Page 102 of Four Dates and A Forever
“What do you call him?”
“Uncle Eddie.” That earned her a smile. “He’s at the back room at the senior center, likely cleaning house. He’s been banned from the VFW hall. Six times.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He sounded as if her warning amused him. “As for the pool, I’ll only need it early morning and at night for PT. Doctor’s orders.”
“Darcy told me about your surgery. How are you feeling?” Last winter, Clay had torn his ACL, taking him out for the rest of the season.
“Better by the moment.”
She swallowed. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your stay easier.”
“That’s the plan.” He pointed to his lower leg, but her gaze stopped much higher. “Not sure what you’re offering to help with, but the surgery was on my knee.”
Realizing she was staring, Jillian jerked her gaze upward, and when she met his eyes, he winked.Oh boy.
“What time do you want to eat breakfast?” she asked.
“Is that an invitation?”
“No. A home-cooked breakfast is part of the package. You just tell me what time you want it, and I will make sure it’s ready.”
His smile increased ten-thousand watts at her comment.
Oh my god, everything she was saying sounded sexual. “Where do you want to eat? Patio? Kitchen?”
“Kitchen’s fine.”
Why was she so ridiculously ruffled? She was too old and too tired to experience tingles. But there they were, zinging north and south of the equator.
Her phone rang and she checked the screen. It was Dirk.
She’d bet a pile of dry, non-see-through towels her ex was calling because of a problem with Sammy. “Excuse me, I have to take this.” Clay walked over to the table to gather his things and turned away. “Is Sammy okay?”
“You need to get over here right away.”
ContinueSummer Affair
Chapter Twenty-two
Dating Tips from Elsie Dodd
Don’t date your friends unless
you want to end up alone.
Elsie needed to be better at following her own rules.
When she’d left Los Angeles in search of a new beginning, she hadn’t expected to wake up on her grandma’s couch with swollen eyes and a raw nose. Nor had she expected to suffer through the lowest moment of her life with a world-wide audience. She was actually trending.
The video of her heartbreak had gone viral even before she’d made it to Harriet’s. She’d been deemed Rhett’s Unknown Girlfriend. Just like after her divorce, her name had been erased—reduced to a headline. She was some unknown sap who’d fallen for a guy destined to break her heart.
Word of her non-relationship relationship had spread through her contacts like wildfire. Friends were blowing up her phone to get the latest gossip. Even Susan had called to see if the shoot was still a go. Elsie hadn’t had the heart to tell her the deal was off because once she made the call it would all be real.
Then there were the calls from Rhett. Too many to count. They’d started the moment she’d left the bar and hadn’t let up until last night. She hadn’t listened to a single one, and when they stopped coming in, her heart ached even more. Because that meant it was really over.
Which was what the plan had always been, she reminded herself.
“You awake?” Faye asked, her voice rattling around Elsie’s brain. She was hungover from crying.
