on the spigot, he was close enough to her that she could see the gleam of sweat on his brow and inhale his scent, which seemed to be sunshine and sage and all man. For a moment her senses reeled and she told herself she was being silly. But she couldn’t seem to take her gaze from the black hair on his forearms, from the soapy suds slipping over his large hands.
“Catching up?” he asked as he flipped off the spigot.
It took her a moment to find her voice. “Sharing favorite recipes.”
“I should have known,” he said with a smile. “What else would three women do in a kitchen?”
With a slight shift of his body, he turned toward her. He was so close she could feel his body heat…feel a current of electricity between them immobilize her as she became fascinated by the whorl of hair nestled in the V of his green T-shirt.
He reached behind her, brushing her back. “I need the towel,” he explained, his voice husky.
Their gazes locked, and she vividly remembered the moment on her front porch twelve years ago when his arms had encircled her and his head had lowered to kiss her. The smoldering look in his eyes now convinced her he was remembering, too, maybe thinking about what it would be like to kiss her again.
As he lifted the towel from the counter and took a few steps back, she chided herself for being ridiculous.
Finished with the towel, he hung it over the oven door handle. “Where’s Charlie?” he asked Nina.
“Checking my tire pressure.”
He frowned. “I was going to do that. In fact—”
Jake never got to finish because the twins ran back into the kitchen. Nina directed them to set the table in the dining area, where she had stacked dishes, silverware and napkins.
Both boys grumbled and groaned.
Ryan protested the loudest. “I want to go outside and watch Charlie.”
Jake crooked his finger at them, and they scampered to him, looking up expectantly. “If you help your mom get ready for dinner without complaining, I’ll take you for ice cream afterward.”
“Carlo’s Place?” Ricky asked, wanting to put terms to the deal. “Two scoops?”
“You got it,” Jake said with a nod.
As the boys ran to the table, Nina scolded her brother. “That was a bribe.”
“Yes, it was. But I figured it was a small price to pay so they didn’t argue with you for the next ten minutes.”
“Sometimes you have to stand on principle,” Nina grumbled.
“Getting things done is better than principle,” Rita insisted. “After all, your brother’s the expert at negotiation.”
At Rita’s remark, a smothering hush fell over the kitchen.
Tori glanced from sister to brother to mother, not understanding the sudden tension and the somberness that seemed to have taken over Jake’s whole demeanor.
“Jake, I’m sorry,” his mother said, looking upset. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know you didn’t,” Jake said quietly. “Forget about it. I’m going to see if Charlie found the tire gauge.”
Then Jake Galeno exited the kitchen, leaving Tori with unsettling questions she didn’t think Nina or Rita were going to answer.
Chapter Two
D inner with the Galenos was an adventure, Tori decided, as she sat between Jake and Ricky. She made herself concentrate on the twins—that was easier than dealing with the attraction she still felt for Jake—and paid attention to everything they did. Maybe she’d learn something about parenting as she watched Nina interact with them.
When Ricky spilled his milk, it ran off the table and onto Tori’s thigh. Nina was much more upset than she was.
Ricky looked upset, too, as if he was ready to cry, until Tori smiled at him. “Milk will wash right out.” She gave him her napkin. “Come on, help me mop it up.”
While he scurried to wipe the drips on the chair, she helped Nina with the table. She caught Jake watching her and wished she knew what he was thinking. Then again, maybe she didn’t want to know. Every time his arm grazed hers, every time he reached for a platter or serving dish, she was much too aware of his scent, as well as his sheer physical presence. Surely she didn’t still have a crush on him after all these years! Maybe these vibrations were what dating experts called chemistry? If so, she’d never experienced it before…except when she was a teenager and Jake was anywhere within ten feet of her.
After dinner, in spite of Nina’s and Rita’s protests, Tori helped clean up. She wasn’t the type to sit while others worked. When they’d finished in the kitchen, they joined the men on the patio.
Ricky pulled on Jake’s arm. “When are we going for ice cream?”
“We just had dinner,” Jake replied with a grin.
“I saved room,” Ricky insisted, then looked at Tori. “Are you coming, too?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” she began.
Approaching her chair, Ricky wheedled, “Uncle Jake says it’s the best ice cream in Santa Fe. Mom and grandma won’t come because they say they’ll get fat if they eat it.”
When Ryan added, “Please come,” she looked into their dark-brown eyes and couldn’t refuse.
“Only if it’s all right with your uncle Jake.”
A glance at Jake told her nothing. “Of course you’re welcome to come.” His face was perfectly blank, and his eyes reflected none of his thoughts.
Carlo’s Place was a few blocks away—a small, brown stucco building with two parking spaces.
“Most of his customers are within walking distance,” Jake explained as if reading her thoughts.
The bench seat of Jake’s truck had seemed much too intimate during their drive here.
After the boys unfastened their seat belts in the back, Jake helped them out. His truck’s running board was high off the ground.
“If you wait, I’ll give you a hand,” he offered.
The last thing she wanted was Jake’s skin pressed against hers. “I’m fine.”
She proved it by sliding to the edge of her seat and then hopping down as gracefully as she could. She thought she saw a knowing smile play on Jake’s lips, but couldn’t be sure because it was gone too quickly.
Ten minutes later they were sitting at a round redwood table with a striped yellow-and-white umbrella. The boys’ cones were dripping all over their hands, but Jake was ignoring that, so Tori did, too.
Leaning close to her, Jake murmured, “I have those wet-wipe
