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“And your dad?”

He lets out a breath. “Yeah, he wasn’t around much.”

I notice the past tense, but don’t say anything.

“I have some money to pay for lunch,” Bennett says when we’re finally at the front and are handed our wraps.

“It’s cashless,” the server tells him when he tries to give her a twenty.

“Oh. I have Apple Pay…” he grabs his phone.

“No, I mean it’s covered.” She smiles like he offered to wash the dishes to pay for dinner.

He looks at me. “You have a tab?” he asks.

I shake my head. “The cost of the food comes out of the budget. It’s easier that way.”

“So you buy everybody lunch?” he asks, as I lift my hand to the crew behind us and we walk back to the offices.

I shrug. “It’s actually a good business move. Nobody has to leave the site to eat or worry about money, morale is boosted for the afternoon. It’s a small price to keep things smooth.”

“I can’t see my uncle ever doing that,” he says, shaking his head. “If there isn’t an immediate profit, he’s out.”

Tell me about it.

“I guess you and him are tight, huh?”

Bennett takes a bite of his burrito. “Nope,” he says, his voice muffled by chicken. “Not really. I mean, I guess he was around when I was a kid, but he and my mom hadn’t talked for a long time.”

“What changed?”

He glances at me. “Me, I guess. I was messing up. Getting into trouble. Dropped out of college, got arrested for that dumb car theft. My mom was freaking out, so she reached out to Vin. Asked him to help get me back on track.”

“And he sent you here.”

Bennett nods. “Said if I shadowed you, stayed out of trouble, and enrolled back in college to get a business degree, he’d offer me a job. And he said he’ll pay the tuition. He thinks it’s time I stepped up.”

I stay quiet for a moment. Because yeah, it’s a generous offer. And a smart one. But I know Vin too well to believe it comes without strings.

“Sounds like he’s giving you a second chance,” I say, careful to keep my tone neutral.

Bennett smiles. “I think he is.”

I force a smile back, but I still don’t like it. Because Vin Marchetti doesn’t give second chances out of the kindness of his heart. Not even to family. And I don’t want Bennett getting tangled in a web he doesn’t see coming.

We step back into the cool of the office, the scent of concrete and drywall filling the air. Bennett heads toward the far desk to grab the laptop I gave him, but my phone buzzes in my pocket before I can follow. One glance at the screen and my already-tight shoulders get tenser.

Apparently, I’m seducing your intern. My entire family has decided Bennett and I are having a beach fling. Autumn’s threatening to post it on Instagram. - Eden

Another message follows quickly.

Honestly, maybe it’s a good thing? Keeps them off the scent… you know, the whole marriage thing. - Eden

The whole marriage thing.

She’s my wife. And everyone thinks she’s screwing the intern?

Except they don’t know she’s my wife. Which is a good thing, I remind myself. It doesn’t stop a hot flare of something that feels like jealousy shoot through me.