Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

I pull the key fob from my pocket, starting the truck and unlocking the door. “Give me a minute,” I tell Olive before helping my gram.

Gram leans over as soon as she takes my arm. “Invite her to the party.”

“What?” I ask, shocked because my gram doesn’t like any woman I’m even remotely interested in, and most certainly doesn’t ask for them to come by when we’re about to have a family celebration. “Are you serious?”

She peers up at me, staring into my eyes with so much seriousness. “Do I ever joke?”

She has a point. The woman is as serious as they come and has only grown more serious with age. “Not really. You say it straight, Gram.”

“Ask Kalamata over for dinner.”

“Olive, Gram.”

“That’s what I said,” she tells me like she’s in the right, when she very much isn’t. “Ask her over. Do not let that one walk away without setting, at the very least, a date.”

“I don’t think—”

“You never think when it comes to women, child. Maybe for once, you should. Listen to me when I tell you, do not let her walk away. I see the way she looks at you and the way you look at her. That doesn’t happen every day.”

“What look?”

“Men are clueless beasts,” she says to herself as she climbs up into my pickup truck, holding the grab bar and sliding in like she’s done it a million times. “Now, go. I don’t have all day. We have food to finish.”

I set the groceries in the back before leaving my gram in the air-conditioned truck. I don’t need to turn around to know she’s watching us, judging my every movement, and probably having an entire conversation with herself about what a dumbass walking hormone I am at this point.

Olive’s exactly where I left her, fiddling with the hem of her flowery sundress and staring at me. She’s no longer the awkward teenager with braces and long, skinny arms. “Your gram seems nice.”

“Seems is the operative word.”

Olive laughs, and the sound is utterly beautiful. “I’m sure she’s not that bad.”

“She is. Trust me. She’s the devil in disguise.”

“I think all older women are,” she says, touching my arm and instantly sending shock waves through my system.

I ignore the sensation, knowing my dick has a mind of its own. “If you’re not doing anything today, you can find out for yourself. We’re having a casual party at her house in a few hours, but no pressure.”

“I’m sure she has enough mouths to feed without adding another.”

“Don’t be silly. She insisted that I ask you.”

Olive turns her green-eyed gaze toward my truck. “She wants me to come?”

“She does.”

She blinks, looking shocked. “Why?”

“A pretty girl with brains. Killer combination.”

Olive laughs again. “We’re not uncommon, Asher.”

I tuck my hands into my pockets, knowing exactly what kind of women I have been hanging out with, and it’s not the brainiacs. “Never said you were, Oli. Anyway, I’d love to catch up and hear about school and your family. Maybe think about dropping by, and you can watch the devil in action.”

She holds out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

I don’t even hesitate to pull it from my back pocket, unlocking it, and hand it over to her. Spending the evening talking to Olive will be better than anything else I’d do for the evening. I’ve heard every story, listened to the same complaining about the exact same topics over and over again. It’s mind-numbing.

Her phone dings in her back pocket. “I have your number, and now, you have mine. Text me the address, and I’ll drop by later. What can I bring?”

“Can you cook?”

“Asher Gallo. I’m a good Southern girl. Of course I can cook, and I do it well.”

The girl is getting more and more perfect, and maybe it’s seeing her after so many years, but now I wonder why we never dated. “Bring anything you want. Whatever you have time for, or just bring yourself. We always have tons of food. Too much, really.”

“Hush it. There’s no such thing as too much food.”

“I hope you like to eat, then.”

“I do.”

“Asher, time’s slipping!” Gram yells from the truck before slamming her door.

“The devil calls,” I say to Olive. “See you later, then?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she tells me, and for the first time in years, I’m excited about the possibilities.

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