He chuckled softly, shaking his head at her subtle hints about Hannah as well as her thoughts on ‘man’ time as she put it.  “Why in the world would I want to spend time with him? The only reason I hang around is because of you.  He’s just a convenient way for me to explain away the fact that I have been stalking you since graduation,” he said with a chiding smile that made the statement more playful than anything, though at the moment there was some truth to it.  At least he was stalking her at her husband’s insistence…<br/><br/>“How about we order something for dinner and spend some time out on the beach.  After dark it will be just cool enough for a fire…” he suggested, taking full advantage of her desire to cater to his whims.<br/><br/>“Actually… I’ll cook,” he said thoughtfully.<br/><br/>Without another word he walked through the kitchen, checking to see what they had on hand before he committed.  It was a rare offer, something he rarely did.  It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy cooking; it was that he’d had little time to indulge in it while in the service.  That had changed, and for better or worse he suddenly wanted to take advantage of that newly discovered freedom.<br/><br/>“Are you two willing to be lab rats for my cooking?” he finally asked with a grin that held an edge of wickedness neither of them had seen in far too long.<br/>