第1章厨房春潮-我的妺妺h

As he sat back and leaned his head against the chair, the cool morning breeze and the warm glow of the early sun washed over him. He wished these peaceful moments could last, but he quickly shook off the thought, knowing he couldn\'t fully enjoy the quiet morning with everything weighing on his mind.

For now, though, he set those thoughts aside, focusing on strengthening his bond with Samantha.

While waiting for her, he began to think about how best to achieve this. Given the early hour and the fact that they were outside, Don figured that making progress in the physical intimacy department was out of the question.

With limited options, he concluded that conversation was the best route.

"The real question is, what should I talk about?" Don mused, tilting his head slightly and resting his chin on his hand as he contemplated the matter.

It didn\'t take him long to reach a conclusion. \'I\'ll stick to the original plan—ask her what she\'s been up to while the old Don was away in Colombia. At the very least, it\'ll show I\'m genuinely interested in her life. I just need to make sure I pay attention and take note of anything useful.\'

Just as Don reached this conclusion, he heard the backyard door slide open. Turning his head, he saw Samantha stepping out with a large tray in hand. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to gain her favor, Don immediately stood up from his seat and walked over to her.

"Let me help you with that," he offered.

It seemed like a small, almost pointless gesture, but it was enough to make Samantha smile warmly at her son. She stopped in front of him, shaking her head with a smile. "Oh, you don\'t need to. Just take your seat, and we can start."

Ignoring her words, Don reached out and took the tray from her hands. "I know, but since you cooked, the least I can do is help with this," he said warmly, then added with a joking tone, "Here I am, trying to be a gentleman, and my own mother is rejecting my advances. And you say I\'m the bad influence?"

Samantha laughed heartily, shaking her head at her stubborn son. "Fine, since you\'re so insistent on being a gentleman, go ahead and carry the tray," she said with a playful roll of her eyes.

With a smile, Don walked ahead and placed the tray on the table, pulling out a chair for Samantha in an exaggerated manner. "Your seat, madam," he said in a fake professional tone, exaggerating his movements.

Samantha giggled, stopping just a few inches away from him. She brought a hand to her face, as if at a loss for words.

Don wasn\'t an expert when it came to women, but he knew how important it was to make them laugh. The more someone found joy in being around you, the more they\'d associate that happiness with you—and in turn, seek your company.

That was one of the reasons some girls preferred the company of their male best friends over their boyfriends.

Thankfully for Don, Samantha didn\'t seem to have any major male influences in her life. The sooner he established himself as the one who made her laugh and smile the most, the better.

Unaware of Don\'s deeper planning, Samantha took her seat, her cheeks slightly rosy and a small smile playing on her lips. Once she sat down, she muttered, "You\'re too much, honestly."

Don shrugged at her comment as he poured her a glass of wine. "There\'s nothing wrong with treating my mom the way she deserves to be treated."

Samantha\'s smile grew, but it lacked the joy of her earlier ones. As Don spoke, she silently wondered, \'Do I really deserve to be treated like this, though?\'

She was far from forgiving herself for what happened to Don during his time in Colombia. In her mind, she had failed as a mother.

Don noticed the subtle change in her expression but decided against alleviating her worries. It worked to his advantage for her to feel guilt every now and then. So without saying anything further, he poured himself a glass and took a seat opposite her.

"So," he began, "care to tell me a little about your work life while I was away? Any promotions, demotions, office drama, company getaways?"

Samantha raised her head, masking her guilt with a fake smile. "You make it sound more interesting than it is," she replied. "But since you\'re so insistent on getting bored, let\'s see where I should start."

She then proceeded to talk about her work life as they shared breakfast together. Don quickly realized she hadn\'t been lying when she said her work was boring. Most of the information she shared was either useless to him or revealed very little about her life.

Still, Don persisted.

He knew she was only telling him surface-level things. In any work environment, whether competitive or casual, there would always be drama or problems, and he wanted to know what those were.

If possible, he could help Samantha overcome them, leaving a big impression on her. Or, if it worked to his advantage, he could make things worse and be the one she turned to for support.

Don hoped for the former but was prepared to take the tougher path if necessary. So, as Samantha continued to talk, Don listened attentively, occasionally commenting to show his interest.

———

Don was sat back, casually sipping from his glass of wine as Samantha continued recounting a story about one of the tech seminars she\'d attended.

Her tone was light and relaxed, with just enough detail to paint a vivid picture.

Don listened carefully, taking note of every little thing he thought might be useful or insightful.

The wine seemed to be helping her loosen up a bit, though he knew better than to push her into drinking too much this early. If he really wanted to get to the more interesting stories, they\'d need way more wine—but that wasn\'t a plan for the morning.

As she spoke, Don suddenly heard the backyard door slide open again.

He turned to see a groggy Amanda stepping out, her hair slightly tousled from sleep as she yawned. She spotted them lounging with their glasses of wine and waved with a playful smile.

"There you guys are!" she called out, walking over. "Here I was, wondering where you\'d snuck off to."

Enjoy exclusives on m-vle-mp _yr.

Don leaned back, casually swirling his glass as Amanda approached. As she got closer, her eyes landed on the wine, and a teasing grin spread across her face. "Snuck out here to have a little date, huh? Scandalous."

Samantha rolled her eyes with a smile, but before she could respond, Don played along, letting out an exaggerated sigh. "That was the plan," he said, feigning disappointment. "But mom rejected my advances. Turns out she prefers bad boys over gentlemen like me."

Amanda couldn\'t help but burst into laughter, nodding in mock understanding. "Makes sense. She\'s always had a thing for guys like that since high school."

Samantha\'s face turned pink as she quickly waved off the comment. "That\'s not true!" she exclaimed, clearly flustered.

Don, seeing an opportunity, grinned mischievously at Amanda. "Oh? Sounds like you\'ve got some interesting stories about mom."

Amanda grinned back. "You bet I do! You\'d be shocked to hear what kind of mischief your mom used to get up to."

Before Amanda could say more, Samantha nearly choked on her wine, coughing as she waved her hands in protest. "Don\'t you dare, Amanda!" she warned, glaring at her sister. "If you tell him anything, I\'ll bring up that one year in middle school."

Amanda\'s confident grin faltered for a second, her eyes narrowing in mock defeat. "Ugh, fine. Sorry, Donnie," she sighed dramatically, throwing her hands up in surrender. "Your mom\'s got me there."

Don pretended to be disappointed, shaking his head. "Fine, keep your secrets. I guess I won\'t be sharing any of my stories either. So much for mother-son trust."

Amanda leaned in and gently stroked Don\'s hair, playing along with the charade. "Look at that, Sam. You\'ve broken Donnie\'s heart." She gave him a mock pout. "There, there," she cooed playfully. "Don\'t worry, I\'m not shy about sharing *my* stories."

Samantha, clearly enjoying the banter but not willing to be outdone, quickly reached over and pulled Don by the arm. Before he could react, she hugged him tightly, pressing his head against her chest.

Don didn\'t resist at all, noting that they were, indeed, softer than his pillows.

"If you really want to know Donnie," Samantha teased while stroking his hair, "I\'ll tell you, though it\'s very embarrassing."

Amanda clicked her tongue, smirking as she shook her head. "Even after all these years, she uses her assets to baby Don and stay his favorite."

Don, playing the part, mumbled from within the hug, "In my defense, mom\'s soft hugs are my weakness."

Amanda laughed and reached over to join the hug, wrapping her arms around both of them. "Well, I want some love too!" she teased, squeezing them tighter.

Just as the playful moment reached its peak, the backyard door slid open once again. This time, Summer walked out, looking groggy and confused.

She stopped in her tracks as she saw Don sandwiched between Samantha and Amanda, her face scrunching up in bewilderment.

"What the heck is going on?" she asked in confusion.

Don, still pressed against Samantha\'s chest, looked up at her with a grin. "Isn\'t it obvious? I\'m starting my day by getting hugs from beautiful women. I\'d ask you to join, but, well… you\'re still a little girl."

Summer frowned, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at him. "I don\'t *want* to hug you anyway!" she snapped.

Samantha, still holding Don, pinched his cheek. "Don\'t be mean to your sister so early in the morning, Donnie." She then turned to Summer and called out, "Your breakfast is in the fridge! Get it and come join us out here."

"Whatever," Summer muttered, rolling her eyes before heading back inside.

As she left, Amanda tilted her head toward the door and asked, "Think she\'ll be back?"

Before Don could answer, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, glancing at the screen. "Sorry, I have to take this," he said, standing up and freeing himself from the embrace.

He smiled at Samantha. "Thanks for breakfast, by the way."

"Anytime, Donnie," she replied with a warm smile, watching him as he walked back inside.

Don checked the caller ID—Gary. He sighed inwardly, knowing it was time to move forward with his plans.