Page 85 of Present Tense

“She poured cement into our plumbing. She and Bev have feuded for decades. And for some reason she keeps harassing me instead of heading down to Bev’s new house and annoying her with her bullshit.”

She spits on her deck when Bev’s name is mentioned. I laugh a little. The woman looks at me and smiles.

I say, “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Her. She’s a nice one. Unlike you and your whole asshole family. That horrible sister and harpy of a mother. Dickhead.” She’s like, ninety, so it’s amusing when she says it.

I turn to Fletch. He says, “She and Bev used to be friends at, like, the turn of the century.” She flips him off and I giggle.

She gets animated and red faced. “Until she used all of my tomatoes to impress that husband of hers. She can’t garden for shit, and pretended my hard work was hers. Piece of fucking shit she is.”

I nod and wait for the rest of this story. “My mother bought those tomatoes and told my da about them. She’s always believed my mother stole her tomatoes. She went crazy and started drilling holes in our boat.”

“That was not me.” She crosses her arms. “Well, your mother is the one who made my house the bat house.”

“She did not plant the bat nest, and even if she had, there’s no way you should have cemented our plumbing.”

The woman screams, “Or put my house up for sale out from under me.”

Fletch smiles at that one. I’m going to say it was his idea.

I interrupt them, “How long has this feud been going on?”

“Forty-seven and a half summers. And I will never die. I will never let them take me without beating the Fletcher family down for good.”

I smile at her moxie. Good Lord.

“Mrs. Johnson. I’m so sorry to bother you this morning, but I need to have a private conversation with Liam here. Unfortunately, I’m hopelessly in love with him, and I’m trying to convince him to pull his head out of his ass.” He narrows his eyes at me and laughs. She chuffs. I continue, “If we could just finish up our talk, then you can come out and yell at him again.” She reaches out across the narrow gap between the decks to reassure me.

“I hear you. And I know that look in both your eyes. You better figure this out, or it will swallow you whole. I’ll be inside. You’re a peach, dear. Far too good for a Fletcher.” And with that, she’s gone.

I turn to Liam, and he’s shaking his head. “You’re a Florinda tamer. I should have known.” He smells his coffee and sits down. He crosses his legs, and in his embroidered fishing jammies, it’s almost regal. The auburn in his hair is lighter in the sun. His face is more lined but somehow softened. His eyes are sad but sexy, and I realize I might have to fight for him a little harder.

I kneel down in front of him and put my hands on his knees. He stiffens for a moment, then relaxes into my touch. “You said yourself, living the life with boring, neat women wasn’t a life. Be messy with me. I’m going to go. Because you need to process. I got what I came here for.”

“Orgasms by my mouth, hands, and cock?” he says and winks at me.

I grin. “They were nice amenities and a bonus of staying here at Casa de Fletcher. But I came to apologize. I came to tell you I love you. I came to hold you and be held. See the light in your eyes and spark the light back in mine. I see our future. And I came to hear you say I love you back to me. Which you did. I believe you. You’re going to need some grumpy time to process. I won’t call. Or text. I’ll be busy making room for you.”

He stands and walks away. I pop up and get near him. He doesn’t touch me. I want him to, but I’ll wait.

He grins.

I put down my coffee cup. I step to him and kiss him softly and lightly. His lips yield to mine, but both of us keep our tongues in check. He thinks it’s a goodbye kiss. I know it’s a see ya later kiss. I saw the boxes, and I know what they mean now. He’s putting his house in order so he can come join mine. Sixteen-year-old Jillybear never took no for an answer. She had to be taught to take no for an answer over the years. Time to unlearn all that bullshit.

“No more stalking.”

I laugh and say, “Nope. I’ll be there when you’re ready.”

He says, “Ready for what?”

I don’t hesitate. “Forever.” I kiss him again quickly and head inside. I scoop up my purse and his keys and head to the door. He’s calling after me, and I giggle. I can leave knowing he’s figuring out a way to come back to me. I’ll leave the door wide open.

“Jillien. This is the end. This is the breakup. Closure. Final Act. And do not crash my car. Jilly, do you hear me? Bella, I’m not kidding around. We have to be through. Do not wait for me.”

I grin. I love when he’s so annoyed with me he begins to doubt what he’s saying. I close the door. I hope he makes up his mind soon. I want to get started on our life.

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