In my house, my mom always brought the plate to my dad.
“No, thank you, Michael,” Grams waves, “I have half a glass. Eat! Before it gets cold!”
He first greets me with a dignified, “We haven’t met. I’m Michael Cocker,” offering his hand, pale green eyes intense. This is a man who wrote laws and fought for them, and now it’s his family he fights for. He’s trying to see if I’m up to his granddaughter’s level.
“Gage Holbrook, sir, nice to meet you.” I shake his hand, aware of the feeling in my gut that says I am up to her level. In fact, I’m up for anything she gives me as long as she knows who I am. I have no doubt in myself. But I do in her opinion of me. That I’m not sure of. “Your house is very welcoming.”
“That’s a compliment for my wife.” He reaches out for her, “Nancy?” and she fits herself against his body, their arms slipping around each other. “Lexi’s hunk says you’ve made a welcoming home for me.”
Lexi covers her beautiful eyes with one hand. “Oh no!!!”
Nancy Cocker pretends to reproach the smirking centenarian. “Mom, look what you did!”
Big blue eyes ask, “What?”
“You know! Don’t play innocent with me. Hello. I’m Lexi’s grandmother.”
Hoping to return my dignity, Lexi introduces me, “This is Gage, Grandma Nance.”
“Now that’s a name!”
Lexi grumbles, “I think so, too,” wicked amusement behind the squint she throws at her grandfather. “If only people would use it!”
He sighs, “I’ll try to do better next time.”
“We were just about to get in line.”
I tip my head again. “We’ll leave you to your lunch. Nice meeting you both.”
Michael Cocker eyes me, “Good meeting you, Gage,” before moving to take his seat.
Nancy gives Lexi a loving hug, whispering, “You look beautiful in green.”
“Thank you, Grandma!”
And we stroll off.
Nancy calls out, “Nice to meet you, Hunk!”
My head flies back on a laugh, and Lexi shouts, “Not you, too!”
We look behind us and find all three of them laughing. And they’re not the only ones. Didn’t take much for everyone to catch on. For the rest of the BBQ I am no longer Gage.
I am Hunk.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
GAGE
N ow that Ryder and I are alone, standing side-by-side on the lawn, away from and facing the party, he cocks an eyebrow at me. “So, what d’ya think?”
I rattle my ice. “The fresh ginger-ale is addictive.”
He agrees, “On a sunny day like this one,” and downs the last of his. “The difference between the California or the Georgia heat? Humidity.”
“I like that they don’t use plastic cups.”
“Though today is drier than normal.”
“Guess you can always clean up glass if it breaks.”
“Now that I think about it, we haven’t had rain in a week.”
“Enough people to watch over the kids.”
“I prefer the humidity.”
“Clean up a break as soon as it happens.”
“Feels tropical. Like Hawaii.”
“You’d have to invest in the glassware.”
“No ocean here, though.”
“But if you know you’re having a lot of parties…”
“I miss the ocean. Haven’t been back in two years.”
“But investing in nice things — always worth it. You feel good using them. That feeling lasts longer than they do.”
Ryder rattles his ice at the residents of House Three who are talking with Paige, Lexi’s boss and their cousin’s wife. I met her earlier. Nice. Her husband, Gabriel, is doing a charity show in Saint Louis. Not sure I’ll ever meet him. “What d’ya think they’re talking about, Gage?”
“Dunno.”
Casually glancing toward the unpopulated buffet as if considering getting more food, he steps closer to them.
Smooth.
I join him.
Also smooth.
But his timing was shit.
Because at this exact moment, Zoe and Sam walk off toward the house, and I’m expecting Cherry and Paige to follow. But they stay.
My ears perk as my date confesses, voice quiet, “It’s really hard to say this, but I just want something more. You understand, right?”
A fist forms in my gut.
“Of course!” Paige smiles. “Everyone knows this is only temporary.”
I feel Ryder cut me a glance, but I’m locked on Ethan and his family. His wife, Charlie, is a powerful redhead. Not hard to make the leap in comparison.
I strain to hear Lexi quietly sigh, “I don’t know what to do now. I hate the admit this. It’s really hard to say aloud because then I’ll have to do something about it. I’m happy, but I’m starting to feel a little stuck.”
Can blood freeze and boil at the same time?
Paige’s tone is gentle. “Feeling stuck is never what you want. Don’t rush any decisions. More will be revealed by time. The one thing I learned when I started dating Gabriel — you remember that whole thing with Ben — was that you can’t push what’s not meant to be.” She hurries to add, “I know it’s not the same thing. But it’s when I learned that lesson, the hard way.”
Lexi mutters, “Who can forget?”
They watch the party for a second before I hear Paige ask, “Where does Gage work?”
My teeth grit.
Cherry says, “Um,” and rakes her hair back.
Paige laughs, “Do you even know?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Lexi, you’re too funny!”
There’s a fist in my gut.
I glance to Ryder.
He’s staring at his ice.
“I’m a mechanic.”
He blinks up to me. “I know.”
“Oh my gawd, I’ve got a total food coma,” we hear Lexi say, turning to see her approaching us, hair shining in the sun, green dress making her eyes glow brighter than ever. “How about you?”
“No more appetite.”
“How could you, after two helpings.”
Ryder offers in his normal, friendly manner, “That veggie thing your Aunt Meagan made was out of this world.”
“Good to see her cooking again.”
“She should come out of retirement.”
“Or we’ll just have her all to ourselves.”
“That works, too,” Ryder smiles. “I’m gonna get a refill. Gage, want me to fill you up?”
“Nah. Thanks.”
As he departs, Lexi takes his place, and a breeze lifts the smell of my shampoo mixed with her natural scent up to cloud my brain, try to make me forget what I just heard. “You want
