I’ll take it. For now.
“Nice to meet you.” I shift the basketball to my other arm so I can extend a hand to shake.
“Huh,” the boy says, leaving me hanging. His eyes bounce suspiciously between Steph and me.
“He’s Aidan’s brother,” she adds, elbowing the boy.
“Nice to meet you,” he mumbles, then turns back to his mother. “Can we go now?”
She nods, and he walks away. Steph watches him for a long moment, then turns back to me with an apologetic smile. I don’t think I’m going to count that one, but then her attention snags on something over my shoulder—on those pennants again—and when she turns back to me once more, it’s softened.
“See you around, Captain,” she says quietly, and her lips remain tipped up.
Six.
A text comes through as I’m pulling into the driveway an hour later, covered in sweat, but feeling good. It instantly sours my mood.
Unknown
Stay the hell away from my wife
I guess Piper’s talk with my brother didn’t go so well.
17
Steph
So,Riley’shere.
My body instantly starts humming with nervous energy at the sight of him bent over the sink, handwashing pint glasses.
I knew it was a possibility when Lucy suggested we have our girl’s night at Aroma’s. I knew he was working here now, but I guess I thought, since it’s a Tuesday night, maybe he wouldn’t be. Supposedly, he only bartends a couple of nights a week, and the rest of the time he’s training with Bobby.
Don’t ask me howI know that.
Okay, fine. I’ll admit my ears have perked up anytime I’ve heard his name come up in conversation lately. And given our town’s penchant for gossip, the return of Nora’s prodigal son continues to have tongues wagging a whole month later. So yeah, I know he’s training as Bobby’s assistant manager. I know he remains estranged from his brother, and that it has their mother distressed. I also know that the new young vet thinks they have a special bond, and that Mrs. Abernathy is of the mind that if he would only trim his hair and shave his beard, he’d be the most eligible bachelor in town, evenwiththe tattoos and his ‘mysterious past.’ Pretty sure he still is, regardless, because none of the women I’ve heard extolling his virtues seem to find any of those particular qualities off-putting.
Ugh! And maybe I felt a little twinge of something that might be in the same but very extended family as jealousy when I heard Trish Flynn say he and his fine ass were ‘ripe for the taking’ last week in the grocery line. But it’s hard when your former high-school sweetheart, who once broke your heart and then disappeared for well over a decade, suddenly shows back up and iseverywhere. Especially when your mind tells you to resist his advances, but your traitorous body unequivocally disagrees with that plan.
And when I say he’s everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Just yesterday, I overheard two of the Mystery Maven ladies at the library near-swooning over the large, rugged-looking man seen jogging shirtless with his little white and black spotted pup—apup who he’d ended up carrying for much of his run, I recall hearing with amusement. They then proceeded to discuss his musculature and tattoo collection in surprisingly vivid detail, considering I know for a fact Miss Bethany has full-blown cataracts.
I now have confirmation that the near-sleeve on his armdoesindeed wrap the side of his torso, across his chest, and over his shoulder onto his neck. And, well, I maybe wouldn’t have minded seeing that—the … shirtless running with the cute dog thing. You know, for curiosity’s sake. Ihadbeen wondering about his tattoos, after all.
Speaking of those tattoos … he’s wearing a t-shirt tonight, and I can’t help but notice how the arms pull snuggly around his biceps.
Sigh.
It’s almost like he’s doing this to me on purpose. To wear me down. Of course, he had no way of knowing I’d be here tonight, so I’m forced to accept he really is just that effortlessly sexy. But my point is that his colorful near-sleeve is on full display again. I say again because he’d been in a t-shirt when we’d run into each other in the school gym, and Imayhave snuck a look or two despite how unsettling it was to see him there and then to have been caught flirting by my son.
Oh, God. My cheeks heat remembering it.
Not that I’d been doing anything wrong … and the termflirtingisn’t quite accurate either. Or at least that’s what I keep tellingmyself. Semi-flirting? I guess we’ll go with that, even if I know it’s a mistake to indulge him.
Riley glances up then and catches me frozen ten feet from the bar … and ogling his arms, dammit. He shoots me a pleased and somehow equally seductive grin and gestures me over.
Okay. I’m doing this.Brace for yet another encounter, Steph. Brace for temptation.
I smile back and make my way to where he’s leaning on the counter.
