Page 58 of The Kitchen Contract

“Are you ready for your ice water, Uncle Alex?”

Alex cringes. “I was kind of hoping you’d forget about that.”

“Well, I didn’t,” she sings. “I’ll go get it right now.”

Chris claps Alex on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure she sticks to her end of the bargain to only fill a glass and not a bucket.”

“Thanks,” Alex says ruefully. “I’ll go await my fate outside.”

“And I’ll get my camera ready.” I lift my phone with a grin and follow him out the front door. He seats himself on the bottom porch step, and I back down the walkway, kneeling to get the perfect angle. I flash him a thumbs up. “All set.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”

The door opens behind him, and Olivia pops out with a large plastic cup filled with water. More interestingly, she’s closely followed by Rowan and Seth who are lugging two five-gallon buckets. Apparently, the volume restriction only applied to Olivia. I press my lips together and tap my screen to start videoing. I don’t want to miss this.

She stops behind Alex. “Okay, here I go.”

“I’m read—” Alex’s claim is cut off by a wall of water soaking every part of him as all three kids dump their vessels simultaneously. The look of shock on his face as he sputters is priceless.

Alex stands up and shakes his head like a dog, spraying water across his niece and nephews who leap back with shouts and squeals of mirth. “Okay, okay, y’all had your fun.” Then he turns and lunges for me, pulling me in for a very wet embrace. “I can’t believe you let them try to drown me like that.”

I laugh and try to wrestle away from him, but he holds me fast. “Really? It definitely seems like something I would do.”

“Your true nature is slowly being revealed, and it is devious,” he says. “But you’re in luck. I like sassy women. It’s a prerequisite in this family.” He releases me with a grin.

“I’m not sassy! I just didn’t want to ruin a little girl’s fun on her birthday.” I pout at him. He leans in and presses a quick, firm kiss to my pout that cheers me right up.

“Get a room!” Maddy calls from the front porch, and all the adults laugh.

Alex waves her off. “We’re leaving before anything else happens to me. Thanks for the tacos.”

“Anytime, bro. See you again soon, Nora?”

“See you soon,” I promise, wondering if Alex’s surprise party next week will be as lively as this one.

Alex opens the door of his SUV for me, and I climb inside and buckle up. The driver’s side door opens and Alex drops something into the floorboard behind his seat before sliding his very shirtless self into the car. I cut my eyes away, not wanting to be caught admiring his toned torso, but my gaze drifts back after only a few seconds. Alex smirks as he buckles up, clearly not concerned with his modesty.

“Some party, huh?” I can’t help filling the silence with the inane comment as he backs into the street and starts toward his house.

“Mmhmm. Hope you had a good time.”

“I did. Your family is great.”

“Meh. They’re okay.” His fond smile belies his indifferent words.

We pull up in front of his house, and I jump out, clicking unlock on my car and slinging my bag across the console to the passenger seat. I turn and look at Alex, who stands with his hands in his pockets. He leans one hip against my car with one foot crossed over the other, looking casual, alluring—and still shirtless. His eyes bore into me and his lips quirk up in a half smile, somehow both tender and expectant.

“See you Monday?” I ask, taking a step closer.

He nods, withdrawing one hand from his pocket to run down my arm and entwine our fingers. He tugs me forward and leans in, angling his head to skim his lips gently over mine once, twice, before pulling back and resting his forehead against mine. “Monday can’t come soon enough.”

My heart swells with contentment as I get in my car.

As soon as I get home, I arrange to work a double shift on Sunday in order to get Friday off for Alex’s birthday.

Both shifts fly by in anticipation of our upcoming breakfast date, and despite the long weekend, I feel surprisingly energized on Monday morning as I drive across town.

Alex texted me yesterday, giving me an address and telling me to wear walking shoes because he’d rethought his eggs benedict idea. I plugged the address into my GPS app without looking to see where it would lead and now I’m regretting that lapse of attention. It looks like I’m supposed to turn here, but the road approaches a stone monument of some kind that looks like a piece of an old castle, then curves to the right past a large building with the words “Fort Negley Visitors Center” on the side. I’m about to follow the lefthand turn that will take me back out onto the main road when I spot Alex’s SUV parked to the right. He steps out of his vehicle as I pull in beside him. I pop out and sling my crossbody bag over my shoulder.

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