“All’s well that ends well,” Sarah mused.
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t almost lose your sister’s family dog.”
“And neither did you.” She studied him a long moment. “You were really worried, weren’t you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.” Definitely. He watched as his nephew led the now docile dog toward the truck. When he thought about the way this evening could have ended… Nope. Luke was definitely not a family man. He’d leave kids and dogs and all that mess to his brother-in-law’s more capable hands.
“What was that in your pocket anyway?” he asked Sarah.
“My secret weapon,” she said.
He raised a brow, waiting for her to continue.
Her green eyes shone with laughter as she shrugged. “What else? Bacon.”
Chapter Thirteen
“You totally cheated with that bacon trick.” Luke glanced at her from the driver’s side of the truck. The disgruntled look on his face was enough to make Sarah laugh.
“You’re just mad because you didn’t think of it first.”
“We don’t all walk around wearing aprons with bacon in the pockets.”
“And aren’t you glad I do?” She shrugged out of the apron and neatly folded it, placing it on the seat next to her. “I was in the middle of chopping some up to put in t
he quiches when I stole a piece for myself. I guess I must have put it in my pocket when you banged on the door.”
Cameron sat in the back of the truck with his arms around the dog. “Offering Toby that bacon. That was really smart of you, Sarah.” He said her name with a shy reverence that make her smile.
“Thank you, Cameron.”
She was rewarded with a big, toothy boy grin. Then he gave Toby another hug, which elicited more doggy drool to form a puddle on the truck’s backseat.
Luke noticed it too and visibly cringed.
“Relax. That’s what upholstery cleaner is for,” she said.
He rolled back his shoulders. “True.” He glanced at her again, but this time there was nothing but pure gratitude on his face. “Thank you.” The quiet way he said it made her knees feel wobbly. She thought about how worried he’d been about losing Toby and something inside her went all warm and fuzzy. Sincerity looked damned good on Luke Powers. “I’ll drive you back to The Bistro,” he said.
“Do we have to, Uncle Luke?” Cameron asked. He looked at Sarah. “We caught three big grouper today and we’re gonna filet ’em for dinner. You should eat with us.”
“Oh, that’s nice of you to ask, but—”
“Good idea. You should join us,” Luke said firmly. “You can finish the quiches later, can’t you?” When she didn’t answer right away, he added, “I promise you won’t have to do anything except sit back and enjoy a glass of wine. Cameron and I will do the rest. Right?” He glanced at his nephew in the rearview mirror for confirmation.
Cameron nodded eagerly. “Right!”
“You’re doing the cooking?” she asked Luke.
“Yep.”
“And the dishes, too?”
He made a face as if to say women. “Dishes, too.”
“Deal.”
* * *