Obsession Falls

He turned to me. “What do you think? Master bathroom floor. They’ll be larger than this, we’re just looking at color.”

That was easy. I pointed to the one I liked, a cream color. “This one. It will brighten everything up in there.”

“Agreed.” Josiah handed it to his dad. “Let’s do this in both upstairs bathrooms.”

“Done and done.” Paul’s eyes moved to me. “Good choice.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“That will be pretty,” Marlene said. “What if we used that in our master bathroom?”

“Are we putting new tile in our bathroom?” Paul asked.

She smiled at him. “It doesn’t have to be right away but it would be nice.”

He leaned over and gave her a light kiss. “Anything for my bride.”

Oh my gosh, they were so adorable, I could have died.

There was a knock at the front door and I realized I was staring at Josiah’s parents, kind of dreamily. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to have noticed.

“That must be Louise,” Marlene said. “She’s picking up a casserole to take to Doris Tilburn. She’s recovering from gallbladder surgery.”

“Oh good,” Josiah said, his voice flat, “you get to meet my aunt Louise.”

I couldn’t tell by his tone if he was actually glad or if he was being sarcastic.

He’d said to assume sarcasm, so I went with that.

Marlene answered the door and an older woman in a bright red velour track suit swept in. Her long gray hair was in a ponytail and her lipstick matched her outfit.

Josiah made a noise that was a cross between a throat clear and a groan.

“Hi, Louise.” Marlene hugged her and they came into the kitchen. “Have you met Audrey?”

She turned to me and smiled. “I haven’t had the pleasure. I’m Louise Haven but you can just call me Aunt Louise.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“You as well. You’re even prettier up close.” Her eyes flicked to Josiah, then back to me. “Here meeting the family? I love that. Welcome. It’s not my house, but welcome.”

She was so effusive, I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Thank you.”

“Well done, Josiah. I was hoping you’d snap this one up before someone else got to her.”

“What?” Josiah’s voice sounded uncharacteristically shocked. “You’ve been trying to push your friend’s granddaughter on me.”

Louise waved her hand, as if batting his comment out of the air. “Aida? I wasn’t trying to push her on you.”

He raised his eyebrows, disbelief clear on his face.

“I wouldn’t do that. She’s not good enough for you.”

“You said she was a nice girl.”

Louise shrugged. “I shouldn’t have listened to Florence. You can’t believe a word that woman says, especially about her grandchildren. Makes up stories like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Then why did you drop her off at my remodel so I had to give her a ride home?”

She sighed, as if the answer should be obvious, but she’d explain anyway. “If you must know, I was trying to push you toward Audrey.”

“How would trying to get me to go out with another woman push me toward Audrey?”

“Don’t question my methods, Josiah.” She patted his cheek. “Besides, it worked, didn’t it?”

I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh out loud. This woman was hilarious. Although Josiah was clearly not amused.

Marlene handed her a casserole dish wrapped in foil.

“Thank you, dear. I’m afraid I can’t stay. I have to get this to Doris. But it was so good to meet you, Audrey.” Her eyes moved to Josiah. “Seal the deal on this one quick, before she gets away from you.”

I tried to suppress another laugh.

Josiah just shook his head.

“Ta ta!” As quickly as she’d come, Aunt Louise disappeared out the front door.

“That reminds me, I don’t have anything defrosted for dinner,” Marlene said. “Paul, what sounds good?”

“Let’s go out. Date night.” He headed for the back door. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Wear something pretty.”

She beamed at him as he walked out and shut the door behind him. “I guess that means I’m not inviting you to stay for dinner.”

“That’s fine. We need to get going anyway.” Josiah grabbed my hand. “See you later, Mom.”

“Have a fun date night,” I said.

“We will. Bye, you two. Have a good evening.”

We left and got into Josiah’s truck. On the way home, I was almost as jumpy as I had been on the way there. Which didn’t make any sense. It had been a fun visit. His parents were amazing and I’d adored his aunt Louise.

So why did I feel so tangled up inside?

Because I really liked Josiah and I really liked his family. And that combination was starting to scare me a little.





CHAPTER 26





Josiah





Audrey nested against me, all smooth skin and soft curves. I wasn’t tired enough to sleep but I wasn’t motivated to get out of bed, either. She did that to me. Settled me down enough to want to stay in bed with her after sex.

Damn woman was turning me into a cuddler.

Her slow, deep breath loosened the tension in my back. I kissed her neck a few times, enjoying the feel of her body tucked against mine. I was sated and relaxed, although if she’d wanted another go, I’d have been up for it.

She did that to me, too.

“Have your parents always been like that?” she asked out of the blue.

“Like what?”

She rolled onto her back and I propped my head on my arm.

“So cute.”

“If by cute, you mean gross, then yes.”

She laughed. “They’re not gross. They’re in love. That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s better than the alternative. Although I’ve seen an unhealthy number of butt grabs in my life.”

“You just don’t know how lucky you are. My parents were never affectionate around other people. Come to think of it, I have no idea if they were affectionate in private.”

“They made you.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they were affectionate toward each other. I never saw them hug or kiss or anything like that. I definitely never saw my dad grab my mom’s butt.”

“You’re not missing anything.”

“I’m sure it would have grossed me out. But I kind of wish I had been grossed out.” She paused for a long moment. “It makes me wonder what their marriage was really like. So much of what I saw was just for show.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

A soft whine came from the other side of the door.

She laughed. “I guess we should let him back in.”

Strangely, I didn’t mind. There were some things her dog didn’t need to see, but I liked having that furball around.

We let him in and he hung out while we got ready for bed. And there was something about all of it that I really liked.





A wet dog nose in my face was not my favorite way to wake up. I didn’t know how he chose which one of us to torture in the early morning, but he seemed to pick one and leave the other alone. Unfortunately for me, today was my turn for the morning potty trip.

Actually, I didn’t mind too much. It would give Audrey a little extra sleep.

I grunted an acknowledgment that I was awake and peeled myself out of bed, careful not to wake her. Max jumped down, full of energy, and waited by the door while I used the bathroom and tugged on some sweats.

He followed me to the front door. I didn’t bother with shoes. His morning trips outside were always the same—a mad dash to the pee tree and right back inside.

But when I opened the door, he didn’t run for the tree in the middle of the front yard. He paused, ears perking like something had caught his attention. His nose lifted a few times as he sniffed the air. Then he took off at a run and disappeared around the side of the house.

“Damn it, Max.”

I followed. Thankfully when I turned the corner, I found him furiously sniffing the ground.

“What are you doing?”

I was still half asleep, so maybe that was why it took me a few seconds to notice the words on the side of the house.



You don’t see me.



Instantly awake and wary, I checked my surroundings. No sign of anyone but I still had the unsettled feeling of being watched. Max kept sniffing the ground and followed the scent toward the street in front of the house. He definitely smelled whoever had been there.