I threw the covers off, willing my feet to hold me up. One foot on the ground. Two. Okay, so far so good. I took a couple tentative steps, and, while my stomach wasn’t thrilled with the idea of movement, last night’s enchiladas stayed firmly put. Which I took as a good sign.

I threw a pair of jeans on, then opened the bedroom door. And the brass band grew louder. By the time I shuffled into the kitchen it was all I could do not to gouge my own eardrums out at the sound. I walked in to find Aunt Sue at a blender, throwing chunks of bananas in as she danced to the forties big band coming from a radio in the corner.

“Could you turn that off?” I pleaded, one hand on my head to keep my brains from oozing out my ears.

“What?” Aunt Sue yelled.

“Turn it off!”

She turned the knob on the radio, bringing with it blissful silence. “What did you say? I can’t hear you with the radio on!”

I took a deep breath. Blew it out. Reminded myself how much I loved my aunt. “Coffee. Is there any coffee?”

“Here you go, tequila queen.” I looked up to find Cal handing me a mug of steaming liquid.

His hair was still wet from a shower, his eyes crinkling at the corners, dancing with some secret knowledge. I sincerely hoped it wasn’t about me.

Self-consciously, I took the cup. “Thanks.”

“How you feeling?” he asked, sipping from a mug of his own. If he was feeling any hint of the awkwardness consuming me, he didn’t show it, casually leaning against the kitchen counter as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to get his clients drunk and take them to his bed.

Maybe it was.

A thought which did nothing to settle my angry stomach.

“Um. Good. Fine,” I lied, sipping my coffee.

“You look like hell.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Gee, thanks.”

He grinned. “Hangovers are a bitch, aren’t they?”

“Just shut up, keep the coffee coming, and no one gets hurt.”

“You got it, sunshine,” he said. Then gave me a wink.

My stomach rolled again, but this time I kinda liked it.

“So,” I said, purposefully clearing my throat and turning to Aunt Sue. “What have you and Aunt Millie got planned today?”

Aunt Sue poured her thick banana shake into a glass and started sucking it through a straw. “Got more packing to do at Hattie’s. Then we’re shipping some boxes of photos to her nephew, and we’re gonna hit up the lunch buffet at the senior center. Today’s chicken dumpling day.”

“Sounds thrilling.”

“Felix called,” Cal told me, dropping a piece of bread into the toaster.

I groaned. “What did he want?”

“Wanted to know when you might be coming in to work today.”