“Denise. Call me Denise.”
“Denise.”
“Come over here. Let’s sit. I want to hear everything about you.”
Here we go. It’ll take all of five minutes to fill her in on Colette Munsel. As we pass Sam, he hands his mom a glass of iced tea, then turns to ask, “Would you like some wine, honey?”
Glancing at Denise’s glass, I shake my head. “I’ll have some tea, please.” I need to keep my wits about me tonight, and iced tea will do the trick.
“Be right back,” Sam says as he bends and kisses me lightly.
“Come on, Colette. We’ll sit while the men work.” She side-eyes me, adding, “For once.”
I giggle at her jab as I follow her to two lawn chairs.
From our vantage point, we’re able to see everyone in attendance. There’s Sam’s older brother, Keith, and his wife and children. They seem nice, but maybe a bit aloof. Keith’s wife is wearing a dress that, I’m positive, cost more than I made on my last editing job. It’s adorable but I can’t imagine wearing it to a backyard barbeque.
Sam’s younger brother just arrived, and of his siblings, Jesse looks the most like Sam. Keith’s hair is lighter, and his features most resemble Denise’s. Jesse is also a bit of a flirt. The first thing he did was wink at me. Then, when we shook hands, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. I heard Sam growl from somewhere behind me, which made me laugh. Jealousy isn’t cool, but sort of sexy in small doses.
There are guys from Sam’s company, his crew, in attendance as well. They all have that sexy, rugged look about them. That could be me just picturing them hammering big wooden planks, but I think most women would find the crew nice-looking.
“So.” Denise pats my knee after we’re seated. “Sam tells me your family owned Munsel Hardware.”
“We did.”
Looking up like she’s thinking back in time, she sighs. “Your parents had the best customer service. Your dad knew the answer to every question we had about our old house. It’s why we shopped there quite often when the boys were young. Our house… Something was always falling apart. The boys had a lot to do with that.” She snickers.
I nod.
“We used to bring Sam along with us.” Denise’s eyes grow round. “Didyouwork at the store?”
“Sure. We all did.”
“Then you may have met him way back when.” She claps her hands softly. “Wouldn’t that be a coincidence? Fate.” Denise winks. “So, you live next door?”
“Yep.”
“He’s been through a lot, you know.” She uses her head to nod in Sam’s direction. I take that time to look at him as he throws his head back and laughs at something his little brother is saying.
God, he’s so handsome.
Sam. Not Jesse. Although Jesseishandsome.
“His ex-wife was something else.”
“Oh?” I’m pulled from my gawk at Sam by Denise’s comment. Except, I’m not sure how to respond. What do I say to that? I don’t even know Sam’s mom, so I don’t feel like I should react one way or the other.
“May I ask you a personal question?”
I snicker. “Um … sure.” Oh, hells bells. What’s she going to ask?
“I know. It’s none of my business.”
“Okay.” I do, too, now that she’s setting it up like that. Except, I’m used to this. My mom would do the same thing if the situation were reversed. Hell, she’s probably already quizzed Sam.
“Do you want to have children?” She says the words very quickly. “I’m only asking because it’s the reason his marriage…”
“Ended. I know.”
