Page 40 of Tequila Tuesdays

He rubbed Gary’s belly absently. “I have a younger brother. He’s a building contractor here in town, and we try to get together a couple of times a week.”

“You’re lucky to have him close by. You know about my younger sister, Olivia. She’s finishing up her accounting degree in North Carolina. I had a little brother too, and his name was Theo. But he died when he was eleven months old. They think it was SIDS.”

I absently ran my finger over the small scar on my cheek. I’d always wondered if Ava’s addiction had somehow contributed to Theo’s death.

Olivia had only been seven years old when Theo was born, and she didn’t have many memories of him. But I remembered him well. He had soft, curly blond hair and big cheeks that none of us could resist.

He loved me almost as much as he loved my dad, and he’d sit in my arms and look up at me with his big, round baby eyes and just stare at me while I fed him a bottle. When he died, we were devastated.

Damien reached over and squeezed my hand, bringing me back to the present. “I’m sorry about your brother too. Is your sister going to move here when she graduates?”

I shrugged. “Probably. She talks about it. And we’re close, so it would be nice. I feel lucky, except maybe when it comes to the men in my life.”

He straightened. “Men in your life?”

“Yeah. My dad, my fiancé, and my little brother. I’m like a death harbinger or something. If I love someone, they tend to die.” I looked away, embarrassed. I’d never admitted that to anyone before and hadn’t meant to share.

Damien studied me. “Zeke was in the service.”

I nodded. “Laurel told me.”

“You might want to talk to Zeke about survivor’s guilt sometime.” There were shadows in Damien’s eyes too, and I wondered what put them there.

“Maybe. Putting a label on our heartbreak doesn’t lessen it though.” Suddenly, I felt too vulnerable and stood up. “Thank you for coming over on a Sunday. Let me go change and we can get started.”

I sat on my bed for a moment. Talking with Damien had dredged up feelings and memories I usually kept buried, and I needed a moment to tuck them away again.

We went over to my office building first, and Damien installed two cameras there. When we first walked in, I saw him looking around at the reception area that had a couple of antique bookshelves interspersed with legal books and curiosities, a handwoven rug, and leather armchairs in the waiting area.

Our sign hung behind the reception desk. My office was a little more spartan, but Yun had found a striking orange blossom painting, and I’d bought a beautiful albeit used desk and credenza set at an estate sale.

Damien gazed around. “I like your office.”

I smiled. “Thanks, I liked yours too. It has a nice feel to it.”

He flew through the installation and set-up process and helped me position the cameras. Then we headed back to my house and installed two more cameras there. It was getting dark, so we decided to install the security system another day.

I turned to Damien as we were finishing up. “I have chicken kabobs marinating, naan bread, and zucchini I plan to grill for dinner. I have enough for two if you’re hungry.”

He glanced down at me. His arms were raised above his head, and he was screwing in the camera mount. His biceps and abs were stretched out on full display.

Damien grinned when he caught me looking. “You sure?”

I pulled my eyes off his torso, swallowing a little. “Yes. Consider it part of my payback. No worries if you have things to do.”

He climbed off the stepladder. “That sounds good. Do you have kabobs marinating already? And you grill? I’m impressed.”

“Why? You don’t plan ahead, or you don’t own a grill?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I own a grill because I’m a normal red-blooded male. But I rarely plan ahead enough to use it.”

“Grilling is fast, the food tastes great, and clean-up is easy. The perfect combination. You just have to go to the grocery store occasionally.”

“If you say so.”

I grinned. “I do. And so do the millions of other red-bloodedfemaleswho own grills. I’m a mediocre cook though.”

We walked out to my back patio, and he checked out my newer ocean-blue Weber grill. It matched the cushions on my patio loungers. I turned on the propane tank and lit the burners, then rubbed the already clean grate with a wire brush. He watched me go through the process.

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