still not convinced.
“I ate that cardboard quiche thing at the party. You owe me.” He handed her a bottle of water and shooed her out of the kitchen. “How about this, just give it a chance and if you don’t like it, I’ll take you out to eat. But I promise you’ll like it.”
Sam perused the house while he got to work in the kitchen. She patched into his system with her tablet and began running a diagnostic. Eden was still listed as an authorized entrant in the home and she would ask him if he wanted her removed. According to the logs, she’d visited the home about six months ago. She wondered if he knew about it. Why wouldn’t she want this home in the divorce settlement? It was their first house and the view from every window was spectacular. But then again, Seth and Tate owned the other two homes on the mountain, it would have been damned awkward to run into them periodically. She made her notes, put her gizmo away and went in search of the magazine she’d brought with her. She peeked in on him in the kitchen and noticed he’d changed his clothes. He was now sporting a T-shirt with his old team’s logo on it and a pair of running shorts. He was lean, muscled, and sexy as hell.
She cleared her throat. “Um, I have a question for you.”
“Sure.” J.J. stirred the meat browning in a cast iron pot.
“Eden is still an authorized entrant on this security system and that stands to reason she’s still in the system on other properties. Do you want me to revoke her credentials?”
He stopped stirring and scratched at his beard. That usually meant he was thinking hard about something. It was also a trait she’d noticed in all of the Blake men. They all had the classic body language tell.
“You don’t have to decide right now,” she added.
“No, I should have requested it be done a long time ago.” He picked up a cutting board with chopped onions and added them to the pot.
“OK.”
He smiled. “Dinner will be ready in a couple of hours.”
* * *
J.J. knew Sam was trying to hang in there, so he made sure they didn’t do anything too strenuous when they landed. He wanted a day to just relax and enjoy his return to Denver. In addition to visiting Blake Enterprises locations, he was getting together with some of his buddies from his football days. A few were still playing for the Colts, but some were retired like him. He’d dodged the informal reunions for years but now seemed like a good of time as any to try new things. Besides, two of them were heads of the construction company he owned.
The plane ride was pleasant, and he enjoyed chatting with Sam. She was well versed on many topics and had a strong opinion about everything. She didn’t hold back in fear she’d bruise his ego, and he didn’t mind when she called him on the carpet about some things. It was nice—different—to be able to speak his mind and disagree with a woman without it turning into a fight.
Coming home to find the house Eden-free was a bittersweet feeling. He expected to be doing some packing and reminiscing, much like he did before the house on the ranch had been demolished, but his momma had beaten him to the punch. Bless her heart for helping him move on with his life. The whole family seemed to be on a campaign of forward movement for him.
The timer on the stove dinged, which meant his cornbread was done. He called out to Sam that dinner was ready, only to find that she too had changed. She wore a pink sweat suit, which was undeniably cute, but he’d never tell her that. He suspected she liked the shark persona she exuded when she wore one of her business suits.
Sam got out the bowls and eating utensils while J.J. put the finishing touches on the chili. He put a few heaping ladles of the chili into her bowl while she protested. He loved her body, but she could use some meat on her on bones. He’d seen her eat and suspected she had a high metabolism, because she ate just as vigorously as his
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