“This lasagna is good! You really made this in the slow cooker?” Maddie nodded with the corners of her mouth tipping upward into an irresistible smile. She was so very beautiful, especially when she was uncomfortable accepting a compliment.

“Yeah, I really did. It’s no big deal.”

My eyes went big. “Are you crazy? Lasagna is serious business, and this is seriously good. Is there pepper jack in here?”

“Yep. Max’s favorite.”

“Mine too,” I told her around another mouthful of food. I wasn’t blowing smoke, either. Working at a restaurant wasn’t quite the same as eating a home cooked meal once in a while.

“No garlic bread?”

Big brown eyes rolled, but her full mouth stretched into an affectionate smile. “You already have about a thousand sheets of pasta, bread is just overkill.”

“And totally necessary,” I shot back, tucking into the small salad she packed. “Healthy and delicious,” I told her and sat back in my chair, patting a hand over my stomach.

A knock sounded at the door and Nate entered with a tray of food. “Someone requested twice baked sweet potatoes and a chicken club?” He looked to a surprised Maddie and set the tray down in front of her.

“I didn’t,” she said shyly, “but I won’t say no.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Enjoy your meal, Maddie.” Nate, bless him, came and went quickly, giving me and Maddie plenty of alone time.

She turned to me with an arched brow and I shrugged. “What? I figured you might be hungry and sick of lasagna.”

“Thanks, Zeke.” That sweet smile was like a sucker punch right to the chest, like I’d done something more than be a decent fucking guy. I vowed right then and there to make her smile more often. “Max really appreciated the t-shirt and he made you a card.” With one longing look at the steaming hot potatoes, Maddie turned and rifled around in her big leather bag. “For you.”

I’m not gonna lie, I had to take a long swallow of Dr. Pepper to get my emotions in check. Max was a sweet kid, and staring down at his crooked drawing and squiggly handwriting, dislodged something in my chest and spelled trouble. “Damn Maddie, this is…thanks.”

Her smile came soft and sweet. “Don’t thank me, that was all Max. He was excited that you remembered.”

Until Nash and I became friends about five or six years ago, I never spent much time with kids. Hell, even then Norah was barely more than a baby, but she was pretty cool. But Max was different, like a little person with his own likes and thoughts and feelings.

“Can I stop by to thank the little man personally?”

“Sure. Max would like that a lot. He’s a big fan of yours.”

That was good to hear, but also not what I wanted to hear. “What about you, Maddie? Are you a Zeke fan?”

She shrugged. “You have your moments, but you’re easily distracted,” she quickly bit into a potato to avoid a conversation about the bomb she just dropped.

Instead, I wiped my mouth and finished my soda before standing and crossing to Maddie. She sucked in a breath when I dropped down beside her on the sofa. “Well you are quite distracting Maddie, but I’m doing my best to be a total gentleman.” Even though all I wanted to do right now was lean in and taste those succulent lips that were irresistible when she smiled.

Or when she slicked that pink tongue across them. “That’s not the look of a gentleman.”

“Yeah? What is this look?” I knew damn well what it was, but I wondered if Maddie would call me out.

“It’s lust, and you know it.” She pointed an accusing finger at me that only made me laugh harder. “Lunch, Zeke. Remember?”

“Of course, but I’ve already had my food. Now I’m looking for dessert.” And Maddie was about the tastiest treat around.

“Zeke, please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

I was tempted to make a joke about how it couldn’t get any harder, but I refrained because Maddie wasn’t there. Not yet. She wasn’t ready to forgive me, not sure if she even should, which meant I had a long road ahead.

“I’m not,” I told her honestly. “Not on purpose anyway. But I’m letting you know my intention is to get you to give me another chance.” No point beating around the bush, not now that I knew she was what I wanted.

“To what end? So we can keep having sex, because I’m not in the market for a long-term casual affair.”

That was the question, wasn’t it? I didn’t know if I was cut out for a long-term relationship or being a stepdad. Hell, I didn’t even know how to be a stepdad, was that like an uncle who slept over? “I don’t know Maddie, but I know that I want to see what happens.”

She sighed with the patience of a saint. “Zeke, I have to think about Max. I can’t have you coming around all the time and staying the night, doing things with us and then disappearing.”

Shit, I hadn’t even thought of that. “But that’s what we were doing, right?”

Maddie shook her head, her hair releasing the scent of jasmine into the air around us. “No. We were hanging out, no different than with Nash or Vivi, because Max sees you as a friend. Someone who’ll always be around. But to date and breakup means he’ll lose you too.”

“You’re so sure we’d break up?”

What in the hell was I saying? These were the words of a man looking for permanent. Looking to settle down, and I wasn’t sure if that man was me.

“Come on, Zeke. You were just kissing another woman in front of half the town, that’s not a guy looking for a girlfriend, never mind one with a kid.” Her smile was sad, almost like she wished her words weren’t true.

That gave me the push I needed to make a decision. “How about we just enjoy our date on Friday? You let me show you a good time, and decide for yourself if I’m worthy of a second chance.”

Honey brown eyes settled on mine and I held my breath, waiting to see if she would tell me to go to hell, or just get up and walk out on me. But when her shoulders relaxed and she settled in her seat, hope sprang anew.

“Okay. One date and we’ll see how it goes.”

“You won’t regret it.” I would make sure of it.