He glanced at the clock over Sarah’s pantry again. It was almost nine. She should be home soon.

Unless the date went well.

Maybe they’d stay all night. Talking and—

No.

He wouldn’t let his mind go there.To kissing or—

No. Definitely he wasn’t going to let his mind gothere.

The idea of Sarah kissing or doing anything at all with any man would make him crazy. He never should have agreed to babysit. Hell, he never should have offered. But he couldn’t stop himself. All week, since those words slipped out of his mouth, he’d wanted to take them back. It was bad enough that Sarah was going on a date with another man, but tohelpher do it? To sit and wait in her house for her to come home and tell him all about what it was like to date another man?

He should have his head examined.

Brody grabbed the bottle of cleaner and left another layer of mist on the counter. He attacked it with ferocity.

It had been easier not to think of why he was babysitting when Rory was awake. They’d kicked the soccer ball in the backyard before coming inside to a snack of apple slices and cheese before he’d let her show him all of her stuffed animals. He now knew that Lucky the frog was her favorite, followed by Clara, an old teddy bear. Of course, there was also Bramble the bunny that had the place of pride on her bed. It was Bramble that she’d wrapped her little arm around and snuggled close as he’d read her no fewer than four bedtime stories before she’d finally drifted to sleep.

He’d watched for a minute to make sure she was really asleep before slipping out of the room and flicking the light off and leaving the door ajar a little, just the way she’d instructed him.

Brody had never thought about having children of his own. Of course, he’d also never thought that he would end up in a small mountain town, best friends with a single mom of a little girl, and quite possibly falling in love with both of them even though that single mom was out on a date with another man and clearly didn’t feel the same way about him that he felt about her. Probably because he’d been too big of a chicken shit to say anything at all.

Dammit.

He scrubbed the counter harder but the sound of a car pulling up distracted him from his job. Brody dropped the sponge in the sink and moved to the side of the window to see Byron’s SUV pull up in front of the house. Sarah had driven herself to the pub.Was Byron coming in for a nightcap?He wasn’t sure he could handle that. It was one thing sitting in her house while she was on a date with the man. It was a totally different thing to watch him waltz in to her living room as if he belonged there.Hell.Brody belonged there. A surge of jealousy rose up through his body and he had to force himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath. He had no right to be jealous. None at all.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t.

He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes at the sound of voices coming up the walk. As subtly as he could, he drew the lemon-printed kitchen curtain to the side. Not a lot, but just enough that he could see Sarah and Byron.

They stood close together. He said something that made her smile. And then she laughed. And touched his arm. Byron leaned in…and…they hugged.

They hugged.

Brody exhaled a long breath.

What was happening to him?He would have laughed at his behavior if it hadn’t taken him so completely off guard. He’d never behaved in such a way.

Because you’ve never cared.

Not like this.

Brody dropped the curtain and picked up the sponge again. The front door opened and he heard Sarah say good-bye before the door closed again. Brody pretend to scrub the spotless counter as she came into the adjoining kitchen.

“Oh.” He feigned surprise. “You’re home already.”

She tilted her head a little before giving it a little shake. “I am.” Sarah moved to the cupboard, retrieved a glass, and got herself a glass of water all while Brody kept scrubbing at the counter.

“Byron drove me home,” she added. “I had a little too much wine at dinner. I was afraid it might have gone to my head. I’ll grab my car in the morning.”

“He didn’t come in?”

“No.”

“It didn’t go well?” Brody knew he was playing with fire, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. He stopped scrubbing for a minute and looked up. She stood directly across from him, watching him with a small smile on her face.

“It went fine.”