buds. “I better go get the rest of those centerpieces.” He stepped forward, partially blocking Mo from Gran’s view. “Don’t you have wedding stuff to get to, Moira?”
Undeterred by his obvious dismissal, the vivacious woman smiled up at him. “Why, yes, I do. I have to help the florist arrange the centerpieces.”
“You two go on and do that,” Grandma said, turning back to the box of bouquets August had set down earlier. “I’ll go hand these off to the bridesmaids.”
He started off toward the van, aware of Mo following him by the click clacking sound of her heels. With every step he took, his irritation grew, but he held off saying anything until they were safely outside, away from his grandmother’s prying ears. Once they reached the van, he turned and speared Mo with a glance.
“Did you have to do that?”
“Do what?” She smiled innocently at him. “Offer to come help you with the flowers? No. Not really. I have other things I could be doing, but I’m nice like that so here I am, offering my help.”
“I mean the double speak around Gran.” He shook his head. “We agreed not to tell her.”
She waved a hand in the air. “Oh, lighten up. She doesn’t know anything.”
Any more of Mo’s subtle hints and she might figure it out.
“Besides, Agatha is going to think what she wants. As long as we don’t confirm anything, she can’t go chasing you around with seating charts and color swatches, so take the stick out of your butt.” She grinned. “Or leave it in. I’m pretty open to new kinks.”
August tried to smother a laugh. How did she do it? How did this woman irritate the hell out of him one moment then turn around and make him laugh the next?
He unlocked the van and opened the back doors. “Just try to tone down the innuendo around Gran, please? She might be in her seventies, but she’s smart. She figures things out quicker than most.”
“I know.” Mo sighed. “I made the mistake of playing Scrabble with her once. She kicked my butt by at least two hundred points.”
“Try playing Clue with her. She guesses the killer, room, and weapon on turn five.”
Mo laughed. “I’ll remember that. And I’ll also chill on the teasing around Agatha, but it’ll be hard. I don’t know if you know this, August, but you’re a very fun person to rile up.”
