Page 22 of Handling the Boss

“I…uh…”

Jim lifted his finger to my lips.

“Don’t answer me now, I just wanted to put my intentions out there. For now, let’s get grilling. I’m starving.”

I followed him out onto the deck, admiring the view even as my mind raced at Jim’s declaration earlier. It felt like things were moving fast all the sudden, but I’d also promised Matthew I’d keep my mind open to pursuing things with this guy.

“Quit thinking so hard and enjoy the view,” Jim called from the grill, pointing with tongs towards the forested area backing up to his yard. “There’s no rush here.”

I turned to see him flipping something on the grill, and I swear my panties got wet just watching him barbecue. Jim was all sinewy muscle and efficient movements. He was wearing a tank top and shorts that highlighted his powerful body. It took everything in me not to tackle him down to the deck and ride him until we both got what we really wanted.

Thankfully oblivious to my thoughts, Jim brought over a platter of food. There was a table and chairs set up on the deck, already set for dinner. A bowl of salad and a container of macaroni salad were lined up on one side of the table, watermelon and grapes on the other. When Jim set the platter in the middle of the table, I just stared.

“What is that?” I asked, studying a cheese covered item that honestly looked kind of like a vagina. Or maybe that was just my dirty mind seeing things in the elongated oval shape.

“It’s a burger stuffed hot dog,” he said proudly. “I saw it on Pinterest.”

Before I could process that Jim liked Pinterest he explained, “You take a hot dog and split in in the middle, leaving the ends attached together. Then you stuff hamburger meat in the opening in the middle, add seasoning, and grill it. At the last minute, you add a slice of cheese to draw the whole thing together.”

“Wow,” I said as he slid one onto my plate. “That sounds like everything I never knew I needed in my life.”

He winked. “Stick with me baby, I’ll broaden all your horizons.”

Somehow I wanted nothing more than to stick with him.

We fell into easy conversation as we ate. The food was delicious, and Jim seemed thrilled that I liked his Pinterest find. Jim drank a beer while I stuck to Dr. Pepper, something I’d had occasionally when I lived up north but was super popular here in Texas.

After we finished eating, we cleaned up the grill, loaded the dishwasher, and packaged up the leftovers. It felt very domestic, and I could easily picture us doing this together for years to come.

We decided to take a walk after dinner, and I asked the question that had been tickling at my mind for quite a while.

“You’ve never been married before, right?” I asked.

“No ma’am, I have not,” he said, his Texas accent coming out strong.

“But you’ve had serious girlfriends, right? Maybe lived with someone?”

Jim shook his head. “No one serious, no, not serious enough to move in with.”

I’d suspected as much, although I wasn’t sure why. He seemed like perfect boyfriend material.

“Why?” I couldn’t resist asking. “I mean, you’ve obviously dated, but how is it that you’ve got to thirty-five without getting into a long-term relationship?”

He was quiet for so long I thought he might not answer.

“Well, as you know, I grew up in foster care.”

“Yeah.”

“The thing is with foster care, the state stops paying for you the day you turn eighteen. I got real lucky, when I turned eighteen my senior year of high school, my last foster family was willing to let me stay with them for free for two more months until I graduated. I was workin’ two part time jobs and going to school, saving up to get an apartment after graduation.”

“That sounds hard,” I said softly, remembering how I’d had zero pressure to move out of my parents’ house when I was younger.

“I found a room to rent in someone’s basement, it was a dump and probably not even a legal rental, but it was my own place, you know? The day after graduation I went to apply for a job at the factory,” he continued. “They weren’t hiring, but I showed up every day askin’ for a job in case something new came up. I figured if I could get on there and get a union job, I’d be set for life. Leo saw me hanging around every day and convinced the foreman to give me a chance. He offered me a temp job for the summer, and I worked my ass off so they’d let me stay when another job came up. And it worked. I got hired on, joined the union, and took advantage of every training class they offered. In between all that, I dated here and there.”

“But none of them was Miss Right?” I asked.

“I was really focused on making and saving up money. I didn’t want to waste money on elaborate dates or fancy things. The only thing I ever spent a lot of money on was my truck and that was kind of an impulse purchase, to be honest. Mostly I had one goal: to get my own house, something that was just mine.”