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“I find myself torn between deciding if you’re as big an idealistic fool as you occasionally make yourself out to be or if you’re more capable than you pretend.”
That managed to make me laugh. After a few weeks dealing with her, I was beginning to find her sharp tongue amusing. “If there’s anything I’ve learned in almost thirty years, it’s that someone can be a fool and a wise man at the same time.”
Her eyes darted past me. “And what do you think?”
I turned slowly and found Shane standing in the doorway. His lips were curled as if he found the conversation he’d been eavesdropping on mildly amusing. “I’ve known a lot of fools and plenty of foolish wise men, but I don’t think I’ve ever met any wise fools.”
My jaw tightened as I heard Sophia snort behind me. “And what do you think about my son’s pronouncement?”
“I think your son is more interested in getting reactions out of people than he is in having any real discussion,” I said and once more had to silently rebuke myself. If I wasn’t finding myself attracted to the man, I was losing my long-developed ability to keep my temper in check.
“And there we have proof that you’re not a complete fool,” she said with another snort. “I lack the necessary experience to know one way or another, but do homosexuals possess an innate ability not to lose the use of their important mental functions when looking at a pretty face?”
I turned away from Shane, who was now watching me intently, focusing my attention on Sophia. “Absolutely not. I don’t think there’s any natural predisposition to being an idiot when attracted to someone. Man, woman, gay, straight, bi, whatever, people tend to lose their heads. It’s biology.”
“I’ve never suffered from such a failing,” she noted, then glanced over my shoulder again. “It seems you’re simply losing your touch.”
“Or found someone immune to it,” Shane said with a light laugh. “Statistically, it was bound to happen eventually.”
“And now he’s going to cite the Law of Averages as if it makes him sound intelligent,” she said in a tone that worked as the equivalent of rolling her eyes. “The medication has been administered. If you’d clean up here, I’d like to speak to my son, who is being so subtle in showing his desire to speak to me.”
“I’m the picture of tact and subtlety,” he said, and I could hear the grin in his voice.
I ignored them, knowing they would resume their usual back and forth. Verbal sparring was something the two of them participated in frequently, if not every conversation they shared. It was different from the teasing and poking I did with Diane, though I had a hard time saying exactly how. Perhaps it was because Sophia never sounded lighthearted, and Shane always sounded like he was trying his best to get a rise out of his mother.
“I’m surprised you’re still here,” Sophia mentioned to Shane as I gathered the supplies to remove them from the room.
“I’m debating if I want to go out and see the sights tonight or not,” Shane said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“See the sights indeed,” she said with the same eye-rolling tone. “I’m sure they’re the same sights as usual. The bottom of some bottle and under some girl’s skirt.”
“Different bottle, different skirt, they all count as different sights.”
Honestly, it was hard to believe someone like him was real. I didn’t know him well enough to make the accusation, but if I’d met him on the street, I would have immediately thought he was trying to compensate for something. So either he really was as shallow and hedonistic as he made himself out to be, or he desperately wanted people to believe he was.
“But,” Shane said. “I might not stay out too late. Leon is having a little get-together tomorrow morning.”
“Leon having a ‘get-together’ is like saying the sun will rise,” Sophia said caustically.
“Yes, and me joining him is like saying the sun will set,” he shot back.
I snorted, gathering the last of the things in my bag. Both of them turned their attention to me, and I busied myself pretending nothing had happened, grabbing the tablet as well. So far, I’d managed to stay out of their sparring matches, and I wasn’t too keen on breaking that.
“At least someone finds you amusing,” Sophia said, and I didn’t have to look up to know there was a sneer on her face.
“Most people with a developed sense of humor do,” he said, and I pretended not to notice him grinning at me. Just like I was going to pretend that despite how much his grin made me want to smack him with the heavy bag of medical supplies, it also made my stomach twist pleasantly.
“I’ll let you have your rest, Miss Perkins,” I said, walking toward the door. “As usual, ring me if you need anything.”
“By all means, go do whatever it is you do when you think I’m asleep,” she said with the barest wave of dismissal.
“You’re not as soft-footed as you might believe,” I told her, stopping short when I realized Shane was still in the doorway.
He watched me for a few heartbeats before turning to let me through. Of course, that involved him simply moving his body to provide space while remaining in the doorway. I had no idea what he had to gain from making my exit more of a challenge, but I rolled my eyes at him and made to move past.
If he was expecting me to take my time carefully, he was sorely mistaken. I turned my body just enough to ensure I could ease through in a single step, not hesitating when our bodies brushed against one another. Thankfully the stairs were to my right, so he couldn’t see my face warm at the brief contact between us. I couldn’t even blame my reaction on how long it had been since I’d last been with someone because an absence of sex in my life hadn’t ever affected me before…well, not since I was a teenager.
With my escape close at hand, however, I shoved the discomfort aside and made my way down the stairs. I set my things on the table in the kitchen and dropped onto a chair. After sitting there for a few minutes, I noticed a flare of light coming from outside and cocked my head.
