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It was true. He wouldn't.
"Please, just think of it as being on a need-to-know basis, okay? Ethan doesn't need to know, so we're containing this security breach as much as possible."
"Security breach, huh? So that’s what the cool kids are calling friends with benefits these days."
Just then, the doorbell sounded, and I heard the girls call out. "Daddy! Uncle Ethan and Ava are here!"
But it wasn't just Ethan and Ava. Elara stood behind them, holding a cake box and smiling.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. She was wearing an oversized green sweater and a long denim skirt with a slit up the leg.
I tried not to let my gaze linger too long on her legs, so I made the mistake of looking instead at her face. Those eyes I had gazed into while fucking her. Those lips that I’d kissed, that she’d wrapped around my. . . .
Part of me suddenly wished that instead of being here for lunch with my family, it was just the two of us, alone for as long as we wanted.
"Cole?" Ethan said, snapping me out of my little daydream.
"Yep. What? Yo, Ethan. Hey, Ava.” I cleared my throat. “Hi Elara. Thanks for coming." I petted Anthony. “You too, little guy. I hope you like crawfish.” I looked at Elara. “He can eat seafood, right?”
“He can,” she replied. “I’ll text you a list of all the foods he’s not allowed to eat if you like. Seeing as you’re his new babysitter for a few days.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
Ethan's gaze drifted between Elara and me, his suspicions all too clear. "You’re looking after Anthony?” asked Ethan. “You, Cole, have agreed to babysit someone’s dog?”
“I like dogs,” I said gruffly.
“Right,” said Ethan. “You like dogs.”
Thankfully, a shriek of excitement from behind me provided a distraction. Lexi and Rhea rushed to embrace their cousin. "We're playing PlayStation and it's a violent game!"
"I want to destroy!" Ava said in a growly voice, and the girls bustled into the house.
I hugged Ethan.
He whispered, "I've got my eye on you."
As we moved through into the dining space, Elara thanked Ida for letting her come to lunch.
Ethan didn't take his eyes off me.
"I love your place!" Elara said.
"Aw, thanks. It's my sanctuary from all the drama of the diner."
"Drama, huh?" Elara asked. "What kind of drama happens at the diner?"
"Oh, there's always some gossip going down. Everyone knows everyone else. For example, Fred Jones ordered a chicken salad instead of tuna last week."
"Scandalous," Ethan deadpanned.
"Is that a big deal?"
"Fred's been ordering tuna salads for about thirty years," Ida said. "Rumor is that he's finally got a new woman in his life. She's expanding his horizons."
"Don't you think people could be reading too much into his food choices?" I asked as we sat at the table.
"I don't know," Ida said. "People change when they start a new relationship. You know, they suddenly develop a taste for new things. Chicken . . . iced coffee . . . cocktails."
