to be,” the other man assured him. “She explained the situation, and I know she’d never walk away from a friend in need of help.”
Though Josh couldn’t deny the accuracy of the description, it still grated on his nerves that Rafe was so dismissive of the time Tristyn had spent with him. It was as if the guy was so secure in his relationship with her, he had no worries about his girlfriend hanging out with another man. Admittedly, she’d been hanging out with another man and three kids, but still.
“There you are,” Tristyn said, a smile lighting her face as she made her way toward them. And for just a second, Josh thought she was talking to him. Then she linked her arm through Rafe’s, effectively dispelling that notion. “Your nonna’s looking for you.”
“And I’m hiding from her,” Rafe admitted. “It’s my day off and I don’t want to talk about tweaking any of my recipes or any other restaurant business today.”
“Then let’s take a walk before dinner,” she suggested, leading him away. “I saw your aunt brought cannoli, which means that I need to get a head start on burning off the extra calories.”
Not wanting to watch them wander off together, Josh purposely turned in the other direction.
* * *
Josh spent some time hanging out with Daniel and Kenna and their kids; chatted with Harper about her return to WNCC—the local television station for which she now produced the morning show—and her plans for juggling her promotion with a new baby; and congratulated Braden and Cassie on their recent engagement. All the while, he kept a close eye on his three nieces, who were more than happy with their new friends. When the food was finally set out—the selection covering most of two picnic tables—everyone dropped what they were doing to get in line. Since Josh hadn’t brought anything to contribute to the potluck, he bought a couple platters of burgers and sausages from the Fireman’s Picnic—another Fourth of July tradition, which brought together the local ladder companies to cook up various offerings, with the proceeds going to support the children’s wing of Mercy Hospital.
“I haven’t seen you eat anything,” Jane Garrett said, handing him a plate piled high with a double-decker cheeseburger, potato wedges, pasta salad and baked beans.
“I wasn’t going to go hungry,” he assured her. “I just wanted to make sure the girls were taken care of first.”
“Tristyn helped the little one with her plate, but the other two managed to take care of themselves.”
“The little one’s Hanna,” he said. “Emily is playing with Kylie, and Charlotte is with Maura and Dylan.”
Jane smiled. “They’re beautiful girls.”
“Those Slater genes always come out on top,” he teased.
“And still, you don’t have any of your own running around here.”
“And still, I somehow ended up responsible for three kids,” he noted wryly.
“Your sister obviously trusted you to take care of her daughters.”
“My sister obviously had no other options,” he countered.
His friend’s mother shook her head. “Don’t go selling yourself short.”
He chuckled. “No one’s ever accused me of doing that before.”
“I’ve known you a lot of years,” she reminded him. “And I’ve admittedly known you to coast if you thought you could get away with it. High school English class, for example, when you decided to watch a movie rather than read the book it was based on in order to write a report.”
Josh took a bite of the burger, so that he’d be too busy chewing to be able to respond to her allegation.
“I’ve also known you to show an incredible amount of focus and determination when something matters to you,” she continued. “The success of GSR in such a short period of time is proof of that.”
He swallowed. “Thank you,” he said cautiously.
“Now I’m wondering when you’re going to show that same level of commitment in a personal relationship.”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” he assured her. “I’m perfectly happy with my life just the way it is.”
“I do need to worry about you,” she countered. “My other boys are all married now and have wives to take care of them. You’re the only holdout.”
He smiled. “You do realize I’m not actually your fourth son?”
“Of course I do. And lucky for you that you’re not, or the thoughts you have when you look at my youngest niece would be highly inappropriate.”
He nearly choked on a potato wedge. He coughed, cleared his throat. “You think you can read my mind now?”
“I don’t need to be a mind reader to recognize lust in a man’s eye,” she told him.
“Jesu—Jeez,” he hastily amended. “I don’t—I mean—” He blew out a breath. “Okay, this is incredibly awkward.”
Jane just chuckled. “I’ve watched you watch her for years,” she admitted. “And I’ve been wondering when you’re going to stop watching and actually do something to get the girl.”
“I’m not,” he told her. Reminded himself.
“Why not?” she demanded.
“Because Tristyn’s a keeper,” he answered honestly. “And I’m not the kind of guy who’s looking to keep a woman.”
She smiled knowingly. “It’s been my experience that most guys think they’re not that kind of guy—until the right woman comes along.”
* * *
Tristyn was pleased to see that Josh had brought his nieces to the Fourth of July celebration. She wasn’t pleased to realize how often her attention wandered in their direction throughout the afternoon. She told herself that she was just making sure the girls were having a good time, because she could imagine how difficult it was for them to be away from everything and everyone that was familiar for the summer. But after some initial hesitation, they appeared to have found their niche with the other kids. And the truth was, she spent a lot of time watching Josh watch the girls.
“Has your friend figured out what he’s going to do with his nieces for the summer?” Rafe asked, proving that he was aware of the focus of her attention.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “But they were only dropped on his doorstep a few days ago.”
“You mentioned that when you called last night.”
She tipped her head back to look at him. “I’m really sorry I bailed on you at the last minute.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “If I had three kids dumped on me, I’d be grateful for an extra set of hands.”
“If you had three kids dumped on you, your mother and nonna would both be there in a
