Bed & Breakfast

Ch. 9 His Backstory

*** Andie's POV ***

I walked out of Paula's room, my hand reaching up to touch my lips in disbelief. Did that really just happen? Holy hell, I felt like a teenager, flirting and giggling! Who giggles at my age?!

I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin with angst and giddiness. I couldn't even focus on where I was headed or what I was supposed to be doing. I staggered past the rooms that Parker and Riley had taken up residence in.

"Hey Andie! I got the wi-fi fixed!" Parker called to me.

"Great." I responded.

Riley appeared in her doorway. "What are we doing for dinner tonight?" I stared at her like I didn't just hear what she asked. I opened my mouth but was distracted by Lou emerging from Paula's room. Riley looked between us. "Everything okay with Mom?"

"Yeah. She's just taking a nap. Wil has her up all hours." Lou answered. He brushed past me, still shirtless, still mouth-watering. Ugh, did I really just think that? When did I get so thirsty?

"She's not the only one." Riley grumbled.

"What toppings do you want on your pizza tonight?" Lou changed the subject.

"We're getting pizza? Yes! I miss pizza! No offense, Andie. Your food is good too." Parker overheard and came to his doorway.

"Can we dine out?" Riley asked, eager to get out of the house that has literally been like a really nice prison the way Paula kept them locked down.

"Do you want to take Wilson out in public and subject a bunch of patrons to his screaming?" Lou thought fast, leaning against the wall and folding his arms over his chest.

"Maybe he doesn't have to go." Riley suggested.

"Maybe you can take us out for pizza, Uncle Lou." Parker added.

"And what about Andie?" Lou tossed a wink in my direction making my heart flutter a bit. Calm down, girl. Remember that he was an ass to you and he is more than likely otherwise committed anyway.

"Andie can come if she wants. Please! I need a night out of this house." Riley groaned dramatically.

"Again, not you." Parker whispered to me.

The kids were pleading with their eyes. I personally saw no problem with going to our little hole-in-the-wall pizza joint, but I also knew that I had no say in the matter. Lou caught my eye and seemed to decide. "I'll talk to your mom when she gets up, but until then, get all your schoolwork done so she doesn't put that up as an excuse."

They did a little happy dance before retreating into their rooms. Lou pushed off the wall and looped his arm around my back, drawing me against him. He sighed and said quietly. "I thought they'd never leave us alone."

I giggled, which I hated, and let him pull me with him around the corner. He pushed me back against the wall and mused. "Now where were we?"

He tilted his mouth to mine and placed a soft, chaste kiss on my lips. It was mind-blowing how such a simple action kicked up my heartrate the way it did. I pressed onto my toes to steal the next,  surprising him. He chuckled and rubbed his thumb over my lips, eyes scanning my face.