“Yeah, she’s a good one.” Not that he was gonna put Lilah’s business all out there, but he was glad when Amanda seemed to let the subject drop. Lilah still wasn’t speaking to her father after he actually tried to arrange a marriage between her and a business partner who was older enough to be her father’s college roommate. His uncle Gerald was a good guy, most of the time, but after he raised seven boys, quiet, shy, but smart as hell Lilah confused the fuck out of him.

He didn’t understand that she didn’t need to be taken care of and he definitely didn’t understand that her single status was of her own choosing, not because she wasn’t any good at talking to men. Half of Big Rock’s single staff members and unfortunately a couple of the married ones were in love with her. Sam knew she’d take the plunge when she was ready. He just didn’t know if she’d forgive her dad in time to extend an invite to her parents for Zach and Evie’s wedding.

“Anyway, yeah. She’s made me watch many an episode of The Bachelor.”

“And you love it, don’t you?” she laughed, taking another sip.

“You know who loves it? Jesse.”

“Really?!”

“He pretends he doesn’t, but every week he’s right in front of the TV with Lilah.”

“Jesse’s an interesting guy.”

“He is, but enough about my family. I want to know more about you, Cha-Cha. We don’t have to talk about work, but I want to know everything else.”

“I mean, I’ll give you the entry-level information. A girl has to have her secrets.”

“True, true.”

“Let’s see. I’m an only child. My parents met when they were, like, eight. Started dating in middle school and have been together ever since. My mom is a nurse at the University of Providence, which I think I mentioned before, and my dad is a facilities manager at the Port of Providence. They are both allergic to dogs, so I don’t have to tell you that my childhood was pure misery.”

“Oh shit. That’s just cruel.”

“Isn’t it! They used to get so pissed though ’cause I would just bring home random animals and be like, ‘What, it’s not a dog.’”

“What kind of animals?”

“Oh, anything. Squirrels, raccoons. I trained some of the birds in our neighborhood to bring me random seeds and crap. And of course my crowning achievement, a skunk.”

“Nah, you’re lying. You didn’t skunk whisper a skunk.”

“Yes, the hell I did,” she laughed. “I tried to convince my mom to let me keep it, but then it was more about convincing my mom not to drop-kick it off our back porch.”

“What happened to it?”