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“Oh well, that’s…” I stopped immediately as the implication came crashing down. “Fuck, you saw me almost eat shit half a dozen times, didn’t you?”
Shane chuckled, grinning wide. “It was the best entertainment I’ve had in ages. I considered coming out to help you, but I figured you could manage on your own.”
“Jackass,” I muttered, giving him a push. “Let me in. I’m tired of standing on frozen water.”
“Oh yes, by all means, please come in,” he said mockingly as he stood back to let me through.
Still muttering, I kicked what ice and water I could off my shoes and, after a moment’s hesitation, took my coat off, setting it on a hook before entering the living room. Nothing had changed since the last time, except there was a complete lack of tension in the room, unlike my previous visit.
“So, what can I do for you?” he asked, pouring himself a drink as I’d seen him do several times before. The difference this time was there weren’t a couple of dirty glasses lying around to show how much he’d been drinking. If I were to guess, I’d say he’d remained sober for hours before I showed up.
“Pour me one,” I said as I flopped down into the chair.
His brow raised, but he diligently did as I asked, coming in to hand me the glass before taking his seat on the couch. “Feeling a little rebellious?”
I took a sip, grunting in approval. “Good, but your mother’s stash is better.”
It was enough to bring his brow even higher than before and fall into a frown a moment later. “She spoke to you.”
“And gave me booze in the process,” I said with a snort. “It was easily the kindest, most considerate thing she’s done for me…well, her compliment was pretty nice…and the job offer.”
“Oh, she included the job offer in her little talk, did she?” Shane asked, leaning back against the couch. “I wondered when she would bring it up. Just how gently did you turn her down?”
I smiled at that small gesture of how well he knew me. “As gently as you can without getting eviscerated for being an idiot.”
“Ah well, that’s an impressive enough feat in itself,” he said with a laugh. “I told her you wouldn’t take the offer, no matter how enticing the carrot was.”
“She didn’t seem surprised by my turning her down,” I said with a shrug.
“I believe she expected it. Still, you probably earned even more respect by turning down the offer. For all her…sharpness,” Shane said with a small smile, “she respects someone who knows what they want and refuses to back down from it.”
I thought about mentioning that she knew I had spoken to him about his avoidance of seeing her but held back. Somehow, I thought that felt a little too intimate, almost intrusive. I didn’t think she had brought that conversation up with him, and it would feel like violating some trust between Sophia and me.
“And she brought up that she knew about what we were doing,” I said, taking another drink and watching his face.
I was amused to see him wince and just the faintest amount of color rise to his cheeks. “Yes, she…made that clear to me as well. I admit my reaction was not the best.”
“I nearly choked on my drink and died on the spot, so you probably did better than me,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “But at least you saved me the trouble of telling you I know you spoke with her.”
Shane went still. “Did she now?”
“It’s kind of fun to watch you get nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before,” I said, laughing when he scowled. “As I said before, you think too much, Shane. She told me outright she wasn’t going to tell me how that conversation went, and I wouldn’t have asked anyway.”
Shane relaxed slightly. “That…that should make me happy, but I’m not quite sure what I’m feeling upon hearing that.”
“Relieved?” I guessed.
“In part, and another part is disappointed,” he said with a shrug.
“Oh?”
“Yes, I’m thankful for the privacy, but then again, I suppose I was almost wishing she would…” he trailed off and then laughed. “Ah, now I see. Yes, yes, very clever, Mother, very clever indeed.”
“Um, you’ve lost me,” I said, staring at him in confusion.
He shook his head. “I had almost hoped she might tell you a few things, making my life a great deal easier. She, of course, probably figured that out on her own or at least suspected it. Rather than take pity on me, she decided to force my hand. First by pulling information from me, and then all but sending you down here.”
“She didn’t send me anywhere,” I contested in annoyance. “We talked, and she…oh, she said I’d be better off getting answers out of you.”
