Page 9 of Sweet Devotion

All sorts of odd images filled her head. “You’ll have to come try it out—after you’ve healed a bit more.”

“Mm,” was the only sound he made, still his gaze remained fixed on the people at the park.

“Want to get a closer look?”

Without a word, he nodded.

For a few seconds she debated if they should walk or ride and remembering the tight expression on his face, ride won. “Hop in and we’ll drive over.”

The way his lips pressed together she thought he was getting ready to argue, but then he blinked and seemed to nod to himself as if recognizing that walking that far, and back, wasn’t the best idea he’d had.

Another few moments and they were parked by the corn hole courts. Off to one side, little kids were playing in the sand or on the swings while their moms sat to one side watching, smiling, enjoying a moment that would end too soon. What really caught Aiden’s attention were the older gentlemen in the midst of a fierce competition.

“You couldn’t find your way out of a house with a flashlight,” one of the men hollered to the other who she was pretty sure snarled back seconds before letting the bean bag fly and in a single swoop—like a three pointer on the basketball court—dropped into the determined hole.

The quiet grin on Aiden’s face as he watched the group of men tease, toss, and revel in their triumphs, had Colleen thinking that any second he was going to ask to join in on the fun. There was a twinkle in his eyes that had not been there before. Instead, he took a step back, tapped his toe behind him performing a somewhat wobbly military turn, and sighed. “Alice is waiting. We’d better get back before she thinks I drove all the way to New York for the supplies.”

If she’d figured out anything watching this man, she was convinced, working with Aiden Boglioli was going to be most…interesting.

Chapter Four

It had been years since the last time Aiden had fixed a broken pipe. It was exhilarating to see the repair hold when he turned the faucet on. Not as great as when he created something beautiful out of a raw piece of wood, but it was darn close. Now, taking a quick peek under the sink, the sheetrock repair was looking good. The mud was almost completely dry. As much as he was not looking forward to crawling under there again, it still needed paint.

Stepping aside as Alice came to the sink with a bag of potatoes, Aiden faced the inevitable. “The wall patch is almost dry. I can paint tomorrow.”

“Nonsense,” she waved him off. “Do you know how to peel potatoes?”

“Uh.” The question caught him off guard. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She pointed to a drawer to his left. “Grab a peeler.”

He pulled a peeler from the designated drawer and stood at Alice’s side. “I can paint the patch tomorrow.”

Kade’s mom shook her head. “The only person who ever looks under there is me, and to be honest, I don’t look that closely. It’s a wall under a cabinet. Who cares if it’s painted.” Holding a peeler in one hand and potato in the other, she tipped her head and smiled at him.

“And my bad hip has nothing to do with it?”

Her smile grew wider as she turned away and returned to peeling the stack of potatoes on the counter. “I didn’t say that.”

He couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, ma’am. If you’re sure?”

Just then, Colleen returned from the bathroom. “Sure about what?”

“Not painting,” Alice answered. “Do you peel potatoes?”

Colleen blinked before nodding and Aiden bit back a smile. Clearly, she was as surprised by the question as he had been, though she hid it better than he probably had.

“Good.” Alice handed her the peeler and moved away from the sink. “Oh, and let your parents know you’re joining us for dinner.” She paused and grinned. “That is unless you have a hot date.”

He was pretty sure her cheeks flushed three different shades of red.

“No, ma’am. No date.” Under her breath Colleen muttered, hot or otherwise. When Alice disappeared into the pantry, Colleen glanced in his direction. “How’s the hip holding up?”

Telling her that his bones felt as though they’d been branded with a hot iron probably wouldn’t be the right thing to say. “Not bad.”

Her hands stopped mid strike and she turned again to stare at him.

“All right. It is stinging a bit, but honestly, not as much as I thought it would.”