Love Knows No Bounds by Brooke Moss, Nina Croft, Boone Brux

therapist? And if it did, did I really care? I caught a glimpse of myself in the kitchen window. The hair on one side of my head was standing up. Yikes. I guess I did care.
    “Well, it sounds like you’re going to have a great visit,” I told her politely, trying to smooth out the red line my pillowcase had left on my cheek with my thumb.
    “Thanks. Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”
    Holy crap, she really was going to fix me up with her brother. I didn’t know whether to be annoyed or excited.
    “You see, my brother is going to be working at the resort. Their pastry chef is out of commission for a few weeks, and Leo owes the restaurant manager a favor.”
    “Um, okay?”
    Gianna laughed breezily. “I’ve been racking my brain, trying to think of ways I can help Bowen, and I think I might have come up with a good idea. Bowen loves to cook with you, right?”
    The wheels in my mind started to turn, and I smiled into the phone. “Yes. He loves cooking. Tonight we made enchiladas. He got refried beans all over his fingers, and didn’t mind until we were done.”
    “That’s wonderful!” I heard Gianna tapping her fingers on something. “So, my idea is to get Bowen in the kitchen a couple afternoons a week before dinner service starts. Leo can work with him, teach him some fun techniques, and help him get his hands dirty. I’ve explained Bowen’s sensory issues to him, and he understands that this isn’t always going to be easy, but he’s prepared to teach him some recipes and try some easy concepts. You’ll be there to monitor, of course. But I’m hoping that it will be as good for Leo as it is for Bowen.”
    Bowen was going to cook with the hot guy with the tattoo who’d sworn in front of a lobby of kids? It all seemed too far-fetched. I mean, sure, I wanted Bowen to have fun cooking, since cooking was the one thing he actually enjoyed doing—instead of Star Wars toys or Transformers, he collected cookbooks—but with this Leo guy?
    “Um, I don’t know.” I bit my lip. “Does he have time? I mean, it sounds like he’s going to be pretty busy if he’s filling in for someone.”
    “Well, in all honesty, Leo says he owes me a favor.” Gianna paused, and I waited for her to explain further. What kind of favor did her brother owe? But I was left wanting. “I really think this would be an amazing treat for Bowen that wouldn’t cost you a cent. Won’t you consider it?”
    Bowen. My heart tugged, and I leaned against the kitchen counter, defeated. Gianna knew that my weakness was my boy. If it meant making him happy, I was going to relent, despite my reservations about her brother.
    “All right. Okay,” I said finally. “He can do it.”
    Gianna whooped with joy. “Oh, thank you, Anna. I’m so hopeful that he’ll love it in the kitchen.”
    I couldn’t help but smile. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and it’d gotten me through many a dark day over the past few years. “Me, too.”
    “So listen, how does Friday sound to you? You mentioned once that you get off work in time to pick up Bowen at school. Is that right?” She was talking so quickly, I only picked up every second or third word, and I was pretty sure I heard pots and pans clanking in the background. And the sound of her brother swearing.
    “Yes, that’s right.” I pressed my lips together tightly. Did I really want my son hanging around with this guy? Well…he was nice to look at— really nice—but he wasn’t exactly the type to work with kids.
    “Friday it is. Meet Leo at the Resort restaurant at three thirty. He’ll be waiting for you.” Gianna sounded excited, so I tried to soak up some of her enthusiasm through the phone.
    “Okay, then.”
    “This is going to be a good thing, Anna. Bowen will love it.”
    I certainly hoped so. We said our good-byes, and I hung up the phone. The silence of my little house surrounded by the pine trees of the inland northwest filled my ears. Such a vast