His steady brown eyes calmed her instantly—how did he do that? She started to reach for his hand before remembering where they were. He caught her fingertips, giving them a quick squeeze before releasing her.

“Nana put me on grill duty,” he said. He studied her face. “You look upset. What happened?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Zoey.” His voice was barely a whisper, then he gave her a soft smile. “Go grab the platter of burgers from the kitchen and join me at the grill.” He dipped his head to meet her eyes with a playful grin. “No one will think twice about you and I arguing over how to cook hot dogs.”

She got the burgers from Maura and met Mike outside, where two grills were blazing. He’d put the hot dogs on one, and she put the burgers on the other. Mary stepped outside and laughed when she saw them together.

“I hope everyone wants their hot dogs burned to a blackened crisp,” she announced loudly, “because that’s how Zoey likes them. My brother, on the other hand, wants his burgers so rare they’re still mooing when they go in the bun.” She pointed at the two of them. “I love you guys, but try to meet in the middle on cooking times, okay?”

Everyone laughed and went back to their own conversations, giving Mike and Zoey a semblance of privacy at the grills.

“I’ve never seen you grill in a dress before—be careful.” His voice was low and slightly amused.

She rolled her eyes. “I know how to wear a dress and still function, thank you very much.”

One of his eyebrows rose. “I know that. You look nice, by the way. Really nice.” He leaned his head closer. “I look forward to peeling that off you later.”

She licked her lips, then shook her head sharply. “None of that talk here. We agreed to be friend-friends today, remember?”

“That was before you sashayed in here looking like sunshine, babe.”

She stepped back, shaking her spatula at him and fighting a smile. “Knock it off. Everyone’s watching.”

His gaze flickered up to the house and back to her. “No one is watching. They just want their dinner.” He made no effort to hide his smile. “And I just want you.”

“Seriously, Mike. We cannot do this here. My daughter is in the house.”

The light in his eyes cooled so quickly that she wondered if she’d been worried about the wrong obstacle to a future with Mike. Maybe living up to Becca’s example wouldn’t be enough. He said he’d told Becca he wasn’t ready to have children. How would he feel about helping to raise someone else’s child? If he wasn’t ready to be a stepparent, then what was the point of bringing him into Hazel’s life at all?