Jack was looking at his father with daggers in his eyes.
Lars stared back passively.
Oh fuck. The air in the room was silent for a beat.
"Dad, please don't hit on my girlfriend. You're a dirty old man." Jack laughed.
Relief poured out of me and I laughed a little too loudly.
"Alright, you two playing games has already held up breakfast." Lars said as he stood up. "Kate is bathing the girls and I would like the food to be ready by the time they're done. Liana, Jack tells me you make excellent pancakes. Help me, would you? Boys, get everything else ready." Lars commanded.
We all made our way into the kitchen and as Lars and the boys got everything ready for breakfast, I mixed the pancake batter and made my way to the stove. Lars stood beside me and started cooking on the grill. My stomach growled loudly as the smell of seared bacon filled the air.
"Did you work up a bit of an appetite, my dear?" Lars asked loudly.
I shot him a sideways look but didn't respond.
"Cat got your tongue?" Lars whispered.
"More like a dog actually." I whispered back, not lifting my eyes from the pan to look at him. What the hell was he playing at?
Lars and I didn't talk to one another again while we cooked, but each time Jack came over to kiss my cheek or compliment my cooking, he looked at me with darkened eyes. It was pointless, all things considered, but the last thing I wanted to do was cause a rift between a father and son. I could tell by the look Lars kept giving Jack that I had already done just that. It was an incredible relief when Kate and Livvy came running into the room.
The grandkids took all of Lars' attention. It was sweet watching him play with them. His eyes lit up as if there were fireworks behind them, and his perfectly sculptured face that I had really only seen serious and intent with desire, erupted with a smile that radiated happiness. I was so focused on Lars that I forgot my cooking duties and blackened the batter in the fry pan. The smell of carbon jolted me back, and once I had gotten rid of the now ruined pancake and started on a new one, I chanced another quick look at this carefree Lars only to have Gavin catch my eye. I busied myself back at my station, but it was too late.
"What was that all about?" Gavin asked as he came to help me with cooking what Lars had abandoned.
"What was what all about?" I looked at him with what I was hoping were blank and confused eyes.
"I noticed it yesterday, the way you and dad look at each other, whisper together. I don't think I have seen you apart since you met yesterday afternoon."
"I guess we have been talking a lot. We just get on well, I suppose." Yeah, like a fucking house on fire.
"If you're planning a surprise for Jack's birthday, let Joey and I know, ok? The more of us there are, the better." Gavin smiled widely.
Relief was followed by a tsunami of guilt. I should have been planning a birthday gift for Jack, not thinking about how his father made me ache in a most incredible way. I wanted to scream in frustration.
I decided then and there that I would stay as far away from Lars as possible. I couldn't help my attraction to him but I could keep my distance. I knew that Jack could never know what happened.
Selfishly, I was saddened by my decision but I knew it was the right one. And honestly, the very least I deserved was feeling a little miserable after what I had done. I looked over at Jack, who at that point was playing with one of the girls and her toys, and I knew I didn't deserve him either.
I finished cooking the last pancake and threw it on to a platter while Gavin did the same with the sausages and bacon. We took the food to the table and the rest of the family followed like a pack of hounds.
It was only once we sat down and loaded our plates with food and filled our mugs with coffee, that I realized how ravenous I was. I took a large gulp of coffee, and it was fortifying and calming as it burned through me.
It was decided that the plan for the day was nothing but lying by the pool, except for Sarah and the girls heading off the see the new Disney, followed by a traditional German all-meat feast courtesy of Lars. I relished the idea of lying in the sun and getting a tan before heading back to work on Monday, but lying around meant ignoring Lars would be difficult. All I needed to do was make sure that I wasn't alone with him. I couldn't believe I had gotten myself into this mess.
When we had finished breakfast, Joey and Peter had taken charge of the cleaning up while the rest of us got changed into our swimwear.
Jack sighed in appreciation as I got undressed and slipped on the new one piece I bought when I found out we were spending a weekend with his family.