Chapter Eleven
Several hours later, Emma entered her neighbor’s backyard with a strawberry-rhubarb pie. She couldn’t show up at a barbecue without bringing one. Vince had texted the invite to her after lunch, stating they needed to strategize their weekend and suggested doing so by the pool.
“Hi, Emma,” Dom greeted her with a wave, standing near a patio table already loaded with food. The man wore board shorts and an actual smile.
Her heart lifted. She hadn’t seen it in a while. She missed the grin.
It appeared less strained with pain, and for that she was grateful, but she wished he was fully clothed. His beautiful, muscled body was covered in bruises that were turning that ugly yellow-brown. In truth, it was hard to look at him and not cry.
She inhaled slowly and cleared her hot throat. “How are you feeling?”
“Better now.” He grinned, reminding her of his brother. “You brought pie.”
She laughed. “I see how it is. It’s not me you’re happy to see. It’s my pie.”
“I’m happy to see you,” Vince said, stepping onto the back porch.
His words and presence sent her heartbeat racing, and she nearly dropped the pie.
Darn it.
He, too, wore board shorts, but thankfully, he still had a T-shirt on. The last thing she needed to see was his naked torso.
It’s probably covered in hair, all covered in hair, she told herself as she headed to the table to set down her pie.
“Thanks,” she told him, remembering to be polite. “I brought dessert.”
“You didn’t have to,” he said, stopping next to her. “But something tells me I’ll be glad you did.” She lifted the pie for him to sniff. “Mmm…strawberry-rhubarb. I haven’t had any in years.”
Dom stepped close and cupped both their shoulders. “Then you’re in for a treat. Peach isn’t her only specialty. All of her pies rock.”
Between his praise and Vince’s admiring gaze, she wasn’t sure how to react.
“Whatever you’re cooking smells amazing,” she blurted. “Do you need any help?”
Vince shook his head. “No. I got it covered. You two sit down. The burgers are almost ready.” He headed to the grill.
“Grab yourself a drink and take a load off.” Dom motioned to a cooler near the porch. “And while you’re there, can you grab me another beer?”
She laughed. “A ploy to get what you want.”
He set a hand over his heart. “You wound me.”
Grabbing their drinks, she snorted. “Takes more than that to get through your thick skin.” She glanced at the griller a few feet away. “Vince, you want a drink?”
“Yeah. A beer. You can set it on the table.” He turned to her and smiled. “Thanks.”
The fluttering in her stomach was strictly due to hunger.
End of story.
She placed the drinks on the table and sat down. It felt good to get off her feet.
Vince carried over a plate of sizzling burgers that smelled so amazing her stomach didn’t flutter—it growled. Loudly.
She grinned despite the heat in her cheeks. “Think you woke up a beast.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Dom snickered, reaching for a patty. “My brother inherited our nonna’s cooking prowess. She could make cardboard taste delicious.”
Vince’s phone rang, cutting off his laugh. He fished it out of his pocket and answered, “Hey, Leo.” After listening a few seconds, he smiled. “Hang on, I’m going to put you on speaker. I’m with Dom and Emma.” He set the phone on the table and tapped it. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” a low, rather sexy voice responded. “Hello, Dom and Emma.”
Vince grabbed a patty. “I just finished grilling, so we sat down to eat.”
“Burgers?” Leo asked, voice wistful.
“Yeah,” Dom said, his mouth full. “They’re delicious. Too bad you’re not here.”
“Bastard. Enjoy it for me.”
“I am.”
They laughed. Emma took a bite of her own burger and nearly moaned. Dom wasn’t kidding about Vince’s cooking.
“I’m calling to let you know my buddy may have found your friend,” Leo continued, and Dom went still. “He’s going there on Sunday to check in person.”
Relief eased the stiffness from her neighbor’s shoulders. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, Leo. Thanks,” Vince said. “That’s good news.”
“Hopefully, it’s him and he’s okay,” Leo said. “So, how are the burgers?”
“Amazing,” Emma said between bites. Seriously amazing. Maybe he’d be open to feeding her every day in exchange for pie?
A groan emanated from the phone. “Vince, I’ve missed your cooking, man. Everyone has.”
He sat up. “Why? Is my kitchen okay?”
“Yes. Relax,” Leo said. “Everything’s covered, it’s just that the girls don’t cook like you. Although, Jovy’s pierogi were delicious, and Beth makes a mean pork barbecue.”
Vince frowned, a flash of envy darkening his gaze. “Jovy made pierogi?”
Her heart squeezed. Memories of making them with her grandfather flashed through Emma’s mind. Some of her favorite times.
“Yeah, she did,” Leo replied. “Homemade.”
Vince shook his head. “She’s been holding out.”
Dom leaned forward. “That’s okay. We have Emma’s homemade pie.”
“Yeah.” Vince’s warm, amber gaze met hers. “Strawberry-rhubarb today.”
Another groan emanated from the phone. “My grandmother makes pie, too, but I haven’t had one in years.”
“I’d be happy to make one for you if you’re ever in town,” she offered.
His warm chuckle echoed through the line. “Thanks. I just might take you up on that, seeing as Mother Hen here and the whole damn gang voted for me to drop in and check on Vince and Dom.”
Vince raised a brow. “Stone wants you to come here? When?”
“There’s a little lull between jobs right now, so how does Sunday sound?” Leo asked. “I’m hoping I’ll have more concrete news for Dom by then, too.”
“You’re always welcome here,” her neighbor said, reaching for his beer. “You all are.”
“Appreciate that. I’ll see you Sunday.”
Emma leaned toward the phone again. “I’ll have your pie ready.”
“I appreciate that, too. Thank you,” Leo said. “See you all on Sunday. Enjoy your burgers.”
A second later, the phone was silent.
By the time the meal ended, not only was Emma no longer hungry, she would no longer look at a grill the same again. She loved the grill. The grill was her friend, but nothing she’d tasted from her backyard, or anyone else’s, had ever made her moan. Until today.
“I can’t believe I ate that whole burger,” she said. “The combo of mesquite and Italian flavors was flat-out amazing. I think you just ruined me, Vince.”
He laughed, a measure of pride lighting his eyes. “Well, thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it, because I’m pretty sure I’m going to eat all of your pie.” He nodded to his nearly finished second helping of dessert.
“Think again.” Dom loaded his plate with his third slice. “There’s still two more pieces left and they’re mine.”
Vince raised a brow. “Don’t bet on it, bro.”
Smiling, she sipped her wine cooler, more relaxed than she’d been in a long time. The sun was setting, the air was warm but not oppressive, and a soft breeze blew the hair off her face as the solar lights slowly kicked on. A great transition into evening, and it was nice to sit and enjoy it with the brothers, especially at the end of a workweek.
“Where are you two pretending to date this weekend?” Dom asked, scraping the last of the pie from his plate with a fork. “And don’t even think of siccing Chelsea on me again. I can manage a few damn hours by myself.”
She hid a smile. “You telling me you didn’t have a good time with your groupie?”
Dom gave her the stink eye and grumbled into his beer.
Vince chuckled. “I got the same answer from him last night.”
“So, where are you two heading tomorrow?” her neighbor asked again, completely ignoring all talk of Chelsea.
Emma let it drop and shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think Stephan told Vince he likes to jog or hike or something on the weekend.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “At Flat Rock Park. But he never said what day or time, so we may not even bump into him. Have you ever jogged or hiked before?”
Laughter rippled up her throat. “No. Like bowling, I’ve never hiked or jogged, either, although I have been known to sprint from mice.”
He smiled. “I’ll be sure to keep your path rodent free.”
They had just settled on a time to meet in the morning when her phone rang. Rubbing a hand on her pant leg, she sent her hosts and apologetic look, and answered. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Her mother’s tone was relaxed, so Emma let herself relax, too. Must just be a social call. Not bad news about her aunt.
“How was your week?” her mother asked. “Any movement with Stephan?”
Emma got up and walked out of earshot. “Good, and not really. But he does seem a little more interested in my personal life. Maybe that’s something?”
“I would say so. Could it be because he saw you kiss your neighbor’s brother at the bowling alley?”
Heat rushed back into her face, shock halting her pacing. “H-how’d you know about that?”
“I’m a mother. I have my ways.” Her mother’s chuckle filled her ear. “What does Vince look like? Is he handsome like his brother?”
Emma turned and let her gaze trail over the man, and her heart literally halted for two full beats. He’d lost his shirt. It was gone. Leaving him in nothing but his board shorts.
Lord have mercy, the man was tan and broad and lean, and had just the right amount of hair on his chest and abs without concealing his incredible muscle tone. His back and shoulders, however, were free of hair. That sucked. She needed that ape scenario. Needed something negative about the guy, because most of the off-putting things she’d tried to imagine about him had been proven wrong.
On his left bicep, she noted he had a tattoo. There. Some people would list that as something negative—too bad she wasn’t one of them. His tattoo of an eagle clutching a Ranger banner in one talon and a flag in the other, was sexy as all get out.
Darn it. The man was hot as hell, and her whole body responded with a rush of tingling heat.
“Emma? Are you there?” her mom asked.
Crap. She’d forgotten she was on the phone with her mom. Dragging her gaze from the lean hunk of temptation, she cleared her throat. “Uh…yeah.”
“Do you find him attractive?”
Only with every freakin’ fiber of her being.
Thing was, she didn’t want to find him attractive. “It’s complicated,” she told her mom.
Thank goodness the man didn’t seem interested in her beyond helping out. If he had been, she was apt to make a huge mistake and fall into bed with him. That would muck everything up.
“You’ve been wanting a chance with Stephan for so long, honey,” her mother reminded her. “Don’t blow it now. Not when you’re so close. Otherwise, you’ll always wonder what could have been. Promise me you’ll keep that in mind.”
“I promise,” she said, and meant it.
Her mom was only reiterating the thoughts in Emma’s head.
“I’ll call you in a few days to see how you’re doing. Good luck with Stephan,” her mother said before hanging up.
What she needed was good luck resisting Vince. There was no use in denying it. Emma was attracted him. Big time.
Bracing for the impact of awareness, she hung up and strode back to the table. Every hair on her body stood up in an attempt to get close to the man. “Sorry about that.”
Vince shook his head. “Never apologize for talking to your mom.”
“You coming in the pool?” Dom rose to his feet and slowly made his way to the steps at the shallow end. His brother, on the other hand, moved past her and dove into the deep end.
She watched Vince swim under water to the middle of the pool where he surfaced and slicked the hair off his face. Water trickled down the muscles of his lean body, dripping off the sprigs of hair clinging to his well-defined chest and six-pack abs. Heaven help her, she was never more envious of anything in her entire life as she was of that water.
“Come on, Emma.” Dom slowly submerged. “The water’s warm.”
Doubtful. Vince was in the water. It had to be hot.
“No,” she said, already making her way to the gate. “I have a few things I need to do tonight since I’ll be busy tomorrow. Thanks for dinner. It was amazing as usual, Vince. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Before she could change her mind, Emma strode home and didn’t stop until she was safely inside. Distance was the best defense against the temptation of the wet, hard-bodied guy she was only supposed to be casually interested in.
A grill wasn’t the only thing she was never going to look at the same again.
With luck, Stephan would ask her out soon, and then Emma wouldn’t have to go on any more fake dates with her neighbor’s hot brother.