Read Online The Space Between by Kate Canterbary - Free Book Online Page A

and not on dating. Marriage never figured into my thoughts. My interests centered on open relationships without the responsibility of keeping track of birthdays or holidays. Kids only crossed my mind when they screamed their demands from the middle of the grocery store aisle.
    Lauren’s engagement ring caught my eye when her fingers ran through Matt’s hair. His eyes drooped shut and he whispered something into her ear that elicited a smile. That voyeuristic feeling returned and I wished away the unbidden thoughts of Andy that appeared every time I noticed Lauren’s loving touch.
    “We need to sell that house. Hire a crew to clear it out. Be done with it,” Matt said. “But someone needs to make sure he doesn’t have a pack of wolves roving the grounds first.”
    “I’m not going out there.” Riley shook his head and reached for a bowl of paella. I watched as he picked through the dish with his fingers, selecting chunks of chorizo to nibble. We failed him on the table manners front.
    Before I realized what I was offering, I said, “I’ll go. It’s my problem.”
    Four pairs of eyes snapped toward me in surprise. “We can do it together,” Shannon said.
    “No. You’ve got enough on your hands with the estate, and I really don’t want to be involved in all the legal bullshit. I’ll do this. You do that.”
    “Yes, boss,” she replied with a salute. I grimaced at the title. “This officially makes you the CEO, you know.”
    “No,” I said. “It means business as usual.”
    “What we need,” Matt slurred, his hand sweeping over the table and narrowly missing a few wine glasses before Lauren steadied him. He was five minutes from falling face first into bed. I wasn’t far behind him. “Is a party. Like the one they had in Oz when the witch died. The first witch, not the one chasing Dorothy.”
    “Not the direction I was expecting you to go, my friend. I was thinking something along the lines of engagement party, but please, proceed,” Riley said.
    “Yeah, that too,” Matt said.
    Lauren started clearing the table, and he smacked her rear end as she walked away. Their easy affection was unexpected and so arrestingly intriguing I struggled to tear my eyes away. Was that how couples interacted? Whispered words and ass slapping?
    “We need to do that. We didn’t do anything for the holidays, or our birthdays.” Matt drew a triangle between himself, Shannon, and me. “We should. We deserve something good.”
    Shannon and I were born the same year, me in January, and her in December. Matt came along the following December. We usually picked one day as a communal celebration, but that ritual fell away this year. Taking Angus off life support and burying him the week before Christmas didn’t leave much room for anything special or festive.
    “You’re right,” I murmured, sipping my whiskey. Crawling would be an accomplishment tomorrow; running would be out of the question. “This all feels like a kick in the ass, but we’ll own the Derne Street office outright. All the Bunker Hill properties will be off the books by the end of February. We get to do what we love and hang out with each other every day. We need to celebrate that shit.”
    “Good,” Matt shouted as he stumbled into the kitchen. “But don’t think I’m forgetting that you’re thirty-three, and Black Widow is thirty-two now.” He pressed Lauren up against the refrigerator and kissed her. I looked away when he hooked her leg over his hip and his hand slipped under her shirt.
    “They’re fucking exhibitionists.” Riley jutted his chin toward Shannon. “I’ve seen this show before. Want to a hit a frat party?”
    “Why do you know about these things? It’s not in Rhode Island, is it?”
    “You’re lucky I don’t hit women,” he replied. “No, it’s not in Rhody, but you’d be in for something special at an Ocean State frat party. And don’t ask questions you don’t want answered.”
    “Won’t I be the oldest person