I bit my lower lip. Sounded like drama to me.
His voice sounded sad, resigned almost, but I was startled when he let out a long laugh. “I know I’m losing it, but you are, too. Mom knows about the divorce already, by the way.”
Divorce?
Was Perry somehow secretly married and getting a divorce? Maybe there was more juicy gossip in Amberfield than I knew.
“I just… always thought you two would be together. I know sometimes things end, though.” He cradled his phone on the other ear, kicking a pebble toward the street. Damn, if Silver Fox Chef didn’t have a fine ass on him, too. Round and perfect under his fitted pants.
Did I really miss doing squats so badly that I was getting jealous of other guys’ asses, now? My brain was in the filthiest corner of the gutter tonight.
“I really did hate Stu, though,” Perry was saying. “He told me I was boring. And he liked pineapple on pizza—I can’t be with a guy who treats his taste buds like that.”
Fuck. He was hilarious when he was drunk. I couldn’t contain a quick laugh that bubbled up in me.
Perry whipped around, his baby blues going wide as he saw me. I froze under his gaze, holding up my hands in defeat, a guilty eavesdropper caught in the act.
“Sorry,” I mouthed at him silently. But secretly, I was glad he caught me.
4
Perry
My cheeks burned hot as I hung up the phone, sliding it into my back pocket.
“I thought I was alone,” I said. Rock was standing there watching me, a sheepish smile on his face.
Ironically, Cooper and Chloe’s nickname for me was Foreveralone. Perry Foreveralone, destined to be single forever, much to my family’s disappointment. I would have been offended if the twins weren’t just twelve year olds poking fun. Perry Foreveralone sounded more normal to me than Perry Erickson, these days.
And yet the one time I wished I was actually alone, Rock had been right behind me. Taunting me like a gorgeous calendar model of a firefighter, all muscle and bulk and endless charm.
I swayed on my feet a little as I looked him up and down.
“I promise I haven’t been standing here long,” Rock said, still holding up his hands.
At this point I had more alcohol in me than the tequila lime chicken marinating back in the kitchen. I was woozy, and something about being outside alone with Rock felt dangerous when I was still feeling drunker by the minute.
Not dangerous like I was going to get hurt. But dangerous like I was going to say something I shouldn’t. To my boss’s younger brother, no less.
The glow of the streetlamp cast Rock in a hazy orange glow almost like candlelight. His chestnut brown hair was all sexy-messy, like he’d just rolled out of bed looking like he was ready to break hearts.
I forced myself to look away from him, glancing back at the front door of the tavern. I’d forgotten something in the kitchen, but what the hell was it? Peaches? Burgers?
Rock used his big plastic ankle boot to kick at a pebble on the ground. “Stu sounds like a prick, by the way.”
I massaged my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. “You heard that part, too?” I protested. I would have been happy to disappear into the ground right about now.
“Somebody trying to set you up with a guy you hate?”
I groaned. “A guy I’ve already gone on two dates with. I really would rather be ‘forever alone’ than go out with him again. I still remember the smell of his pineapple-cheese breath when he tried to kiss me.”
Rock laughed, his velvety chuckle filling the air.
His laugh was infectious. Multiple times the past week, I’d heard Rock’s laugh carry through from the bar when I was working in the kitchen. It had already become a Red’s Tavern fixture.
“My mom has tried to set me up with women I didn’t like before,” he said. “You’ve gotta stay strong. Tell people off if you need to.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m not going to tell anyone off. That wouldn’t fly in my family,” I said. “But I’m never going on another date with Stu.”
“Damn right,” he said. “No one should ever have to date anybody they don’t want to.”
I sure as hell wasn’t taking Stu to the Erickson family reunion.
I finally managed to look Rock in the eye again. He was holding back a smile, and the dimple on the right side of his lips was on display.
It made my chest ache. He reminded me of every stupidly hot jock I’d had a crush on back in high school, the guys who never knew I existed as I daydreamed about them, every time they walked past my locker.
Except Rock was a thirty-six year old firefighter who definitely noticed me. Probably only because he liked the food I served, but still.