“No.” I set my fork on my empty plate and pushed it away. “I was just curious.” And I want to make sure I’ll be able to control my unsavory urges around you. “Wear it down, I guess.”

“Why?”

“For fuck’s sake, Sawyer.” I gave her a menacing look. “I don’t know. Because it’s natural. And it smells nice.”

“Okay, okay.” She put her ponytail back in. “So what should we do now?”

I checked the time. “I should go back and let Renzo out.”

“Oh. Right.”

“And then I have to head over to my mom’s to pick up Asher. I’m taking him to work today.”

She smiled. “I’d love to see him while I’m home.”

“He’d like that,” I said, happy that she’d asked. “He remembers you. Asked me if you still like to watch true crime shows.”

“Really?” That irresistible smile got bigger. “That’s so sweet. And the answer is yes, of course.”

“How was everything, guys?” Frannie came over and cleared our plates.

“Excellent,” said Noah, pulling out his wallet. “We’re all set, and I will definitely be back.”

“Good.” Frannie smiled. “Put your money away, breakfast was on me.”

“Frannie, you don’t have to do that.” Meg tugged on my arm. “And Noah, I invited you to breakfast, so I’ll buy.”

“Neither of you are buying, because it was on the house.” Frannie shooed us toward the door. “Now go on. Get out of here and enjoy the day.”

I pulled a twenty from my wallet and placed it on the counter. “Tip. Thanks for everything.”

“That’s too much!” Frannie cried indignantly.

“The service was exceptional.” I flashed a grin at her and took Meg by the shoulders, steering her toward the door before she could get out her wallet or her sister could get around the counter and give me my money back.

“You’re too nice to me,” Meg said as we walked to the car. “I’m getting spoiled.”

I wished I could spoil her in all kinds of ways. She had no idea. I unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for her.

She slid onto the seat and looked at me. “Why don’t I come with you to let Renzo out and then over to your mom’s? Like I said, I have no plans today, and tomorrow Sylvia gets in, so I think it’s all wedding wedding wedding after that.”

Instead of answering right away, I shut the door and took my time going around to the driver’s side. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hang out with her, but the more time we spent alone together, the harder it was getting to treat it like my job. Could I manage to keep my hands to myself all day? I wasn’t too sure. I was still thinking when I started the engine.

She noticed my silence—of course she did.

“Hey, forget I asked,” she said. “You’ve got things to do on your day off. You don’t have to entertain me all day.”

“It’s not that. I just . . . You’re only home for the week. I don’t want to monopolize all your time,” I lied.

“Hey.” She reached over and put a hand on my arm. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”

Our eyes met. My whole body warmed. And I knew at that moment that today would test me in ways I’d never even imagined.

And in ways I had—but then, that was the problem.

My mother, as I’d expected, was overjoyed to see Meg.

“Meg Sawyer, I don’t believe it!” she squealed, coming right over to give her a hug as Renzo bounded past us into the house. “Just look at you. You haven’t changed a bit since you were a teenager.”

Meg laughed as she returned the hug. “It’s good to see you, Mrs. McCormick.”

“It’s Carol, please. You might look sixteen, but you’re a grownup now.”

“I try.” Meg looked at me. “I’m making Noah drag me around today. Everything is all wedding craziness at Cloverleigh.”

“Good. He could use the company.” My mother nodded in satisfaction. “And I bet it is. A wedding is so exciting—and is it right there on the farm? You mother must be going nuts with all the preparations.”

“It’s pretty nuts,” Meg agreed. “But my sister April is planning everything, and she’s a pro.” She elbowed me. “I convinced Noah to come along with me.”

My mother’s eyes lit up. Possibly even teared up. “You did?”

“Yes, although I had to promise not to make him dance,” Meg said with a laugh. “So I don’t think my shoes will see much action.”

“Oh, for goodness sake.” My mother gave me a dirty look and stuck her hands on her hips. “Noah McCormick, you ask this young lady to dance, do you hear me?”

“I hear you, Ma. But I’m not dancing.” Clapping her on the shoulder of her nurse’s scrubs, I moved past her into the kitchen, where Asher was finishing lunch, dressed for work. Renzo was sniffing around the floor beneath the table, probably hoping for scraps. “Hey, Ash.”

He reached for his SGD. “Hi. Who’s here?” he asked.

I sat down next to him. “I brought Meg over to say hi.”

He smiled. “Does she remember me?”

“Of course she does. Hey, Meg!” I called. “Come on in here.”

Meg came into the kitchen room and gave Asher a big grin. “Hey, you. Long time no see.” She bent down to give him a hug, and he hugged her back. Once she was seated next to me, he reached for his device again.

“Hello. How are you?” he asked.

“I’m great,” she said. “In town for the week to see my younger sister get married.”

“Do you still watch true crime?” he asked.

“You know it! Hey, do you like podcasts? You need to listen to My Favorite Murder.”

Asher’s face lit up even brighter. “I love that podcast. My friend Alicia loves it too.”

I blinked. Asher had a friend? A girl friend named Alicia? That was news to me.

Meg clapped her hands. “So good, right? I can’t believe Noah’s never even heard of it.”

Asher typed frantically, a gleeful look on his face. “He doesn’t have good taste in shows.”

Meg burst out laughing. “So you’re headed to work today?”

“Yes. I work at Logan’s.”

“And you like it?”

“I like my job a lot.”

“Cool. And what else are you up to these days? Do you still like swimming?”

“Yes. I swim on Fridays. That’s where I met Alicia.”

Ah. It had been a few weeks since I’d taken him to the rec center for swimming, so maybe that’s why I hadn’t heard about her. But it was obvious Asher really liked this girl. Why hadn’t he ever mentioned her? Was it because I’d never asked him about girls? It wasn’t that I didn’t care or didn’t think he could go on dates, I simply hadn’t wanted to put that kind of pressure on him. But maybe by treating the subject as if it was nonexistent, I’d made him feel funny about it. I felt like a shitty brother.