Virgie was a woman with a foolish heart and it had rendered her into a hot, hot mess. It made Carmella cringe to imagine ever having her own child see her the way she routinely saw her mother.

Carmella gave herself a once-over in the mirror hanging near the front door. She had that look. The woman in the mirror smiled, sensual. That woman was one who just had a slow dance with a hot man on a summer night. Her skin was still a little flushed.

He’d said he missed her.

And when he said it, a warm wave of pleasure had slid over her. Duke made her want to sigh wistfully. His compliments were for Carmella. Or at least they felt like they were for her and not a general pickup line.

He spoke like he knew her. Even if he didn’t know half of what she had packed into the baggage she carried around. It was like he looked at her and saw to her truest self and he didn’t want to back off. Or take advantage. He just accepted it.

Even though he’d just had to apologize to her, she trusted him. Even as she knew he’d do something stupid again soon enough.

Then again, she’d trusted Clifton and look where that got her. Divorced at twenty-two and the years since then filled with all manner of people oozing into her life to try to use her connection to him in some way. Usually bill collectors, but she’d dealt with the police several times as well as Clifton himself, who managed to find her whenever he needed something.

She shook her head and then gave her hair a quick brush before pulling it back with a clip. This would be doable as long as it stayed casual. Fun. That’s what this thing with Duke was and as long as she never forgot that her heart would remain unbroken.

And as a result, they could still be friends after the sex stuff waned. People seemed to be able to do it well enough and she liked him. They were adults, damn it.

Pep talk delivered, Carmella locked up and headed back to Duke’s, feeling better by the time she found him out on the deck, his fairy lights on, some citronella candles burning to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

“Wow. This looks so pretty.”

“Thank you. I needed to make sure the surroundings matched my guest.” He took the wine off to chill and before too long they were eating a fantastic dinner and she allowed herself to enjoy it.

“This is so good and so fresh. The corn just makes it.”

“I had never eaten salmon until I ended up in Seattle after leaving the army.” Duke settled back in his chair. “Asa took me to a salmon bake. Have you been to one?”

“When I was a kid, every summer we’d drive out to Kalaloch to camp at the beach.” This was such a good memory. “The first full day we were there, we did a big one.” She would laugh and play with her cousins. Her aunt and uncle always happy to be able to take her away from her mom’s influence when they could. Her biggest responsibility was not getting sand in the watermelon her aunt had sliced up.

Duke grinned. “Exactly. It was a big one at the beach and I tried it and instantly loved it. Sometimes we get together with a big group of friends to fish in Alaska. They pack it in dry ice and send it back here. That’s what this is, but Asa and I weren’t able to go this year since we had to stick close with all the construction of the new showroom and stuff.”

“Still, pretty good friends to share their haul with you.”

He nodded. “They are. I’m going to have to invest in some of those outdoor heater things so we can keep on hanging out after work even when it gets cold.”

“Except rain. I should probably warn you now that I am not one of those Seattleites who loves to be out and about in a downpour.”

“The overhang here will keep us dry. I move the table closer to the house when it’s raining. I have an umbrella for the table, but it’s not good for heavy rain. Plus, I don’t want you unhappy.”

He really meant that. Or made a convincing act of it. It brought the flutter back to her belly.

“I won’t complain about having a nice dinner made for me.”

“That’s what I like to hear. What are you doing this weekend?”

He poured the wine, and after she snuck a piece of her salmon to Ginger, they cleared the table, and since he’d cooked, she volunteered to clean up.

And for whatever reason he found it hot to watch her tidy up so why not?

Once they’d finished, they ended up in his living room, snuggled on his couch watching a movie.

His hand was up her shirt and he was explaining just what it was he planned to do with her, when his doorbell started ringing as someone pounded on the door.

Carmella jumped, startled, nearly falling off the couch. Laughing and cursing all at the same time, Duke caught her, sat her upright, and got to his feet.

“I’m going to ignore that.”

As she was ready to have sex with the man, it wasn’t as if she wanted to argue. But his friends were persistent and kept at it until it was clear he didn’t have the option.

Carmella couldn’t stop laughing, even though she doubted there’d be any sexytimes that night. “They’re not going away.”

“I’m going to kill someone,” he muttered, heading to the door, opening it hard.

“What took you so long?” Carmella heard Mick say. “We have beer and wings.” He walked into the living room, startled into stillness when he caught sight of Carmella on the couch.

“As you can see, I’m busy,” Duke said as he came in with three more people. “Carm and I are watching a movie. We had dinner. Carmella, don’t eat those or they’ll stay forever!”