Page 27 of Only One I Ever Wanted

Maybe after my kid went to bed.

I only needed to get through another two hours.

Thankfully, Danny still needed that twelve hours down. And I really needed to check on my job listings, but all I could think about was her soft skin and getting my hands on her. The gauzy material of her dress didn’t hide a single curve.

She was talking to my mother at the sink, while they packed up To Go containers for us. Anna Murdock never let anyone leave her house hungry.

Stuffed to the eyeballs, more like it.

“Want to run off some of this pasta?” I asked Danny.

“Can I go get Trouble?”

“Sure can.”

Before the words were out of my mouth, he was taking his plate to the sink and detouring out the door.

Nora appeared in front of me, holding two containers. “He’s a really sweet boy.”

“Finally coming out of his shell.”

“Especially when it comes to the dog.”

“You got him pegged.” I stood up and crowded into her. “Want to go outside and play?” I dropped my voice so my mother couldn’t hear.

“I could be persuaded.”

I glanced down at her pink lips, then up to her hazel eyes. “And I would definitely like to persuade.”

“Get out of my kitchen.” My mom’s voice had us breaking apart.

“We can help clean up.” Nora turned toward my mom.

“Nope. First dinner is on me. Next time, you can get into the clean-up rotation.”

Nora laughed. “Okay, deal.”

“Go on outside. It’s too nice to be inside. I’ll send Danny out back with you guys.”

“Thanks, Ma.” I led Nora through the back door to the backyard.

“I was just thinking earlier how we used to spend lazy days back here.”

I grinned at her. “Cash tried to convince my dad to put a pool in, but he told him how much it would take and asked if he’d like to sacrifice his allowance. He changed his mind quick.”

“Allowance? With all of you guys?”

I laughed. “Only until we could get jobs or work with my dad. I was definitely working illegally at fifteen, but I loved making my own money. I knew ball wasn’t in my future like it was for Booker.”

She became quiet. “Is that why you guys drifted apart?”

I lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “Some of it was for sure. But, in all honesty, my future was with Murdock Brothers. I made a go at college, but it wasn’t for me. I was good at the trade stuff for certification and that was good enough for me.”

“And look what you’ve built.”

I huffed out a laugh as I grabbed a towel from the stack beside the loungers. “Things were looking pretty dire until a certain someone caught me on video.”

“It was a bit of kismet, I think.”

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