Bad for Business (For the Love of Crime Book 1) by Anna Grace

Author:Anna Grace [Grace, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bug's Books
Published: 2024-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

29

HENRY

“We’ve got this tradition,” Arnie tells me, all while knocking my rook off the chess board. “The first night we spend at our cabin, the girls make pigs in a blanket. I used to help, but Melinda told me I over-seasoned them.”

“You did!” Melinda says exasperatedly. “Oh, they were awful, Henry. Just horrible.”

“I’m not much of a cook myself, so I can’t judge,” I admit.

Melinda waves a hand at me as she pours some seasoning on the tray. It looks like everything bagel seasoning, which is interesting. I’ve never seen it put on anything but a bagel. Then again, I’ve never had pigs in a blanket, either. My mom detests finger foods. It’s instilled in my mind to feel the same.

“I just don’t see why we need this many,” Amelie says, throwing the empty plastic wrapping into the trash. “There’s five of us.”

“Because it’s what I bought, so we’re making it.” Melinda pops Amelie in the hip with the end of a dishrag. “We can store them and eat them all week. It’s not like—oh!” She gasps, then turns to me. Arnie jumps at her suddenness, then keeps on studying the chess board. He’s beating me horribly. We’ve been playing since he finished watching his football reruns, and I’ve won exactly one game. “Henry, do you have food allergies? I can’t remember if you’ve told me before.”

“You’re such a mom,” Margot says, setting the tray in the oven.

I shake my head. “Nope. I can—and will—eat mostly anything.”

“My kind of person.” Arnie gives me a nod before moving a piece. “Checkmate.”

I sigh and clear the board. “Not a fan of this, I’ll be honest.”

He gives a deep, throaty laugh. “Three out of five?”

“Three out of five,” I respond, setting the board up again.

Amelie laughs to herself, whether at us or something else, I’m not sure. She’s been laughing more this afternoon than when we first arrived, though it’s mostly around her parents. Her and Margot haven’t spoken a word without their prompting, and I can’t suppress my curiosity on what happened.

I know very little about Margot. While Amelie was best friends with my sister, I was more of a distant acquaintance with hers. Despite being at her house most days after school, we spoke maybe ten times, only on surface level things.

Why are you guys late? Henry, you parked crooked, are you the one that hit our mailbox? Did you flatten my bike tire?

For the record, I did hit that mailbox. But it was strangely placed.

The only thing I know for sure is that Margot hates that I’m back. She stared at me like I was a murderer when Amelie fell asleep on me during the football game, as if I’ve somehow manipulated my way back here.

I blame that nap on Amelie getting up early, by the way. It didn’t have anything to do with me. Though she does seem to enjoy the feel of my arms a little more than I remember.

Arnie takes his turn, and I let out a sigh as I stare at the board.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.