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“I want to help.I…” He winced.“I don’t know much about food…stuff.”He waved his hand around.

“Sure.”Make sure he knows it’s no big deal.“I’ll get out of the way so you can wash your hands.And if you pet Wally, feel free to wash them again.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

He squirted some liquid soap into his hands.

I showed him how to use the touchless faucet.“I renovated this place two years ago.I could’ve upgraded houses, but I love the charm of this house and the friendliness of the neighborhood.”

“I thought everywhere was friendly in Gaynor Beach.”

I placed a cutting board in front of him, added a package of fresh strawberries, a colander, and a knife.“You want to wash the fruit thoroughly.Then you call pull the green stems off.Finally, you chop.”

He eyed the knife as if the thing was going to jump up and attack him.

“Why don’t you do the washing and then I can show you how I chop?There’s no wrong way, okay?I mean, we can eat the berries whole.They just happen to be a little big.Although I don’t care if juice runs down my chin.”And I’d so love to lick it off your neck if it happens to run down.God, I had to stop thinking of him this way.We’d barely known each other three days.He hadn’t shown the least sign of being interested in me as anything other than a friend.Also, given he was clearly one of Anthony’s clients, he might also be in a precarious position.Finally, being a patient of Dr.Martin’s usually meant some kind of issues.He needed space, not me wanting to take him to my bed.

“I’m not really into making a mess with my food.”He met my gaze with uncertainty, his green eyes appearing a shade darker than I remembered.

“Then we chop.”I grinned.“Now what size would you like your hamburger?”

“Not too big?”

“I can do that.”

And I did.I showed him how I made the burger, explained—when he asked why I used a different cutting board for the garlic—about cross-contamination and foodborne illness.I showed him how to chop strawberries and how to make a three-bean salad.By no means was I a gourmet chef, but I realized immediately he had no idea about any of this.Had he never cared for himself?I supposed plenty of people made it into their twenties without knowing how to cook, but I worried about him over next door by himself.If he needed help, I was all about offering it.

I just had no idea how to figure out what he needed and not seem overbearing.

We enjoyed our meals in the solarium with the nice air conditioning.The day outside was quite humid and really hot.Not a breath of wind off the ocean.Conversation meandered through very innocuous subjects.I didn’t ask any pointed questions, much as I was dying to.

He didn’t offer up any great insights as to why he was living in James’s house.No clues as to where he’d been before or even what his plans were now.He’d mentioned a visit to the library—and meeting Scott.

Clearly Scott had made a positive impression on Phillip, for which I was glad.The man needed to know people would be there to support him if he reached out for help.

Iwould be there to support him, if it came to that.I could only hope he’d have the willingness to reach out.

We washed the dishes together, and then Wally rubbed against Phillip’s leg.

“Does he need to go out?”I eyed the dog who’d snored throughout entire meal, not even rousing to the scent of well-cooked burgers when I brought them into the house after grilling them on the barbecue.

“Yeah.”Phillip placed the last plate in the dishwasher.“We need to get going.We’ve imposed enough.”

“No imposition.”

“It’s a workday.”

“It’s a Friday.”I corrected him with a smile.“I’m the boss, and I make my own schedule.I have my phone on me at all times in case of a crisis and, as you can see, there hasn’t been one.Look, I know it’s still hot out, but how about a stroll down to the boardwalk?We can even go to the beach.”

Phillip glanced out the window.“I really don’t…not today.I’m super tired.”

Having no idea what he’d done before meeting us at the park, I couldn’t even begin to argue.“Tell you what, why don’t we go early in the morning?Before the sun’s too high.I’d enjoy that.”

He eyed me.“Don’t you need to run?”

“I can go for a run tonight when the heat dies down.My training is flexible right now because I don’t have any marathons in the next month.”

“Right.A marathon.I couldn’t walk a mile, let alone run twenty-six miles.”