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He began cleaning and slicing the mushrooms as she stood opposite him, preparing the potatoes. Cooking with her, doing mundane things, was a thrill he thought he’d never have. His eyes wandered to her often. She looked peaceful and sweet.
She broke the silence. “How often do you get together with your kids?”
“Well, that changes based on what’s going on. Leesa and Chris are getting married in five short weeks, and they’ve been incredibly busy. But, I made her promise today to have dinner with me one night this week. Matt, I see every day at the office. Now that he’s home from college and working with me, we don’t set aside the time afterward that often. Plus, he’s … how do they say it these days? Dating around?”
She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t know what they call it, but I get it.” Wrapping the last potato, she beamed up at him. “Should I throw these on the grill?”
Setting his knife down, he wiped his hands on the towel alongside the cutting board. “I’ll take care of it.”
Stepping into the warm summer air, his eyes landed on the serene water. Smooth as glass today with the occasional ripple from a frog or fish here and there. No breeze blowing. His landscape brought a smile to his lips. Chris had done a wonderful job in putting this all together. The orange azaleas had bloomed bright this year standing out against the backdrop of the green grass. It was shaping up to be a fantastic summer.
When he stepped back into the kitchen, Kiera had taken up the cutting of the mushrooms and hummed a song they used to listen to back in college, “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “I haven’t heard that song in ages.” The surprised look on her face made him chuckle.
“Don’t be embarrassed; you look adorable.”
She blushed, and it was the cutest thing he’d seen in a long time.
Softly, she replied, “Thanks.”
Putting the mushrooms in the pan on the stove, he continued with the small talk. “What do you have going on this weekend?”
“My mother wants to visit my father’s grave this weekend, so I’ll take her for a while.”
He froze. The mixed emotions that flitted through his body at the mention of her father were dizzying. Her face tilted up to look into his, and the smile faded from her face. “Are you all right?”
She stepped toward him, but he recovered. “I’m fine.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t know your father was gone.”
“Oh. Um. He passed away about ten years ago.”
“How?”
A sadness floated through her eyes. She bit her bottom lip, then cleared her throat. “He drank himself to death. Liver failure is the actual term on the death certificate, but … you know.” She shrugged her shoulders slightly.
“I’m sorry, Kiera; I didn’t know.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s fine. Anyway, I’ll take Mom to the cemetery for a visit. How about you?”
“No plans. How about we do something?”
The smile reached her eyes as her hands clapped together. “I’d love that.”
He nodded. “Do you ride?”
Her head tilted to the side, her brows drawn together. “Ride? As in horses?”
He laughed. “No, as in motorcycle.”
She stood straight, her hands twisted together. “I’ve not had … um, never done that.”
“Don’t be nervous. If you don’t want to try it, we’ll do something else.”
16
Taking the time to admire him as he turned their steaks on the grill, those darn butterflies took flight in her tummy again. He’d matured nicely. In her mind, he was always the young man she’d loved in college. No gray in his hair, not much for hair on his chest. No lines around his eyes and the skin on his face was taut and smooth as it is in youth. This man before her was so much more. The etched lines at the corners of his eyes told of a life that had beat him up a bit. She feared a lot of that was her doing. The silver streaking through his hair was purely sexy. Her own silver fox, and doggone it, foxy he was. His shoulders were broader these days; his abdomen, while not ripped, was certainly not paunchy. His voice was deeper and rich like smooth chocolate; it soothed her. Of course, just being near him did. Even though they’d been out in a strange area today, not once did she feel a panic attack coming on.
Sitting on the patio with him as he grilled further relaxed her, and, of course, the sex didn’t hurt. He closed the lid on the grill, and a shiver ran through her at the ripple in his back muscles through the gray T-shirt he wore. Her eyes drifted lower to his mighty fine ass. He’d always had a nice ass, but now he was the whole package.
