Ben sat on the other couch and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “So, you went dancing, huh?”
Robert chuckled. “Amy kept insisting she wasn’t very coordinated... but she was right.”
Amy swung a throw pillow at Robert. He snatched it from her grasp a split second before it struck his face. She flinched when Robert acted like he might throw it back at her. Instead, he chuckled and tucked it behind him.
“I don’t know. I hear she can flip peanuts into a shot glass.” Ben gave Amy a sly grin. “I’d say that takes skill.”
Amy smothered a chuckle and returned Ben’s smile. “I’m especially good at it when the shot glass deserves it.”
Ben relaxed as her attention shifted to him. Sharing the inside joke with her eased the tension in his gut.
Robert gaped at Amy. “How can you hit a shot glass with a peanut, but not be coordinated enough to dance?”
“It’s an acquired skill.”
“And when would you ever need such a skill?”
She glared at Ben. “It comes in handy when someone annoys me.”
He smothered a laugh.
Robert’s eyes bounced back and forth between Amy and Ben, his curiosity evident. Would Amy tell Robert what she’d done? Ben doubted it. She’d been embarrassed when she apologized to his parents for her lack of restraint. He’d almost felt bad for teasing her. Almost, but not really. He’d enjoyed it too much. That’s probably why she hadn’t apologized to him.
“If you can flip a peanut into a shot glass, you can learn to dance,” Robert said. “I’ll make you a deal. The day you master swing dancing, I’ll let you flip peanuts into my mouth.”
Amy’s eyes narrowed as she studied Robert. Then she grinned and stuck out her hand. “Deal.”
Robert hung onto Amy’s hand when she tried to pull it back, a teasing gleam in his eyes.
Ben shot to his feet. “I’d better go.”
Since when am I so eager to go home?
Anywhere was better than sitting here watching his cousin flirt with Amy.
Amy tugged her hand from Robert’s. “Thank you, Ben. I really appreciate you watching Kallie.”
Ben nodded and headed for the door.
As he started his truck, he finally admitted the reason he’d been so uncomfortable seeing Amy and Robert together. He was jealous. Watching Robert tease Amy and hold her hand made him long to be in his cousin’s place.
Was it simply having a woman, more specifically his wife, to cuddle with on the couch, that he envied, or did he envy Robert’s relationship with Amy?
He wasn’t sure at the moment.
He liked Amy as a person, admired her willingness to work hard, and her dedication to her daughter, but did his feelings for her go beyond admiration?
No. They couldn’t. Because, if they did, that would mean he wasn’t mourning Melanie like he should.
She hadn’t even been gone a whole year. He shouldn’t even look at another woman. Let alone be jealous of Robert.
He’d certainly grown fond of Kallie, though. He loved how she wrinkled her nose when she smiled and how she tried to say new words. He missed his Cassey terribly. But every time Kallie climbed on his lap and snuggled into his arms, he saw a glimpse of something worth looking forward to.
