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“Thank you guys for helping me with this. His first game is tomorrow, and I haven’t had time to get him here after school.”
“We’re happy to help, Lil,” Colt said.
“Yeah,” Sebastian agreed. “Though Huck over there is helping his biceps, so you may want to rein him in.”
Lily la
ughed. “Yeah, well we better get going, honey.” Lily frowned, looking at Alex. “Is that chocolate on your mouth?”
Alex’s eyes went just about as wide as Colt’s. Shit. They were both busted from the ice cream cones they’d had earlier.
“Alex McCade, did you spoil your dinner by having sweets?”
Alex glanced at him, then looked his mother dead in the eye. “Define: having sweets.”
Lily’s brows shot up, and both Bass and Colt laughed.
“Great.” She sighed and looked at Bass. “Don’t think I don’t know where he got that from, Mr. Attorney.”
With that, they headed toward the register, but not before Colt slapped his back. “You’re pretty good with this kid stuff. Thanks for your help, buddy.”
His throat closed a little.
He needed a beer and a heavy dose of reality. Because what had happened over the last twenty-four hours was not only not standard, it was unobtainable. It was one thing to see his friends get a shot at lifelong happiness. One thing to allow himself to envy them. But to think he could have those things? To for a moment wonder if he was even capable of them?
He was good at short term.
It was best he remembered that.
…
Penny grabbed some baker’s chocolate off the shelf and placed it in her basket. To tell the truth, she was glad to do a little grocery shopping. Maybe it would help her come back down to earth for a minute, help her stop thinking about Bass and the fact that he had left after their shower last night. There were other things in the world, right?
Like her plans with Jenna. Jenna was stopping by tonight to sample some desserts Penny was making for the rehearsal dinner.
She glanced at her shopping list—
“Chocolate, whip cream, and strawberries,” a gruff voice said from behind her. “Looks like a fun night to me.”
She turned to find Sebastian, his own basket in hand, looking at her with those knee-weakening dark eyes.
“Not as fun as you’d think. I’m baking.”
He nodded, and she took the opportunity to examine the contents of his basket.
“Frozen dinner, beer, and protein bars?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Why do you think I eat at your restaurant so much? Cooking isn’t one of my strengths.”
“Well, you have many other strengths,” she said, grinning and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. God, she felt like a flirting teenager reliving the events from last night.
“About that,” he said, the tone of his voice turning the conversation in a direction that sounded serious. “Are you—”
“Hey guys!” Huck said, walking up to them. Penny instantly took a step away from Sebastian, as if they had just been caught doing something naughty. How risqué could she be in the baking aisle though?
But if the way her skin flushed just standing next to Bass was any indication, things could get pretty intense without them doing anything at all. She didn’t even have to touch him to feel the impact he had. The mere thought of him, his closeness, how he looked at her, made her entire body hum with anticipation.
“Hi,” she greeted Huck, finally able to get some words out. “Funny running into both of you here.”
