No Matter What (The Billionaires of Sawgrass #4) - Delaney Cameron Page 0,63

house. Thanks for bringing it.”

“No problem.”

Owen drew up alongside them on his bike. “Hey, Reece! Do you want to see Baxter?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

“Baxter is so funny!” Owen said, awkwardly dismounting from his bicycle. “He’ll be playing, and then all of a sudden, he’ll go to sleep.”

Robin reached over and ruffled Owen’s hair. “Kind of like what happens to you sometimes when we’re eating dinner.” She flicked her glance to Reece. “You’re welcome to join us. For dinner, I mean. It’s nothing fancy. Just Shepherd’s pie.”

He would have eaten mud pie to get the chance to spend more time with her. “Don’t you already have a crowd with Kait and Miles?”

“They’re having dinner with Kait’s parents tonight.”

“In that case, I accept. I’m not entirely sure what Shepherd’s pie is, but it has to be better than the ham sandwich I was planning to eat.”

She cocked up one eyebrow. “Is that the best your personal chef can do?”

Reece burst out laughing. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t have a personal chef. What I do have is a very nice lady who comes in to clean the house, do the laundry, and so on. June’s daughter Lydia comes with her to help and also cooks dinner for me. They’re living it up in Vegas this week, thus the reason for the ham sandwich.”

“Reece!” Owen screeched from the garage. “Are you coming?”

“You’re being summoned,” Robin said. “I’ll be in there as soon as I finish trimming. There’s iced tea and lemonade in the refrigerator. Help yourself.”

He reached over and removed a stray leaf from her hair. “You’re kinda like the perfect glass of lemonade. Just the right combination of tart and sweet. It’s one of the reasons you’re so exciting to be around.”

* * * * *

It was a good thing Reece didn’t wait for a reply because Robin didn’t have one. In silence, she watched him accompany Owen into the house. Only then did she release the breath she’d been holding. Yesterday he’d told her she was beautiful. Today he said she was exciting to be around. Neither of those things should have caused so much agitation or confusion.

She couldn’t place the blame at his door. Reece was just being himself. In his mind, his comments yesterday and today were no different than those he’d made about her appearance at the fundraiser or when she’d fainted on the dock. The change was in Robin. Somehow she’d gone from taking his compliments in stride to finding intense pleasure in them. But that wasn’t what was worrying her the most. It was realizing that a part of her wished his words were intentional rather than more evidence of his charm.

By the time she finished trimming the bush, she’d walked herself back to a more comfortable position. This was Kait’s fault. If she hadn’t spent the last two days making her case for Reece being interested in Robin, this wouldn’t be happening. Everyone knew about the power of suggestion. Here was proof that on at least a subconscious level, Robin’s brain had picked up on Kait’s nonsensical ramblings. It was a good thing she’d caught herself in time!

She put away the hedge shears and washed her hands in the utility sink in the garage. A smile touched her lips when she walked into the house and spied Reece and Owen sitting on the living room floor playing with Baxter. No need to worry about them for a while. From the sound of things, all three of them were having a great time.

While she waited for the oven to preheat, she whipped up her favorite honey chipotle dressing for the salad and then transferred the Shepherd’s pie she’d assembled earlier from the refrigerator to the oven. The half hour it would need to bake gave her the opportunity to make herself more presentable.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, she felt ready to face anything. When she passed the dining room on her way back to the kitchen, she found Reece and Owen setting the table. Here was another Instagram gold moment, to use Kait’s terminology, but Robin wouldn’t need a picture to remember it. She was suddenly struck by the irony of the situation. A few months ago, she’d thought Wade would be the one doing these things. Instead it was Reece.

There was no lack of conversation during the meal. Owen made sure of that. The three of them talked about everything from their favorite movie to whether hard or soft tacos