Brody made a face. “Hooking up? Mom, it’s the twenty-first century. No one says hooking up anymore.”
Jacob chucked, and I sent him a death glare.
“I’m meeting some of the guys this morning to play some video games,” Brody continued, “and then we’re gonna grab lunch. I’ll be back later this afternoon to get ready.”
“Okay. I need to run to the store and get ingredients for next week, and then…” I trailed off. Brody had no idea what his grandmother and her group of cronies had conned me into.
“And then what?” Brody prompted.
I looked at Jacob and sighed. “Your grandmother, Mimi Stiles, Gilda Rossi, and Ingrid Gonnor somehow cheated and tricked me into going out on three dates with three different men. Tonight is my last disastrous date.”
Brody’s mouth dropped. “You’redatingnow?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
Brody sent Jacob a panicked look then held up his hand. “It’s cool, Mom. I mean, I think it’s cool you’re dating. I just didn’t…well, to be honest, I just didn’t think you’d ever take dating advice from those other ladies. I didn’t even think you liked them much.”
I sighed. “I don’t.”
Brody and Jacob both laughed.
“This must be quite a story,” Brody said.
“They conned me into going on three dates, also,” Jacob said. “They seem to think they know what your mom and I are looking for in potential mates.”
I shivered at the heated look Jacob sent my way, then darted a quick glance at Brody to see if he’d noticed the smoldering look Jacob sent me.
He hadn’t.
I forced myself to pay attention as Brody and Jacob talked about Jacob’s past and his time in the service. I tried not to panic when I realized Jacob was only twelve years old when Brody had been born. What kind of sick woman was I to lust after a man so young? I could feel my heart beating so fast and hard I half expected it to fly out of my chest.
“Monica?” Jacob asked. “You okay?”
“What?” I blinked in surprise at his question.
He gave me a soft smile. “You looked a thousand miles away. Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I choked out, taking a large gulp of my coffee. Stupid move. It scalded the inside of my mouth, and it was all I could do not to spit it back out into the mug.
“Anyway,” Brody said, “Jayden’s family is having dinner around six. I’ll probably be home around nine or ten.” Brody got up and gave me a kiss on the cheek before turning to Jacob. “Nice meeting you, Jacob. Hope to see ya around. And thanks for keeping Mom company. I worry about her spending so much time alone.”
Jacob gave me a smoldering look. “My pleasure, Brody.”
Brody waved and headed to the front of the house. I sat quietly staring into my coffee, waiting for Jacob to say something. When he didn’t, I blurted out the first thing that came into my head.
“Sorry about that,” I said. “Usually Brody gives me a heads up before coming over.”
“No problem. Who’s this Jayden girl?”
“Brody and Jayden dated all through high school. They broke up when they went to college—separate colleges and they thought it would be for the best. I always figured those two would end up back together.”
“You like her?” Jacob asked.
“Yeah, I’ve always liked Jayden. The whole family, really. She has an older sister who was Miss Oregon a few years ago. She just finished her nursing degree and is working at a hospital in Portland.”
Our phones beeped and we each looked at the message and groaned.
“You get your orders?” he asked.
