“She lives in the garage,” Jonah said.
“Huh? She lives in your garage with your vehicle?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “There is an apartment behind the garage. One bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen.”
“Wow, talk about convenience for you. And her. Just a few steps home and to work.”
“Yeah. It’s a perfect setup.”
“Just like these dips. Did you make them or Carly?”
“Carly did last night. But I know how to cook. I’m doing it today.”
“Dad is great at grilling burgers. That’s what we are having. Marcus taught him how to make them so they don’t shrink.”
“I think your dad might get spoiled having a chef at work to teach him things.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. His eyes never left his son, who wasn’t all that interested and would rather dip crackers in ranch.
So much for the veggies he’d put out.
“I’ve got you too. You’re pretty good with food.”
She put her head on his shoulder quickly. “I am. My heart is racing,” she whispered.
“He’s fine. Trust me. I’d know by now. It’s good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
This was a big step for him.
Maybe the biggest in his life.
Nothing had compared to standing up to his grandfather.
And just like then, he seemed to land in the right spot.
24
ALWAYS WANTED
On Thursday, Molly was walking out of a staff meeting holding her laptop close to her chest.
She hadn’t seen Dean since Monday. It’d been a few weeks since she’d met her boyfriend’s son and had a blast playing games in the backyard, eating massive burgers and devouring her cake.
Since then they spent every Monday together for dinner, then he went home. Or she went home.
There were no overnights. Neither of them was ready for that.
Just because Jonah accepted her in his life didn’t mean he was ready to see her in the morning.
Nor did she want to feel as if she was sneaking out either.
If she didn’t stop in for lunch during the week once in a while, they saw little of each other. Their communication was limited to phone calls and text messages.
For the most part she was good with it. It gave her time to continue with her own hobbies. She got to read, she got to experiment with recipes.
