Three Little Words (Fool's Gold #12)(7)

Maeve, she thought. He’d dated her sister for three years and had spent hours here every week. He’d often stayed for dinner and helped her sister set the table. While the kitchen had been updated, the layout was the same. Flatware was still in the top drawer by the sink, and glasses were above the dishwasher.

“Future-wife applicants?” she asked.

“That would be them.”

“Have you bothered to meet any of the women? They might be lovely.”

He gave her a look that implied the corkscrew had more intelligence than her.

“No,” he said firmly. “I’m not interested in anyone who would fill out an application.”

“You’re very critical and your mother is just trying to help.”

“Are you in on this?” he demanded. “Is there a plan to torture me?”

“No. Any torture is just a happy by-product.”

“Funny. Very funny. I don’t remember you having this much attitude fourteen years ago. I liked you better then.” He poured the red wine she’d bought and passed her a glass.

“You didn’t know me then,” she reminded him. “I was your girlfriend’s little sister. You barely spoke to me.”

“We had a special relationship that didn’t require conventional communication.”

She laughed. “You’re so full of crap.”

His dark eyes crinkled with amusement. “And you’re not the first woman to tell me that.” He touched his glass to hers. “To me being idiotic enough to come home.”

“You’ll settle in and your mother will calm down.”

“I hope so. I know she’s excited about having me back, but this is ridiculous.”

Isabel thought about the time after Ford left—when she knew her heart was going to break. “You almost never came back to town. Was that because of Maeve?”

He leaned against the counter. “At first,” he admitted. “Mostly I stayed away because being around my family was too complicated. They wanted to get involved in everything—especially my mom. I became a SEAL my third year and that was intense. I couldn’t talk about what I did or tell them where I was going. I took the easy way out and avoided the situation.”

He sipped the wine. “Maeve wasn’t wrong to break up with me. When it happened I would have told you I’d miss her forever. But within a few weeks, I realized she was right. We were kids, playing at being in love. I guess she has the real thing with Leonard.”

Isabel tried to read emotion into his words. She couldn’t tell if he really didn’t mind that his ex-girlfriend had married the guy who’d come between them or not.

“They’ve been married twelve years now,” she said.

“The kids are more impressive. What’s she up to now?”

“Four with another on the way.”

He swore. “That many? I didn’t know Leonard had it in him.”

“Me, either. He’s an accountant now. He started his own company and has several impressive clients. He’s doing well.”

“With a family that big, he’d better be. How do you feel about being an aunt that many times over?”

“It can be overwhelming,” she said, which was mostly accurate. In truth, she’d been living in New York for the past six years and hadn’t been around her family all that much. She doubted Maeve’s youngest could pick her out of a lineup. She and her sister didn’t talk much, either. They’d both been busy and they didn’t have all that much in common.

Guilt poked at her, making her think she should call her sister and arrange a visit.

“You okay?” Ford asked, studying her.

“Fine. You’re not the only one with family issues.”

“Probably, but I’m the only one with a mother who set up a booth at a Fool’s Gold festival with the sole purpose of finding me and my brother wives.”

She laughed. “That you are.”

* * *

THEY PULLED TOGETHER dinner pretty quickly. In addition to the steaks, Ford had provided two russet potatoes. Isabel popped them in the microwave, then made the salad. She carried both their glasses of wine outside while he heated the grill and put on the steaks.

“You can use the grill anytime you want,” she said. “I don’t mind.”

Ford flipped the steaks, then closed the lid. “Thanks. I may take you up on that.”

“Meat good?” she asked.

He grinned. “Meat and fire. And beer.” He reached for his glass. “Or wine.”

She studied him, taking in the broad shoulders and easy smile. She searched for some hint he was still dealing with his time in the military, that he’d been scarred by all he’d seen, but there was no indication at all. If he had ghosts, they were the kind only he saw.

“Did you like being a SEAL?” she asked.

“Yeah. I liked being on a team. I also liked that we never knew what was going to happen next.”

“Certainty and variety. Two key components to happiness.”

He raised his eyebrows.

She shrugged. “I have a marketing degree, but I also have a minor in psychology. People like a sense of security. It’s hard to have fun if you’re starving or homeless. But we also like variety. Positive change engages the brain.”