Thunder rumbled and sprinkles started dotting his glasses, pulling Nate back to the present as he carried the ladder to the toolshed. Starting to like McKenna?
The truth buzzed inside his veins that he’d gone way past the point of starting to like her.
But with his new job waiting for him back in New York, and herheart set on going to Los Angeles, what did it matter if he liked her? Not like he could do anything about his feelings.
And somehow that stung worse than anything.
Later that evening, Nate lowered the lid and checked his watch. Shouldn’t be much longer before the steaks were ready. He waved off a plume of smoke from the grill and let his gaze rest on the pale arch of a double rainbow above the neighbor’s barn.
Talk about the perfect evening to grill out.
Now that the storm had moved on, cooling the temps from stifling hot to bearably hot, all the flowers in his mom’s garden had perked up with vibrant hues of red, yellow, and purple, adding a nice pop of color to the surrounding pastures glistening with green. A beautiful sight, even if the burst of rain meant he’d have to mow sooner rather than later.
Nate eyed the now-clean gutters running along the back of the house. At least he’d knocked that one off the to-do list. Tomorrow, he’d mow while the workers his mom hired for the glass cottage placed the foundation.
Glass cottage. He tried not to shake his head. Sure, it’d probably look nice, but shouldn’t his mom be more concerned with the functional upkeep aspects of the B&B? But hey, if she thought goats, chickens, and fancy she-sheds would help draw people in, who was he to argue? Same for bringing in some celebrity named Harry. Whatever made his mom happy.
And apparently, Harry made his mom happy. Nate’s right ear was still recovering from all the shrieking she did on the phone a little bit ago when he mentioned the news.
He checked his watch again just as McKenna’s laugh, thankfully a much gentler sound to his ears, drew his attention to the back door where she held a lemonade pitcher in one hand and pressed his phoneagainst her ear with the other. “Oh, it’s no problem at all. Believe me. I’m just as excited as anyone.”
She tossed Nate a dazzling smile on her way to the picnic bench in the backyard. Nate’s gaze lingered on her red curls, then made a slow travel down her plain white T-shirt and cut-off jean shorts all the way to her sandals.
When his mom called to let him know Aunt Susie’s surgery had gone fine and she was back in recovery, McKenna had asked to speak to her. Nate never imagined that twenty minutes later they’d still be chatting and giggling over Harry.
Another laugh brought his focus back to her face where her eyes—almost emerald this evening—sparkled with amusement. “Really? Interesting. I never would have guessed that about him.”
Why did he get the feeling they weren’t talking about Harry anymore?
“Aw,” McKenna said, flashing Nate a grin on her way back toward the kitchen door. “I bet he looked adorable as a panda bear. How old do you say he was at the time? Fifteen?”
Nate aimed his tongs at McKenna. “Hand over the phone. Right now.”
“Oh, yes. I’d love to see those photo albums.”
“You two are done.”
“They’re in your bedroom you say?”
Nate lunged after her, but she spun out of reach and pointed at the grill as she lowered the phone from her mouth. “Might want to pay attention to the steaks, instead of my legs,” she said with a sassy smirk.
Busted.
Nate snapped his tongs at her, then stepped back to the grill. Smoke billowed out as he flipped their steaks over. “For the record, I was only thirteen,” he hollered to the tune of more giggles.
Didn’t take long before he and McKenna were seated at the picnic bench digging into their steaks, tossed salad, and honey garlic roasted potatoes. Before Nate knew it, he was pointing his fork at a nearly empty plate. “Nice job on the potatoes.”
“Ditto on the steaks,” McKenna said, lifting her lemonade glass in a toast.
“Thanks,” he said, tapping his glass against hers. “I was a little worried I overdid them, since someone kept distracting me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I was doing was having a lovely conversation with your mom.”
“Right. And just how many secrets did she spill about me during this lovely conversation?”
“Not enough,” McKenna answered, hiding a playful smile behind her napkin as she wiped off her mouth. “Pretty sure I’ll be calling her back for more.”
“Does this mean I get a twenty-minute tell-all conversation withyourmom at some point?”
