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assured her. “I just wanted to make sure the girls were taken care of first.”

      “Tristyn helped the little one with her plate, but the other two managed to take care of themselves.”

      “The little one’s Hanna,” he said. “Emily is playing with Kylie, and Charlotte is with Maura and Dylan.”

      Jane smiled. “They’re beautiful girls.”

      “Those Slater genes always come out on top,” he teased.

      “And still, you don’t have any of your own running around here.”

      “And still, I somehow ended up responsible for three kids,” he noted wryly.

      “Your sister obviously trusted you to take care of her daughters.”

      “My sister obviously had no other options,” he countered.

      His friend’s mother shook her head. “Don’t go selling yourself short.”

      He chuckled. “No one’s ever accused me of doing that before.”

      “I’ve known you a lot of years,” she reminded him. “And I’ve admittedly known you to coast if you thought you could get away with it. High school English class, for example, when you decided to watch a movie rather than read the book it was based on in order to write a report.”

      Josh took a bite of the burger, so that he’d be too busy chewing to be able to respond to her allegation.

      “I’ve also known you to show an incredible amount of focus and determination when something matters to you,” she continued. “The success of GSR in such a short period of time is proof of that.”

      He swallowed. “Thank you,” he said cautiously.

      “Now I’m wondering when you’re going to show that same level of commitment in a personal relationship.”

      “You don’t need to worry about me,” he assured her. “I’m perfectly happy with my life just the way it is.”

      “I do need to worry about you,” she countered. “My other boys are all married now and have wives to take care of them. You’re the only holdout.”

      He smiled. “You do realize I’m not actually your fourth son?”

      “Of course I do. And lucky for you that you’re not, or the thoughts you have when you look at my youngest niece would be highly inappropriate.”

      He nearly choked on a potato wedge. He coughed, cleared his throat. “You think you can read my mind now?”

      “I don’t need to be a mind reader to recognize lust in a man’s eye,” she told him.

      “Jesu—Jeez,” he hastily amended. “I don’t—I mean—” He blew out a breath. “Okay, this is incredibly awkward.”

      Jane just chuckled. “I’ve watched you watch her for years,” she admitted. “And I’ve been wondering when you’re going to stop watching and actually do something to get the girl.”

      “I’m not,” he told her. Reminded himself.

      “Why not?” she demanded.

      “Because Tristyn’s a keeper,” he answered honestly. “And I’m not the kind of guy who’s looking to keep a woman.”

      She smiled knowingly. “It’s been my experience that most guys think they’re not that kind of guy—until the right woman comes along.”

      * * *

      Tristyn was pleased to see that Josh had brought his nieces to the Fourth of July celebration. She wasn’t pleased to realize how often her attention wandered in their direction throughout the afternoon. She told herself that she was just making sure the girls were having a good time, because she could imagine how difficult it was for them to be away from everything and everyone that was familiar for the summer. But after some initial hesitation, they appeared to have found their niche with the other kids. And the truth was, she spent a lot of time watching Josh watch the girls.

      “Has your friend figured out what he’s going to do with his nieces for the summer?” Rafe asked, proving that he was aware of the focus of her attention.

      “I don’t think so,” she said. “But they were only dropped on his doorstep a few days ago.”

      “You mentioned that when you called last night.”

      She tipped her head back to look at him. “I’m really sorry I bailed on you at the last minute.”

      “It’s okay,” he said. “If I had three kids dumped on me, I’d be grateful for an extra set of hands.”

      “If you had three kids dumped on you, your mother and nonna would both be there in a heartbeat. Josh’s family is...scattered. His other sister is in London, his parents are in France—or maybe Germany. His grandparents are local, but I don’t know that they’d be able to keep up with three kids.”

      “Then he’s lucky he has you,” Rafe said.

      Though his tone was casual, his word choice seemed deliberately odd to her. “He doesn’t have me,” Tristyn replied.

      “Are you sure about that?” he probed.

      She felt her cheeks flush. “Of course I’m sure.”

      “Because while you’re doing a pretty good job of pretending that you’re not looking at him, he’s not even trying to hide the fact that he’s watching you,” Rafe said.

      “Josh is Daniel’s best friend and business partner, which means he’s like another cousin to me—as if I didn’t already have enough,” she said lightly.

      “One of the things I’ve always liked about you is that you’re forthright and honest,” he told her. “So I’m going to assume that you’re not being deliberately deceitful now but are in denial of his feelings and your own.”

      She frowned, not finding either of those options particularly appealing.

      He took both her hands. “When I first met you, at Marco and Jordyn’s wedding, you completely took my breath away. After I spent some time with you, I was pleased to discover that a woman so incredibly beautiful could also be warm and witty and fun. And while it’s been frustrating—for both of us, I think—to try to mesh our schedules to spend time together, I always suspected that wasn’t the only obstacle between us.”

      “Rafe,” she began, not sure what else she planned to say, just certain that she didn’t like the direction she could see this conversation headed.

      But he didn’t seem to expect her to say anything else. He only dipped his head to kiss her. On the forehead.

      “I have to go to the restaurant to do the prep for tomorrow,” he said.

      “I thought you’d decided to stay for the fireworks and save the prep for the morning,” she reminded him.

      “I think I’d rather get it done tonight,” he decided.

      Tristyn watched him walk away, feeling guilty and remorseful—and maybe just a little bit relieved.

      * * *

      The girls were tuckered out long before dark, but they didn’t want to leave before the fireworks. So Josh, with Hanna snuggled in his lap, settled in where he could keep an eye on Charlotte and Emily, who were sprawled on the blankets spread out on the grass for the remaining children. Several of the couples with little ones had gone: Jordyn and Marco had taken Henry and Liam home after dinner; Daniel and Kenna had followed a short while later with Jacob and Logan; and Braden and Cassie had slipped away with Saige soon after that.

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