Page 63 of Red Hot Roaster

Jean-Luc and I made our way toward the kitchen and paused in the opening from the dining room.Chaos? Or a normal Thanksgiving?We looked at each other and shook our heads.Who were we to know or judge?

Rose spotted us and waved from her post in front of the stove, where she was stirring something in a big saucepan. She wore a Chocolate Lab apron over a short jean skirt, her hair was bunched on top of her head with strands falling everywhere, and there was a smear of, yeah, that looked like gravy, on her cheek. She looked flushed, hot and stressed—and I wanted to kiss the ever-lovin’ fuck out of her.

A little hard to do when the kitchen was crammed with people.

Finn stood by Rose at the stove, mashing potatoes in a big pot and adding hot milk and stuff as he went. Mateo and his mom were piling apple empanadas on a platter to join the pumpkin pies others had brought. Jennifer’s twins were putting rolls in a basket. Miss Ada was brushing a glaze on the ham in front of the convection oven. Some women I didn’t know were arranging foil-covered dishes on corkboards on the chow line.

Everybody and their mother was here. Plus a few dogs—Miss Ada’s dachshunds were begging for ham scraps, and a corgi was sticking close to the girls.

“Jean-Luc, there you are. Oh, that must be heavy!” Rose indicated a cleared space on the counter with her elbow. “Thank you so much! Can you and Lauren open a few bottles and space them out down the middle of the table, please?”

Lauren was coming out of the pantry carrying a full tray of wine glasses and startled when she heard her name. Jean-Luc quickly put his box down and covered her hands on each side of the tray to steady things. She froze, he froze—although the back of his neck turned red—and everyone went quiet. After a beat, Jean-Luc stepped away, and Lauren continued into the dining room. The chatter resumed.

On my way to the fridge to stow the beers, I bumped him with my shoulder. He ignored me and moved over to the counter to start opening wines. Lauren joined him a moment later.

Are Rose and I that obvious?I shook my head and turned from the fridge…to come face-to-face with the lady in question.

“Come with me. I need your help reaching something.” Rose hooked her right arm in mine and dragged me half backward over to—and into—the pantry. She switched on the light and closed the door.

I must have been slow on the uptake—on half a bottle of beer?—because the next thing I knew she reached up to wrap her arms around my neck and hug the soft length of her body against mine.

I went hard in response. Not suitable for the PG audience outside the pantry door, but I’d deal with that later.

“Rafe, I’ve missed you,” she whispered before pulling my head down for a wet deep kiss.

She tugged back when I wanted to keep going.

“It’s been too long! How long has it been? Why can’t I remember? I know it’s been too long.”

Three nights and almost four days since we’ve been alone together. But who’s counting?

Rose frowned, and I wanted to smooth out those furrows between her eyes.

“And it’s all my fault,” she mumbled. “I should have never asked you to leave.”

Shadows under her eyes. Obvious, even in the dim light of the overhead bulb. Like when I first arrived, and she was sad about her mamma.

Shit. She was having trouble sleeping too.

“It’s…it’s…too overwhelming right now,” Rose said, her throat clogged with tears. “Staging the perfect Thanksgiving like Mom and Dad used to do. Protecting Finn from change like he was a little boy. Wishing Mom were here when she’ll never be again. Trying to save the Chocolate Lab by myself.”

She stopped abruptly.What? What the fuck is she talking about? Save the—

She started again and caught my attention. “And you…you leaving in a week. It’s too much.”

I pulled her close again and wrapped my arms tightly around her. She resisted for a moment and then relaxed against me. I laid my cheek on her hair and breathed her in. Roses combined with the scents of roasting turkey and spicy pumpkin pie. It worked for me.

“I’ve got you. Don’t you worry—you’re safe. Let’s concentrate on today. You’ve got a house full of people who love you and who are thankful to be here, spending this time together.”

Rose sighed and nodded against my chest. We stayed close a moment more, and I said, “We still have one problem.”

“What’s that?” she asked, angling back to look up at me.

“How am I gonna walk out there like this?”

She looked down to see my ever-present desire for her on full view. I’d worn a black button-up and jeans for the occasion today, rather than my customary T-shirt and flannel overshirt.

“Oh, that’s no problem. That’s what aprons are for.”

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