“Your finger will go numb after ten minutes,” he told me. “Use your thumb. It’s stronger.”

Fine.

I took a deep breath and did my best to ignore his close proximity.

“You can steer the knife with the heel of your hand.” He gently brushed his thumb against the fleshy part below my little finger. “Your grip will be the tightest between your forefinger and thumb. It makes the knife easier to maneuver.”

If he said so.

Christ, he was close. His chin almost at my shoulder.

“Remember to breathe, Anthony.”

Right.

As I exhaled, I put pressure on the knife and stopped a few millimeters before it went through. And I catalogued the way my arm felt right at that point, then moved the potato just a little bit and sliced again.

It was kinda working. They were nowhere near as good as his results, but it was definitely an improvement.

“You’re doing great,” he murmured.

His praise heated me up, and for a quick second, I wondered what it would be like to have him call me a good boy. Which, just the following second, made me feel like an idiot. I was over forty, for chrissakes. I shoulda grown outta that shit ages ago.

Three potatoes later, I decided I was done for now. Improvement or not, they didn’t look awesome, and I wanted to spare the guests tonight my handiwork.

“You do the rest,” I said quietly.

“All right.”

I felt instantly bereft when he moved away. His last touch was another brush up my back, and a shiver tingled its way down my spine.

My mouth was completely dry, so I drained half my beer.

Chapter 5

Multiplied

Half a minute into “Multiplied,” the music faded except for Sylvia on the organ, and I delivered the drawn-out chorus with only the choir as backup. I heard Matt and Maria, an octave higher than my own singing, and how the crowd went nuts.

Then it was Nicky’s turn to shine. My brother plucked at his guitar as I did my best to seek out faces in the sea of people. Two faces, in particular.

Fitting with a song about surrender, ’cause it was the only thing I felt.

Today was playing out a lot differently than I’d anticipated.

An hour and a half before everyone was due to arrive, we’d finished meal prep. I’d stepped outside to call my motel and say I’d be checking in late, and I’d showered in one of their guest rooms on the first floor.