Page 75 of Home of the Brave

“Hi, Madi, good to see you too. How are the kids?”

She blew me off. “They’re fine, just like they were last week. They haven’t changed. You have.”

Kendall looped her elbow around mine and led us down the hall, following her husband, toward the restaurant. “A reporter? I’m not sure I would have guessed that, but you can’t deny chemistry.”

“Especially when it's enemies to lovers,” Amelia, the traitor, claimed my other arm.

I looked around to the guys for help, but they kept their attention firmly off us. “We weren’t enemies.”

“Well, you hated her. She didn’t think about you,” Madi giggled.

“I didn’t hate her,” I tried to argue, but it was futile; they were already moving on.

“Does she eat seafood?” Amelia asked.

“Yes, according to Cambrie, she’s not picky.” Kendall answered.

“You guys talked to Cambrie?" When?

“Of course,” Madi pointed ahead to Amelia. “She got her number at the festival.”

I glared at the back of Amelia’s head.

But I couldn’t be too annoyed with the women because minutes later the two women joined us, and here I was sitting next to Victoria, which was exactly what I wanted.

“What are you ordering?” She leaned over and peered at my menu, as if it were different from her own.

I pointed to the item. “Shrimp scampi with pasta.”

“Mmm,” she rolled her lips between her teeth and nodded.

“What are you looking at?”

“I was thinking of linguine with white clam sauce, but Cambrie mentioned the lobster roll and now I don’t know."

“Get both,” Hartman said from across the table. “Eat what you can, and I’m sure one of us will finish the rest.”

She laughed. “Oh, to have the metabolism of an athlete again.”

“It’s rude,” Madi laughed. “But we do use it to our advantage.” She winked at Erik. “He knows I’m the worst at making up my mind when too many things sound good, so he and Reese are used to finishing off what Chloe and I can’t.”

“How are they?” she asked.

“So good,” Madi beamed. “Chloe hasn’t slowed down one bit.”

“I believe that,” Victoria laughed, and our server arrived to take our order.

She listened to their advice and ordered both dishes. Cambrie ordered her roll and pointed a finger at all of us. “I will be finishing it all.”

“Understood,” Derek saluted. “No sharing.”

“Nope,” Cambrie settled into her seat with a grin.

“So how is the world of journalism?” Madi asked once the server finished.

It was minuscule, but I swore Victoria shrunk into herself just a bit.

Cambrie broke off a chunk of her bread and shrugged. “Not what it used to be, even a couple of years ago.”