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He’d gone above and beyond.
And I had to tell him so. Even if I wanted to saw off my tongue.
The sun was barely a sliver on the lake, just enough to highlight his cheekbones and far too tempting mouth. I came up beside him and spotted the logo on his red apron of a guy wearing sunglasses. Under it, “Mr. Good Lookin’ Is Cookin’” was stamped in bold black.
I huffed out a laugh. “It looks amazing.”
“Smells good too.”
“No, I mean everything.” I cracked my knuckles and resisted the urge to fidget. “Doesn’t look the same as when I left.”
“I hope not. We busted ass to get it entertainment ready.”
“Yeah.” I toyed with the end of my ponytail. “I’m not sure how I ended up with so many people here.”
“People want to get to know you.”
“Why?”
He laughed. “You’re mysterious and hot. Two definite reasons to find out more.” Then he waggled his eyebrows at me. “Hope you’re hungry.” He nodded toward the matte black side of the grill where the pipe rose from. Upon closer inspection, I could tell it was a temperature gauge. “I started smoking a pork shoulder this morning so we could have some pulled pork too.”
“And burgers?”
He let out a moan that made me think of things other than burgers. “Oh, Ruby. Haven’t you ever had both together? And the bit of coleslaw with lime. It’s gonna knock you out of those sexy boots.”
My traitorous mouth watered. I wasn’t sure if it was from the groan or the meal coming my way. “I’ve had a lot of things, but I think this one’s a first.”
His eyes glinted in the last fading rays of the sun. “I don’t mind being your first.”
“Please.”
He grinned. “So, come on. Tell me more about how amazing I am.”
I folded my arms and tried not to pick at the tray of cheese awaiting the burgers. I was freaking starving. “Not sure you need me to.” I gave up and reached for a piece.
He smacked my hand. “Did you wash your hands?”
“No.” I sighed. He was right. I tucked my thumb into my belt loop so I didn’t lose control again.
He smashed the row of burgers in front of him before flipping them. “Now back to telling me I’m awesome.”
Nerves laced his voice. Hmm. Interesting.
I pressed my lips together and swiveled to take it all in. He’d created the perfect setting. Even the dumpster had been camouflaged with a tarp to make it less offensive. He’d cleared away all the rusty tools, carted off the guts from the barn that he and the kids had pulled down, and tidied up the area. The old tractor was gone too.
The sad excuse for grass looked a little better without the carpet of dead leaves. My picnic table was also missing. What was left of it was probably in the pile of wood stacked neatly against the dumpster.
I felt a small pang that didn’t make much sense.
He followed my gaze. “I’ll grab some fresh lumber and rebuild the picnic table. A few of the legs were too rotten to just patch.”
I jammed my hands in my pockets. “No problem.”
He hip-checked me lightly. “I’ll make it just like it was, just stronger.”
I felt stupid for caring so much about a stupid table, but things were changing really fast. I cleared my throat. “I’m going to go get cleaned up.”
“Hurry up. Food’s almost ready.”
