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“I’ll go light the grill,” I reply, whistling as I head out the door Emma just entered through.
Outside, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Orval is over with his sister, son-in-law, and Cindy, Sawyer is playing catch with Max and Jensen, and Harper and AJ are deep in conversation. Samuel appears to be off by himself, his stoic and rigid posture just taking it all in. Who I don’t see is Meghan and Nick.
I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know what they’re off doing…
As soon as he arrived in my boat, I met him on the dock and went to check her out. Yes, I trust my friend, but yes, I needed to see with my own eyes that she was fine. Besides, his wife was anxious to get to him too, considering it had been a whole five hours since they last laid eyes on each other.
On the back deck of the bed and breakfast, I find two grills. A large pit-style charcoal grill and a massive gas grill. Since Marissa is almost ready with the sides, I opt to light the gas one. It’ll only take a fraction of the time to heat up and we’ll be eating before the coals would be ready with the charcoal unit.
“Need some help?” Samuel asks as he approaches me.
“Sure. Marissa’s working on the sides, so I thought I’d get this thing ready for the chicken,” I reply as I fire up all eight burners.
“She’s letting you grill?” Samuel asks, his face showing as much shock as I picked up in his voice.
“That’s surprising?” I ask, turning to face him.
“Well, yeah. She won’t let any of us cook, even to man the grill. She’s a bit territorial when it comes to the kitchen,” he says, the faintest smile crossing his lips. The man rarely smiles, so I’ll take this as a positive sign.
“Huh, she didn’t argue with me when I told her I was coming out to light the grill. Though, I did leave her in the kitchen with Emma. She probably wasn’t thinking straight with all the talk about table sex,” I add with a smile.
“That woman is nuts,” Samuel says, almost absently.
“That she is, but she’s also amazing and generous. Hell, the whole family is amazing. They’d do anything for anyone, without so much as a question. They all pretty much took me in as an additional family member when Meghan and Nick got together.”
Samuel seems to consider my words, his eyes watching and reading me. It’s a little unnerving, honestly, but I don’t let it show. I’ve always been a bit too confident and definitely a little cocky, but when I’m being stared down by Samuel – Marissa’s oldest brother – I feel my armor start to slip just a little. The truth is I want him to like me. I want him to approve of me, and that right there is a problem. I’ve never wanted or needed anyone’s approval for anything. I’m me, and if you don’t like it, tough shit.
He seems to relax just a little. Well, as much as an uptight man like him can relax. Hell, he’s still wearing a suit. To a cookout with his family. On a Saturday evening. I take that as a good sign as I turn my attention back to the grill. “So, you’re from Jupiter Bay?” he asks, keeping his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yep, born and raised. My mom still lives there.”
“Dad?” he asks, my insides twisting in a familiar pain.
Shrugging my shoulders casually, I reply, “Not sure. Haven’t seen him in years.”
He must sense there’s a hell of a lot there that I have no intention of getting into right now. “No siblings?”
“None,” I answer, scraping off the grill grates, even though they’re already spotless.
“Lucky,” he mumbles, turning to watch his brother throw his son in the air and spin him around like Superman.
“You don’t like having siblings?” I ask, closing the lid and giving Samuel my full attention.
“No, I do. We’re just so different. They do shit just to piss me off,” Samuel states, taking a drink from his water bottle.
I can’t help but laugh. “That’s what siblings are for. They’re supposed to be assholes.”
Samuel grunts his reply and I don’t miss the way his eyes light up with laughter as he watches his nephew giggle as he spins through the air. Even though he may complain about his younger siblings, something tells me Samuel wouldn’t trade his brother and sisters for the world. “So what’s going on with you and my sister?” he asks, causing me to drop the grate brush I was still holding in my hand.
“What do you mean?” I ask, suddenly feeling a little hot under the collar.
He shrugs. “I’ve noticed you looking at her.” He doesn’t say anymore and waits for me to pick up the conversation.
“She’s beautiful,” I state honestly. Shit, beautiful still doesn’t seem like a strong enough adjective to describe Marissa. “I enjoy hanging out with her,” I add, not wanting to get into too much detail with this man. Frankly, it’s none of his business what happens (if anything) between Marissa and me, but because I want this guy – this family – to like me, for some crazy, foreign reason, I don’t just tell him to fuck off like I normally would.
“You’re leaving in a few weeks.” It’s not a question, but a reminder.
“I am.”
