Free Here Comes Trouble by Delaney Diamond Page B

she’d come over, but if I tried to touch her, she’d run away. I kept doing it, and finally she let me pet her.” Arianna sighed, as if the process had taken way too long.
    “You have to be very gentle with them, Uncle Matt. You can’t be too rough, or then she won’t let you get close. So every time I touched her, I was very gentle. I pet the top of her head. Like this.” She demonstrated. “I scratch her under the chin.” She demonstrated again. “She really likes that. See? I do all the things she really likes over and over again. She likes shiny things, too, and playing with string. I play with her a lot so she’ll be comfortable with me and know I’m fun. You know what she does now?”
    Matthew shook his head, surprised at the rapt attention he was paying to this conversation with a seven-year-old about her cat. “If I sit down on the floor, she comes to me. I don’t even have to do all the things I used to do, because she trusts me now. She comes right over and climbs up on my lap and purrs.” Arianna grinned broadly. “So that’s how you take care of a kitty, okay? Next time you get one, you can follow those tips, and you won’t lose her again.” She scampered off to play in the grass nearby with the kitten.
    Roarke and Matthew looked at each other.
    Roarke shook his head. “Out of the mouth of babes.”
    “No kidding.” He may have just gotten some of the best relationship advice he’d ever received.
    ****
    Later, the rest of the men started showing up and Celeste called Arianna inside. Lucas and Xander, two of Roarke’s good friends, showed up first. Xander owned a bakery and brought dessert—a couple of apple pies and peach cobbler. Lucas showed up with his appetite and promptly stole a rib from under the foil where Roarke had set the cooked meat.
    The four of them stood around sipping beer and talking while two of Roarke’s other friends tossed a football. Matthew, glad for the opportunity to get his mind off of Lorena, looked up as the next set of guests came through the gate.
    “What’s he doing here?” he asked.
    Roarke followed Matthew’s gaze across the lawn. “Who?”
    Antonio and three friends came toward them. “The guy on the left. That’s the man Lorena’s dating.”
    “Uh-oh,” Lucas murmured. His eyes traveled between Lewis and Matthew.
    “He’s Antonio’s friend,” Roarke said. “Don’t do anything crazy.”
    “Roarke, you worry too much. I’m a grown man, and I’m smart enough to leave well enough alone.” One little white lie wouldn’t kill him.
    When the four men came over, a round of introductions started.
    “I didn’t know you’d be here,” Antonio said with an apologetic look at Matthew.
    “I changed my mind,” Matthew said.
    “It’s good to see you again.” Lewis had the same slick smile pinned in place, so phony it made a three-dollar bill look legit.
    “You talked to Lorena about our conversation,” Matthew said.
    Lewis shrugged. The others around them fell silent, watching the exchange with guarded expressions. “No hard feelings, I hope.”
    “No, not at all, Linus. I hope you don’t have any, either.”
    “I don’t. And it’s Lewis.”
    “Good.” Matthew grabbed a beer from the cooler and held it out to him. The other man watched the beer with distrust, as if he thought it might be poisoned. Finally, he took it with a “thanks.” Matthew turned to his brother. “Everybody’s here. Let’s eat!”
    Roarke gave his brother a suspicious look. “All the food is on the island. Everybody help yourself.”
    The men gathered around and loaded their plates with ribs, chicken, and sides. They talked about sports, problems at work, problems with their wives and girlfriends, and they congratulated Roarke on the impending birth of his son.
    Matthew joined in the discussions, but he remained cognizant of Lewis and couldn’t quell the feelings of utter distaste that filled him every time he looked at the other man. Part jealousy, part