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I crossed to the stove and lifted the lid from the big pot. Inside, spaghetti sauce bubbled. “I thought I’d be the ringmaster.”
She shook her head and stood right next to me to dip a spoon into the pot. She tasted a bit of the sauce then offered some to me. We didn’t break eye contact as she lifted it to my mouth and my lips surrounded the spoon. The sauce was thick and flavorful.
“How is it?” she asked, dropping the spoon in the sink.
“Delicious. Another family recipe?”
“Not so much a recipe as a trick.” She tipped her head to the pot. “You cook the meatballs in the sauce.”
“Well, it’s really good.” I licked my lips to make sure I hadn’t missed any, and she mirrored me, her own tongue skimming to the corner of her mouth. I gripped the edge of the counter and fought to hold on to the last string of our conversation. “If I’m the juggler, who are you?”
She propped one hand on her hip, cocking her leg out to the side, posing. “Lion tamer. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” I repeated, giving in to a smile.
“Dinner’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
I backed away as she shifted pots around on the stove, turned up the heat on the burner. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Nope. Only need to boil the spaghetti.”
“Is it homemade?”
“I’m a good cook but notthatgood.”
“Coulda fooled me.” While she finished up dinner, I set the table then corralled Finn to sit in front of his plastic plate and fork. She served each of us heaping portions of spaghetti and meatballs, along with cut-up cucumbers for Finn and bowls of salad for her and me. I wasn’t used to anyone else taking care of these domestic chores, and it was…nice.
The three of us at the table together, eating and chatting. It was comfortable, like we’ve been doing it a lot longer than a few weeks.
Kennedy asked me about my day, and she filled me in on their trip to the park after she’d picked Finn up from school and their plans to go to story time at the library tomorrow.
I savored another mouthful of the tangy tomato sauce, watching Finn make more of a mess than actually get any food into his mouth. Kennedy reached over periodically to wipe his face or scoot a stray meatball his way. She made it all look so effortless. The food, the dance party, her communication with Finn. It was like she was meant to be here.
“So,” she started, once we’d both finished our food and Finn had taken off from the table again. “I decided I’m going to audition for a show.”
“Really?” I tossed my napkin to the table. “That’s great. When? Where?”
“First round of auditions is tomorrow. For a local theater production ofHairspray.”
I knew my smile was ridiculously broad, but I was so happy for her. “You’ll do great.”
Her own smile wavered. “I’m not sure I’ll get cast at all, but if I do, even for the chorus, I’ll need a lot of nights off, especially when it gets closer to the show.”
I waved away her unspoken concern. “Don’t worry about it. I want you to do this. I want you to be happy.”
“Yeah?”
Honestly, whoever led her to think she owed everyone around her something made me want to cause violence.
“You may work for me, but I don’t expect you to chain yourself to Finn.”
“He’d probably like that,” she said with a laugh, and I pointed at her with my glass of water.
“He probably would.”
“He’s funny. I love him so much already.”
I gulped down the rest of my drink and set it on the table, thinking back to Dean’s words the night this had all started at Walt’s.She loves hard, and it’s impossible not to fall in love with her right back.
