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I felt my lips twitch into a hint of a smile. “You good?”
She pressed her lips together. “Mm-hmm.”
As much as I wished she was thinking about me, I knew better. She was probably lost in thought about her story.
On the drive, I had a chance to see how damn gorgeous she looked tonight. I was glad for the black outfit in some ways. With any luck, it would hide my reaction to her.
Leaning forward, she turned on the radio and immediately wrinkled her nose. “You listen to sports radio? Who listens to that drivel?”
I lifted a shoulder.
She looked over at me with her mouth open. “You don’t listen to music?”
I grunted something noncommittal.
“You really are a caveman,” she muttered, playing around with the stations until she found something in hard rock that she deemed acceptable. She was a horrible singer, but she did it with such gusto it didn’t matter.
When we pulled into Kiley and Ilya’s driveway, my teammate Calder and his date were just arriving.
I winced seeing the baker from Kiley’s wedding, Kendalia, who looked like a living skeleton. I hoped it wouldn’t bother Phoebe when lately she actually seemed to forget about her body.
“Hey, man,” Calder said, holding the door for us. “Good to see you.”
I nodded. “You too.” I ushered Phoebe inside ahead of me while I introduced the two of them.
Calder gave Phoebe a warm smile. “It’s so nice to meet you. This guy’s almost tolerable when you’re around.”
She giggled. “Yeah, he’s a beast sometimes. And who is your date?”
He held his hand out and the woman came over to him. “This is Kendalia. She brought dessert and you will not be disappointed.”
Kendalia held out her hand. I felt relieved when Phoebe took it easily asking all about her.
Then we were greeted by the four-legged pair. “Roscoe and Amelia.”
Phoebe crouched down and gave them love and cuddles. “Well, aren’t you just the most handsome boy ever? And you, Amelia. So stunning!” She beamed up at me. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but a small apartment doesn’t really work for one of these majestic breeds.”
Kiley bustled over from the kitchen. “Come in, come in everyone. Make yourselves at home. Appetizers and drinks are on the island.”
Phoebe took a deep inhale and clutched her chest. “It smells divine in here.”
Kiley grinned. “Bacon macaroni and cheese.”
Phoebe’s eyes went wide as she looked from Kiley to me, back to Kiley. “Wait, you’re Molly’s mom, right? The bacon chef?”
Kiley pulled her in for a hug. “You must be Phoebe. Molly hasn’t stopped talking about you since she met you at the truck the other day.”
Kiley pulled Phoebe to the kitchen to do their girl talk thing, so Calder and I took a seat on the sectional.
Ilya came over to us with bottles of beer. “Hey, guys. How are things?”
Calder looked back at Kendalia who was in the kitchen with Kiley and Phoebe. With a goofy grin on his face, he looked back at us. “Great!”
Ilya tipped his bottle toward me. “What about you?”
I grunted. What was there to say?
When Chris and Joy pushed through the door, Kiley ran over to her best friend, Joy and grabbed her into a tight hug. Ilya wasn’t far behind.
