“Steve McDullen an’ Chad Phelps?” Lissie echoed. “Ya gotta be kiddin’ me!”

“It’s the truth,” Valo replied, passing Lissie a cup of hot tea. “Steve’s my friend Graham’s cousin.”

“An’ they’re stayin’ down here? F’ real?”

“Yeah, I kind of met them earlier today,” Valo affirmed, sitting at the table and sipping from her own cup of tea.

“What were they like?”

“Well, Steve seemed kind of nice. A little sarcastic and a bit of a joker, but nice. And Chad… well, I didn’t get enough of a chance to talk to him. To be honest, it seemed like he was talking around me, or trying to avoid talking to me. Maybe he’s just shy, though.”

“Hm.”

“Anyway, I’m going back over later today.”


“T’ see th’ guys?” Lissie asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“No, to visit with Graham and Jade. It’s not what you’re thinking. I mean, yeah, I like guys who are creative and have cute accents and all that jazz. But I still miss my husband, you know? I’m still learning to live without him. It’s too soon for me to be on the lookout.”

“Yeah, I know whatcha mean. If m’ husband died, it’d take f’ever f’ me t’ move on.” Lissie sipped her tea, then added, “Can I come with?”

“What, to visit my friends?”

“Yeah. Just wanna be friendly-like. Neighborly. Yeah, an’ t’ see the guys. I’m kinda a fan.”

Valo sighed. “Fine, Lissie, but please just treat them like… well, like normal people. Like you treat S.”

“But he’s m’ brother.”

“And he’s also a successful songwriter and playwright with at least two popular Broadway productions under his belt.”

“But he’s m’ brother. Why care ‘f he did all that?”

“Right. Just do the same thing with these guys. Trust me, I’m sure they’ve dealt with enough crazy fan girls and just want to be treated like regular Joes.”


“Well, we’re here,” Valo announced, nodding toward the house.

“Nice place,” Lissie remarked.

Valo opened her door and stepped out of the car. “Well, come on,” she said cheerily.

“Are y’ sure they’d be okay with me, y’know, inviting’ m’self over?”

“I’m sure they will. I mean, we’re just dropping by for a quick visit. Besides, S and Charise have told them all about you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So, come on, it’ll just be for a few minutes.”

Valo and Lissie walked up to the front door, and Valo rapped at it. After a few moments, Graham answered it.

“Hey,” he greeted Valo, grinning at her. “I hear you met my cousin.”

“Yeah, kind of,” Valo replied. “Graham, this is Felicity, S’s sister.”

“Lissie to m’ friends,” Lissie spoke up, offering up a firm handshake. “S’ this is Graham Gibson… wow, nice to meetcha. S and Charise said you’re a nice guy.”

“Well, come on in. Jade’s not home yet; there’s a huge news story that she’s covering. Something about security on a college campus,” Graham said, stepping aside to let the women in.


Chad and Steve were sitting on the sofa, playing a video game. When Lissie and Valo walked in, Steve looked up from the game and gave them a quick smile.

“So, I guess I didn’t scare you off,” Steve said to Valo.

“Nah, guess you need to try harder,” she replied, kneeling on the floor nearby and watching the game. “Oh, by the way, this is Lissie. She’s the older sister of Samuel Verona; I don’t know if you guys met him or not, but he’s a great guy.”

“Nice to meet you, Lissie,” Steve said, giving her a friendly nod before returning his attention to the game. “Either of you want to join? We have extra controllers.”

“We already started a mission,” Chad spoke up, glaring at Steve. “We’d have to start a new one if one of them joined.”

“That’s okay, I’ll sit this round out,” Valo said. “I’ll take a rain check, maybe play the next round.”

“I’d like t’ play,” Lissie replied, taking up one of the free controllers.

“Forget it,” Chad grumbled, tossing his controller aside. “You can take my spot.” He rose and stormed off.

“What’s his problem?” Valo muttered.