Page 8 of Slice

As she walked in, Faith’s eyes were immediately drawn to Slice. He was back by the grill and fryers behind the counter. He smiled and waved. She awkwardly waved back and returned his smile. Even cooking at a grill, he was hot. He’d removed his cut but had on a wipe apron with the diner’s logo on it. Although he looked scrumptious in the Henley, Faith was a little disappointed he hadn’t changed into a short-sleeve shirt for the diner. She wanted to see all of his tattoos.

One of the waitresses directed them to a table that he’d reserved for them. She was pretty sure it was one of the ones the diner kept for the MC people.

After they sat down, Slice walked out carrying a tray of food.

“Hi, I know it might take you a little bit to figure out what you want, but I brought an appetizer of nuggets and some tater tots for you to snack on,” Slice said, placing the tray down and handing out small plates.

Micah and Isaiah jumped back up out of their chairs and threw their arms around Slice’s waist.

“Thank you,” they yelled.

Slice chuckled and bent down. “You’re welcome. I’ve also got some fruit because you want to grow up big and strong, right?”

Both boys nodded. Slice helped them back into their chairs and then turned to Benji. Slice held his hand out.

“I’m Slice.”

Benji reached out and shook Slice’s hand. “I’m Benji. Aunt Faith asked Mimi and me to eat here.”

“I’m glad you and your Mimi could come. Mimi, what should I call you?” Slice asked, grinning.

Oh gosh, how was she going to survive if Slice’s grin had her squeezing her thighs together? She should not be getting damp panties during lunch at the diner.

“Nice to meet you, Slice. I’m Hope, this one’s older sister,” Hope said, motioning toward Faith.

“Slice, order up,” one of the waitresses called.

“Duty calls, ladies, but I’ll drop by to chat between orders,” Slice said, nodding at the waitress and getting back to work.

Hope cocked her eyebrow at Faith. Faith worked to keep from blushing.

When the boys were concentrating on eating their nuggets and chatting, Hope tapped the table to get Faith’s attention. When Faith stared at Hope, Hope smiled and mouthed,Climb him like a tree and ride that bad boy until—then she mimicked an explosion with her hand. Faith turned to see if Slice had seen any of Hope’s actions. If he had, her sister was dead—d-e-a-d. Luckily, his attention was on the food, so her sister was saved for another day.

Hope had always been the more outgoing one between them. Faith hated drawing attention to herself, and Hope was forever trying to draw Faith out.

For now, she would see what exactly was going on. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up because Slice could just be a very nice man who cared about everyone. He might see her as a woman he was helping. She didn’t want to start thinking of him as one of her book boyfriends and then be disappointed.

For now, she’d enjoy lunch and hope sweet little LB ended up being a long-term placement, though a baby would be harderthan the two boys. But there was something about LB that had her wanting to keep him.

Chapter Six

Faith let the boys play a little longer. Christmas break meant they didn’t need to stick to quite the routine that they did during the school year. And bonus—Slice said he’d bring supper for them all, so she didn’t need to cook.

The boys were playing with the Legos they’d received for Christmas, LB was down for a nap, and Faith was curled up in the recliner with her e-reader. Reading had been an escape, and she loved escaping to the world of fiction. Romance was her favorite, but she adored a good thriller, too. Hope and she both loved to read and believed you could never have too many books. Thank goodness for ebooks because she could have thousands on her tablet. Her house wasn’t big enough to have them all in paperbacks, even if secretly she dreamed of a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a ladder she had to climb to get books off the top shelf.

She’d received the call after she’d returned home that LB was becoming a long-term placement while they searched for hismom. She’d been relieved because she couldn’t imagine how she was going to give him up after this short of a time.

She wasn’t completely sure why this baby was so different from the others she’d had through emergency placement. She’d said goodbye to so many since she’d become a foster parent, but something about LB was different. It could be Slice, or it could be something else. She’d been more unsettled and confused since both of them had come into her life.

She was having trouble diving into her book because she was thinking back over Slice smiling at her at the diner, then bringing her a special dessert. The boys had asked her favorite dessert, and she’d mentioned she loved pumpkin bread. Even though pumpkin bread wasn’t listed as a dessert at the diner, Slice had brought her two slices out with a small tub of honey butter. He’d offered to get some for everyone else, but the boys and Hope had wanted the brownies with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Hope couldn’t keep her opinion to herself about the bread once Slice left the table, leaning over to whisper,Climb him like a tree; he’s a keeper.She’d mouthed,Shut upto her sister and given her the stare—the one she used at school when she meant business. Hope had just chuckled and stuck out her tongue.

Her sister might be in her fifties, but Hope was still young at heart.

A knock at the door had her getting up and looking through the peephole. She took a deep breath to calm herself after seeing Slice through the viewer. She swallowed, then unlocked the door and slid it open.

I will not jump this man. I will not drool.

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