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“Mmm, stubbornness is a family trait I see.”

“She doesn’t need to work as much as she does anymore. Between Lena and me contributing, she shouldn’t be working herself so hard,” Sloane said.

It had made sense when Sloane had been too young to do much more than grab the occasional odd job. But with him and his sister old enough to have full-time jobs so they could contribute, and his youngest sister being the only one left in the house, his mother should be less hard on herself. Yet, she was not a woman to be deterred so easily. Sloane could confidently say his mother should no longer be working sixty-hour weeks as she had when he’d been younger.

“Maybe she likes being busy,” Trisha offered.

“Or she just likes giving me a headache,” Sloane grumbled.

“It’s a mother’s prerogative to torment her son, or so my mom likes to tell me,” Trisha said.

Sloane eyed her. “Please tell me you’re not the one working the double with me tonight. I’m not sure I can handle any more of this heart-to-heart.”

Trisha looked up from her book. “Nope, going out tonight, but you and John will be best buddies all night.”

Sloane stared for a moment before leaning forward to check the roster. Sure enough, Simmons’ name was right there next to his, all the way through to morning.

Sloane groaned. “Damn it.”

DEAN

Spinning the pen on the desktop, Dean shifted his phone between his face and shoulder. Grabbing the computer mouse, he opened the schedule for the day, looking it over.

Marco chuckled in his ear. “Gotta say, I was a little impressed that you beat me.”

Dean grinned. “I told you, nothing gets between me and good food, not even a whole lot of spice.”

“Not even my family can eat more curry than me,” Marco said.

Dean smirked. “Well, now you have someone who can outdo you.”

“Well, in one way anyway.”

Dean glanced over his shoulder, making sure Troy wasn’t around. “If I recall correctly, I was keeping up with you just fine in that too.”

“True. For someone who hasn’t been with anyone in a while, you certainly didn’t seem to have too much difficulty.”

That wasn’t strictly true, though Dean wouldn’t correct him. In the six months Dean had been back on American soil, he’d taken a few opportunities to have fun. No one said that being madly in love with your best friend meant you couldn’t get laid,and in fact, Dean had found it helped. He wasn’t going to tell Marco about his liaisons, however, any more than he would tell the man about his complicated emotional relationship with Sloane.

Dean leaned back in his seat, grinning. “I guess I made a good impression then.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“Hey, you’re not alone. I found myself a little impressed too.”

“Well, that’s always good to hear. A guy likes to hear when he’s doing things right.”

Dean wasn’t going to argue. He and Marco had only been seeing one another for a few weeks, and last night had been the first time Marco had made a real move. Sure, the man hadn’t wasted the chance to get in a good kiss on their first date, and a few instances of kissing and heavy petting reminded Dean of high school. Yet Marco had waited until the night before to try anything further, which Dean considered a mark in his favor.

And despite the worries and doubts in the back of his mind, he’d enjoyed himself.

Marco chuckled. “I think the real question I have to ask is, when do I get to see you again? Unless you were planning on loving and leaving me.”

Dean laughed. “You’re right. The past three weeks have just been me waiting to get into your pants. I’m just using you for your body.”

“I’m going to take a leap of faith here and say you’re full of shit.”

Dean grinned. “You’re right because I’m actually using you for your knowledge of excellent food places. Seriously, that’s four dates now, and the food has never been anything short of amazing.”