on the coffee table and an incredibly sexy man sprawled out on the corner of my couch. For a moment, I just wanted to drink in the view, but he waved me to sit down.
"If I can't have a date yet, at least let me buy Gabby dinner so you don't have to cook? I figure some pizza so we can hear all about this play and which parts she's interested in."
"You don't have to do that," I said. "I can whip something up for us, and I'm sure you have a lot more interesting things to do than listen to my daughter ramble on about high school gossip."
"You mean listen to someone be excited about something she's passionate about? No, I can't really think of anything. Elena, if you want me to grab Trent and go, just say so, but I'm honestly excited for her."
And it felt like he actually was. Not that he was here to get into my pants, but that this man really cared about what my kid was doing in school. The truth was that Gerardo had never shown this much interest, and I liked it. I also kinda liked the attention, yet I was trying to push him away out of habit.
But that wasn't being strong. It was being stubborn, and when I'd left my husband, learning how to be strong had been my goal. That meant I had to tackle the awkward things - like dating as a single mom - and make sure I acted the same way I'd want Gabby to. Proud of being a woman. Confident about herself. Willing to take what she wanted, and accept it when good things happened - oh, like a few hot guys wanting to get to know her.
So I nodded slowly, debating the wisdom of my next words. "You know how to cook?"
"I do," he admitted. "Why?"
I grabbed my glass and stood. "Let's compromise. You can help me make dinner. See, having a kid to think about means a lot more than just slapping down a credit card to make her go away. That's what her father tried. She's a commitment, so if you're honestly interested in me and not joking about the whole date thing, then you need to figure that out up front."
Leaning forward, he claimed his own glass and lifted it in a mock toast. "Here's to proving I'm honestly committed. What are we cooking, and do I need to call the guys for more?"
"How many?" I asked.
He slowly pushed himself to his feet and stepped closer. "See, I have four brothers, and we're a matched set. If you think one daughter is a lot of work, you're sadly mistaken. We all have families to care about, Elena. Mine's just bigger. We're cooking for seven, and we're eating at the table because Gabby deserves to have someone make a big deal out of this. You're just going to have to tell me where everything is."
For some reason, that was what it took to make me realize this man was serious. I still couldn't figure out why he was so invested in either my daughter or me, but he clearly was. But that wasn't the part that got me. He actually understood where I was coming from, and he was doing his best to prove that he was willing to play within my rules.
"I'm not sure I have enough meat for that many people," I admitted.
His lips curled in a boyish smile. "I think I can supply enough meat. Steak or salmon?"
I just lifted my hands. "I'm not picky."
He slapped a hand across his eyes. "You're making these jokes entirely too easy. You know that, right? I mean, you're asking five men to bring you a selection of their meat?"
Realizing what he meant, I sucked in a breath and pressed both hands over my mouth. "Oh my god! No!"
So he took one more step closer. "Sounds to me like we need to expand your horizons a little, but for tonight, I think steak will do." Then he reached up and eased my hands away from my face. "You are so beautiful. You know that, right?"
Out of habit, I glanced down. "No, not really."
"You are. You also deserve to be spoiled like this. And I know it doesn't hurt for Gabby to get used to the idea of the neighbors being friends as well. Means you won't have to make an excuse when one of us comes over to do nothing more than