Page 50 of It Runs in the Family

“Good morning.” He popped around the corner of the kitchen and gave me a big smile. “It’s past ten. I know we have lunch at Granny’s at one, but I was hungry and figured you would be too.”

I swung my legs over the edge of the sofa and pushed my hair out of my face. “Yeah. Maybe in a minute.” I grimaced. “You don’t happen to have a spare toothbrush, do you?” My teeth felt like they were wrapped in a sweater.

“In the drawer to the right of the bathroom sink. Still in the package,” he said, before disappearing around the corner.

I headed to the bathroom, peed, brushed my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair. It was a temporary fix until I went to my apartment to shower and change before heading to Granny’s.

Garrett had not only made bacon but pancakes too. I served myself coffee first and then piled some food onto a plate. “So, tell me about your date Friday night.”

He laughed. “I’m surprised it took you this long to ask.”

I shrugged and gave him a playful grin. “I’ve been a little preoccupied. I need details. What’s her name? How’d you meet her? What’s she do? Does she realize your family is crazier than a three-ring circus?”

He laughed again. “Whoa. I didn’t realize we were playing twenty questions.”

“Details.”

“It’s still early, so I don’t know if I need to tell you anything. It might all be for nothing.”

“How many dates have you been on?”

His eyes lit up. “Just Friday night.”

“You like her,” I said, all teasing gone.

His smile softened. “I do, but like I said, it’s still pretty early.”

“If she has any sense in her head, she’ll recognize what a catch you are,” I insisted. “At least tell me her name.”

“Mazie.”

“How did you meet her?”

He laughed. “I told you her name, which you were lucky to get. I’m not telling you anything else.”

“Come on, Garrett. I’m jobless, soon to be homeless when I can’t pay my rent, and some goon tried to kidnap me last night. Call it a pity answer.”

His smile fell. “It’s nothing to kid about.”

“Which part?” I asked. “Becoming homeless? Because you know there’s a very real possibility I’ll end up moving in with you.”

“I only have two bedrooms, and one of them’s my office.”

“You mean your gaming room, and yes,” I said matter-of-factly, “I will haul my bed into that room and live with you if I don’t find something quick. So you should be very afraid.”

His face softened. “You know you can live with me if you need to, no questions asked. I’m more afraid of your near kidnapping than that.”

“We don’t even know if he was going to take me somewhere,” I said, suppressing a shudder.

“I have no doubt in my mind that he would have.”

I tilted my head and did my best impression of Little Orphan Annie when she was trying to get adopted. “Which means it would be a shame for me to be kidnapped before I found out how you met the potential love of your life.” I batted my eyelashes for good measure.

Garrett laughed, just as I knew he would. Things had gotten entirely too serious.

“Fine,” he said. “I met her through a friend of a friend.”

“What friend?”