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“You helped with these fantastic-looking pepperoni rolls?” I put my arm around him and he nods proudly at me.
“I couldn’t have done it without him,” Felicity says, beaming at him.
Owen hurries to the table. “We should eat fast. Felicity has to go soon.”
“Oh.” I glance at Felicity, trying to school my reaction to her in that dress. “You have a date tonight?”
She laughs. “Yes, I do.”
My throat gets a tight, itchy feeling and I loosen my tie.
“With the girls,” she adds. “Actually, I think your brothers are going too. At least Wyatt and Theo are…and Jamison too. You should come.”
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude on your plans.”
She makes a face before handing me the pepperoni rolls. “It’s a plan that came together while we were making dinner. I didn’t want to interrupt you while you might be driving home or I would’ve invited you myself.”
“Can we go, Dad? Can we?” Owen looks at me with pleading eyes and Felicity’s expression turns apologetic.
“Sorry, I should’ve run it by you first,” she says softly.
“I wondered why the guys called me back to back,” I say. “Haven’t had a chance to check messages yet.” I take a pepperoni roll and groan when I take a bite. “Wow…amazing.”
Felicity and Owen high-five each other and it’s quiet the next few minutes while we eat.
“There might be a call from Ruby too,” Felicity giggles, “to see if you can talk Callum into going.”
I snort. “Fat chance in hell.”
I dig a quarter out of my pocket and pass it to Owen before he points to the curse jar that Dakota introduced him to. She’s only four and thinks Owen, at eight years old, is the master of all things, but he latched onto the curse jar like it was a revelation. Dakota manages to get more money out of everyone than Owen does in this house, but he’s working on that.
“What time is everyone going?” I finally ask.
“7:30. Drinks and dessert,” she says.
“You got enough energy to be out past your bedtime?” I ask Owen, knowing it’s a pointless question.
“It’s Friday night and I stay up till at least nine thirty on Friday nights!” he insists.
I chuckle and finish my bite of pepperoni roll. “True. I guess we could go for a little while.”
“Yes,” Owen says, eating faster.
“Seriously, this food.” I take another roll. “If you can’t decide what you want to do next, you could always open a restaurant.”
Her cheeks flush with my praise. “Thank you. I do enjoy cooking a lot. But my parents would kill me if I chose something like that…” She lifts a shoulder.
Her expression gets tense when any mention of her future is made.
“Is there anything you’re considering?” I ask.
She bites her lower lip and shakes her head. Her expression is so forlorn, I feel bad that I’ve brought it up.
“Well, you’ve got time to figure it out,” I tell her. “I don’t have much advice on the matter except this: Do something you love.”
“Do you love being a judge?” she asks.
“Some days,” I say, laughing. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
