“I’ll take the cookies for now, darlin’. Thank you.”
Her smile is still bright. “Anything for you, Sam.Anything.”
I nod at her before turning on my boot and leaving with the tin of cookies in hand.
Fuck. I need to distance myself from this woman. Being around her is intoxicating. I’ll need to dig out whatever reserves of patience and will I have to push her from my thoughts.
It can’t happen again. It’s the responsible thing to do. She’s my best friend’s daughter. I haven’t had a serious relationship since my wife died. Hell, she’s practically Lennox’s age. Fuck what I want.
No matter how much it might hurt.
Chapter Eight
SAM
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Mark asks, not for the first time.
“I told you, go enjoy your drink. I don’t need you hovering to see if I’m doing it right.”
“I don’t want them to burn.”
I point the tongs at him. “You realize you standing here pestering me about them is going to make them burn.”
“I like mine well done,” chirps Dennis.
“Then you can burn yours next time,” I gripe. “Until then, I’m the cook, and I’m cooking the steaks how I know all you fuckers like them.”
“I might have to skip my turn on hosting everyone,” Dennis says.
“Why?” Greg asks, sipping on his wine.
I’ve never really noticed before, but now that I’ve been spending more time with Joey, it’s easy to see how much like her father she is.
They have the same brown eyes and brown hair, with the easy smile.
Hersmile has been haunting my dreams. Ever since I made the mistake of kissing her. I shouldn’t have done it.
But sometimes it’s hard to care when I remember how fucking good it was.
“I’m seeing someone,” Dennis says, a note of hesitancy in his voice.
Pulling the steaks off the grill, I set them on the plate and carry them over to the table situated on my patio.
It’s a perfect summer night so we’ve moved our poker game outside.
“Damn. Since when?” Mark asks.
“It’s…new.”
“New?” I question, starting to pass the plate of baked potatoes and the bowl of salad around the table.
Because grown men in their midforties need to be at least somewhat healthy.
“I met her on a dating app.”
“A dating app? Why do you need a dating app?” Greg asks, cutting into his perfectly done steak.
“How else are you supposed to meet people nowadays?” Dennis shrugs. “We can’t all be so lucky to still be with our first wife.”
