She’d had a couple of boyfriends back in the city. Neither of them had stuck, but she had learned a lot about herself and her desires.
There was no way she was going to make a fool of herself. She wouldn’t allow it. She was the one in control, and James, nothing was ever going to come of it.
Chapter Three
“Are you going to be able to handle her being so close?” Caleb asked.
“Shut the fuck up, Caleb.”
“Did you do it on purpose?”
He was going to throttle his brother if he kept asking all the same stupid questions. He glared at his brother, who held his hands up in surrender.
“What? You can’t deny it is a little odd. We were talking about her this morning. You run her down.”
“I was busy staring at the damn florist shop. Trying to catch sight of her, okay? I didn’t … it wasn’t supposed— Oh, fuck it. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t exactly fucking plan it.” He was tired of having to defend himself.
His mother chose that moment to come out of the house. The apron she wore made him want to whimper. She wiped her hands on a towel that looked equally dirty.
Why him?
Why his kitchen?
She had a good-sized kitchen and could bring him any item of food she wished to make, but no, not his mom. She would leave him the cleanup.
“Have they left you in the truck? What evil men,” she said.
Eliza chuckled.
Her laugh still did things to him. The sound drifted down his spine and made him want to fucking kiss her or something. Damn it.
Why did he volunteer for this?
Eliza being so close. Possibly naked, or in skimpy pajamas. He was fucked. Royally fucked. There was no way he was going to make it through the night, was there?
He ran a hand down his face, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He had to fix this.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Hard. How are you?”
“Please, it’s Jane. I’m fine. Come on, honey, let me help you.”
He and his brother rushed toward her, but she batted them away, already taking control as was her nature.
“You boys take care of what you think is the most important and I will take care of this one. I can’t believe you two. The bike over the young woman.”
Eliza chuckled and he glared at her. With his mother’s back turned, she stuck out her tongue. He knew what he’d like to do with that damn tongue, or at the very least, what he could get her to do with it, but he wasn’t going to because he was the nice guy who didn’t do things like that.
He watched them both move into the house.
“Come on, before all of that lasagna goes,” Caleb said.
They got the bike off the truck. He pushed it into the garage, closed the door, and headed inside. When Caleb was done, he’d let himself into the house.
The kitchen … was a mess. No, it looked like a bomb had gone off. It was that bad.
Eyes wide, he couldn’t believe it.
Holy shit, it was a mess. Sauce was everywhere and it even looked like white bechamel sauce was stuck to the floor and his cupboards. The smell was amazing, though, and he made his way into the dining room.
Eliza was already seated, digging into a nice, large slice.
Caleb joined them. “Maybe we should invite Rome. Show him how it’s done.”
James shook his head. His mother and Eliza were lost in conversation, both of them eating. There was salad on their plates but it wasn’t near the size of the lasagna.
Eliza sipped at her water as his mother told another story about them as boys and how she had to deal with being a full-time mom.
“Mom, please, don’t tell any embarrassing stories,” he said. He had to live with Eliza for the next two days.
“Did you know James used to wet the bed?”
He spat some of his beer out.
Eliza laughed. “No, I don’t think wetting the bed ever came up.”
“Mom!”
“What, honey? These kinds of things are important.”
“We’re not going to be sharing a bed, and that happened years ago when I was a kid. Even before preschool.”
“I know. I know. But, I remember being so worried. I thought you were terrified about something. I would stay up, watching you just to make sure.”
“You fell asleep in the rocking chair near the bed,” Caleb said. “Dad would have to carry you to bed. Don’t believe all of her stories, Eliza. She’s one hell of a mom, but she did raise three boys.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Eliza chuckled.
“Boys are so easy to raise, Eliza. Don’t let them put you off. It’s easy. You just have to know when to feed them, hold them, and let them go and scream in a pillow at the unfairness of it all.”