Page 54 of Recipe for Rivals
“Tucker is taking Jack home, but he’s going to help me pick it all up now. We’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. You free tonight?”
He could see me making dinner, so I obviously didn’t have plans for the next bit. “Yes. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” He looked at me for another beat. This close, with only a counter between us, I could see the rough stubble on his jaw and the shadowed curve between his bottom lip and his chin. I wanted to reach across the counter and touch him.
It was an impulse I hadn’t felt for anyone but Carter in over a decade, and it shocked me with both its speed and ferocity.
This was treading dangerous water. Swallowing against a dry throat, I searched for something to say.
My phone rang with the sound of an incoming FaceTime call,cutting into the silence with tinny, jaunty music and slashing through the spell. I flipped it over and Carter’s smile filled the screen.
I really needed to change that old picture out for something less attractive. Maybe even a snapshot of a dog’s butt—something that fit my mood better when I saw who was calling. The briefest temptation to reject the call slid over me, but he’d missed the kids’ calls all week. I knew Alice would want to speak to him.
When I raised my gaze to Dusty, his expression was guarded. “I better take this.”
“Of course. I’ll see you in an hour.”
I nodded, moving toward the kids’ room while he made his way out. I slid my finger on the screen to answer. “Alice, Dad’s on the phone.”
I heard the quick movement of little feet as she jumped up from whatever she was doing and ran toward me.
“Hey, Nova,” Carter said, his face filling the screen.
There were things we needed to talk about, like money for the kids’ school lunches and health insurance now that we were in Texas. Things that would best be handled without little listening ears, though, and besides, I had hamburger on the stove.
The front door closed with a snap behind Dusty.
“Ben’s at a friend’s house, but here’s Alice,” I said to Carter. For the first time, it was easy to shove the list of things we needed to discuss into a folder and hide it somewhere in a dark corner. I didn’t want to chat with Carter. I wanted to make sure this lasagna made it into the oven without burnt filling.
I handed off the phone and went back to the kitchen. It took thirty minutes to get the rest of the lasagna compiled and into the oven, but Alice had brought me my phone at least twenty minutes ago. I slid open my messages and found Dusty’s number.
Nova
Want to stay for a thank you dinner? I made lasagna.
Dusty
Anything to size up the competition
I chuckled, shaking my head.
Nova
Tucker’s invited too
Dusty
Okay. I’ll let him know. See you soon, Rival
He seemed like the kind of man who meant what he said. I closed my eyes, listening to Alice sing to herself in her room, and breathed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DUSTY