“Uncle Alec, why are you so grumpy today?”

“Grace!” Jen laughed and pulled her daughter into her side. “That isn’t nice. The polite thing is to not say a word to your grumpy Uncle Alec about how he’s moping around like a big ole, man-sized Eeyore.”

Alec eyed his sister as Gracie erupted into a fit of giggles. “I’m not Eeyore. It was a long night, that’s all.”

“Mm-hmm.” Jen rolled her eyes and handed Gracie some cash. “Go grab me a few bell peppers.”

“What color?”

“Doesn’t matter. You pick.”

Gracie pocketed the money and looked at her mom with her syrupy-sweet smile. “Can I please get a lemonade?”

“Yes, that’s fine. But next time you give me your I’m going to play my mom look, the answer will be no.”

Alec couldn’t help but smile as Gracie shrugged and headed toward the vegetable stand. The kid was simply too much. Every Sunday afternoon they went grocery shopping for the week, and today they decided to hit up the new farmers’ market in town. Most of these places were overly priced and not as local as they pretend to be. But this particular market actually did get its goods from farms in the area, and that was something Alec had no problem supporting.

“So…you going to tell me about her?”

Alec groaned and picked up a bag of candied pecans. “Who says there’s a her?”

“Right. Because your sister has no idea what it looks like when her big brother is losing his mind over a woman.” Jen crossed her arms and cocked her eyebrow. “Please don’t make me beg you, because I can do this all day long. You really should save us both the trouble and spill it.”

Alec scratched his head and wondered how much to tell her, because when she said she could keep it up, she was in no way exaggerating. Plus, he wouldn’t hate to talk about it. Stassi had him stumped, to say the least. “I met someone.”

“Where?”

“Where isn’t important.” He damn sure wasn’t telling Jen about the parties. No way, no how, never going to happen. “She’s…hell…she’s amazing. She’s beautiful. Stunning, really. She’s got this confidence about her that I’ve never seen on another woman. She’s so sure of herself. I swear when she walks into a room…”

Jen stopped walking and grabbed his arm. “You like this girl.”

“I don’t know her. That’s the fucking problem.” Alec ran his fingers through his hair. “She’s playing it pretty close to the vest.”

Jen nodded and seemed to consider his words. “So ask her out. Get to know her. Isn’t that the point of a date?”

“Well that’s the thing. She wants to keep it…casual.”

“Casual?”

As smart as Jen was, she could be a little naive at times. It was one of his favorite qualities about her. Alec raised an eyebrow and smirked as he waited.

“Oh, gross.” Jen stuck out her tongue as she shook her head. “That’s fine, don’t elaborate. I got it.”

“You asked.” Alec chuckled.

“Yes I did, and now I know better. So bottom line is she wants to keep it fun and carefree, and you want to see where it could potentially go?”

“Yep. That about sums it up.”

“Hmm.”

Alec waved at Gracie as she carried the bag of bell peppers to the lemonade stand. “The logical part of me knows to let it go. She’s in a weird place. It’s not what I want, so I should move on. It’s what makes sense. Why waste either one of our time, you know? Especially when I don’t even know the girl.”

Jen nodded and chewed on her bottom lip. “Right. And what does the other part of you say?”

“That she’s worth being patient with. Something is obviously going on with her, and if I stay patient, let her take her time…”

“So do it.”

“You think so?”

Jen looked over her shoulder at Gracie, then turned back to Alec. “Look, it’s been a really long time since you’ve felt anything for someone. Claudia really did a number on you.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. And honestly I wasn’t sure if you’d ever be willing to put your heart out there again, but here you are, sweating it over some chick you barely know. That says something.”

Alec considered her words. Jen was smart, always had been, and she didn’t often give bad advice. A wise man would listen. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I am. But let her know if she screws with you, I’ll kick her ass.”

“Mom!” Gracie’s mouth hung open as she handed Jen the bag of peppers. “You’d ground me for forever if I said that.”

“I’m a grown-up,” Jen said matter-of-factly, as if the simple phrase explained all life’s problems. “When you’re a grown-up, you can say whatever you want.”

Gracie laughed and took a drink of her lemonade.

“Any good, tater tot?” Alec held out his hand for the cup.

“Get your own, Uncle Alec.”

“Grace!” Jen threw her hands in the air, but the laughter still exploded from her mouth.

“Jeez,” Alec said as he threw his arm around Jen and Gracie. “Both the girls in my life are giving me hell today. I don’t know what I did to deserve this. Maybe I should—”

“Alec?”

He turned his head to see who had called him, and almost choked when he laid eyes on Stassi. She looked more beautiful than ever. Her hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders and down her back, and her basic white tank top and blue jeans made her look like the quintessential girl next door. How a simple shirt could be so sexy, he had no idea, but it hung off her body perfectly, accentuating every curve. Today was the first morning it had been warm enough to venture outside without a jacket, and if he weren’t in a crowd of people he’d have dropped to his knees right that second and thanked the lord for the gift of sunshine. That’s how damn good she looked.

“Hey. How are you?”

She looked at him with wide eyes that moved from Gracie, to Jen, and back to him again. “I, uh, I’m fine. Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure.” Alec told Jen and Gracie he’d catch up, then placed his hands in his pockets and waited as Stassi took a few tentative steps toward him. He couldn’t understand why, but her narrowed eyebrows and flushed cheeks had him thinking she was angry. “So what’s—”

“You’re married?”

Oh yeah. She was pissed. “Excuse me?”

“Is that your wife and…daughter?”

Alec opened his mouth to tell her the truth, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to toss a few of her own words back in her face. Childish, but still necessary. “Does it matter? You said we didn’t need to know personal details about the other, remember?”

Stassi’s eyes widened farther as her mouth dropped open. “I’d want to know if you’re married. That’s not okay with me at all.” She placed her head in her hands, then finally looked back up at him, the rage practically flying out of her eyes and toward his chest, ready to strike him dead. “Alec, I’m not that person. I’m not the other woman. I won’t do this. I would have never—”

“Hey, hey, hey. Hold on.” Alec reached out to touch her arm, but she immediately jerked back.

“Don’t you dare touch me.”

“Stassi—”

“No. Leave me alone. I can’t believe I was so stupid to actually feel something for someone—”

“Stassi!” Alec managed to get his arms around her shoulders and pull her in before they attracted too much attention. “I’m not married.”

She remained tense against him, her eyes still ready to strike him dead, but she didn’t pull away. “What?”

“I’m single. She’s not my wife, she’s my sister, Jen. And that’s her daughter, Grace.”

“Grace…” Alec watched as recognition dawned on Stassi’s face. “Gracie. You named your restaurant after your niece. That’s what you were going to tell me last night.”

“Yes.” Alec brushed her hair to the side, then tilted her head so she was looking at him. “I’m not with anyone. I’d never have approached you if there was someone else. That’s not who I am.”

Stassi backed away from him, and he grudgingly let her go. “Right. Okay.” She stood there for a moment longer, then turned and started to walk away.

“Hey, wait. Do you want to come with us to lunch or something?”

She turned back to him and shook her head. “No. Thank you, but I don’t think it’d be a good idea.”

Alec sighed and ground his teeth together. “What are you so afraid of?”

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, right. If it’s nothing, then why did you get so worked up over the thought of me being married?”

“Because that would have made you an asshole.”

“Oh please. There’s a million assholes out there. Why do you care if I’m one of them?”

Stassi crossed her arms and practically looked right through him. “I don’t.”

“Right. Okay. Here’s the thing,” he walked toward her placed his hands on the side of her face. “I’m not interested in whatever cat and mouse games you like to play.”

“I’m not playing g—”

“Yes, you are. And the sad thing is I don’t think you even mean to. I think you’re conflicted, and you don’t know how to handle it. So here’s how it’s going to go.” Alec let his hands fall to hers and rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs. “When you decide you want to get to know me, see where this goes, then call me. I think we both know there’s something between us, and yeah, it’s new, but it’s still here. When you’re ready to admit it, let me know. But no rules.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what? Trying to get to know you?”

“Yes.”

“Because I have to. Because all I’ve thought about for the past day and a half is what you’re like when you aren’t putting on your fuck the world armor. I think I got a glimpse of it that first night. When you let me take charge. It was fucking beautiful.” He leaned in and brushed her mouth with his, a tortured growl escaping his lips when she parted hers slightly. He wanted to take advantage. To grab fistfuls of her hair and slide his tongue into her mouth…but he wouldn’t. Not yet. “I’ll see you later.”

“What? Why?”

“Because even though I want nothing more than to take you with me, to pick you up and carry you off like the fucking caveman you bring out in me, I don’t want this to be purely physical. So I’m going to go catch up with my sister and niece, and you’re going to do whatever you had planned today, and think about whether or not you want to give us a shot.” He released her hands and stepped away, the movement feeling insanely wrong. “And I’ll wait to hear from you. Like the pathetic, lovesick puppy you’ve turned me into.”

Stassi laughed and rolled her eyes. “A little on the dramatic side, no?”

Alec smirked and gave her an exaggerated bow, then turned and made his way to Jen and Grace.