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“Just some more water, please,” I replied.
“No problem.” She left us alone.
“The bakery is up for sale?” I asked Seb as soon as she was out of earshot.
“Was,” he corrected me, rather dryly. “It was a secret. Alison and Martin want to retire.”
“But they just upgraded the kitchen.”
“I think that’s why they did. My mom said it was old and was negatively effecting the price, so it was worth it for them to upgrade the appliances.”
“Makes sense. I wonder who bought it.”
He dipped two fries into ketchup. “I have no idea. I bet my mother knows.”
“Is there anything she doesn’t know?”
“Yes, how to keep her nose out of my life.” He bit off the end of the fries and grinned.
“Well, I won’t argue that.” I cut my burger in two and split the halves.
“Do you know who bought it?” Seb asked, and I glanced up to see Johanna was back with a big jug of cold water in her hand.
Shaking her head, she refilled my water and set the jug down between us. “I have no idea. I didn’t ask, if I’m honest, and she didn’t offer. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. It’s not like anything stays secret in this town.” Her lips quirked in a knowing smile, and she glanced between us. “I’ll leave you kids to your lunch.”
Thank God she didn’t say date.
I was going to stab myself with my fork if I heard that again.
My phone buzzed as I took a bite of my burger. I used my napkin to wipe the corner of my mouth as I reached across the table to retrieve my phone.TORI: Dinner. Tonight. Don’t forget.I wrinkled my nose up. I’d already managed to get out of it yesterday, but there was no way I was going to be this lucky again.
Seb quirked a brow. “Who’s that?”
“Tori. Telling me to not forget dinner tonight.”
“Oh, is that the one where you all talk about me all night?”
“I sincerely hope not,” I muttered, turning my attention back to my phone.
“I’ll be right back.”ME: I won’t.That didn’t mean I was going to let her get away with this.
I opened my message thread with my sister.ME: Can we have dinner tonight?Her reply was instantaneous.IVY: …You mean all of us, at the bar, where you don’t have to talk about Sebastian?ME: Yes. All of us. Including Sebastian.IVY: OOOOOH. It’s that bad, huh?ME: No. It’s not that bad.IVY: It’s that bad.ME: Shut up. And bring my baby so I can cuddle her.IVY: I am not bringing MY baby to a bar.ME: It’s not just A bar. It’s your family bar. It’s totally okay.IVY: You’re insane.ME: I feel it today.ME: Can you at least come with your husband so I don’t lose what little slivers of sanity I have left?IVY: I’m laughing so hard I just peed a little.ME: TMI.IVY: Yes, we’ll come. Kai’s grandma is in town and wants to see Tegan anyway, so his mom is having her for a few hours tonight to give us a break.ME: Now I feel bad for making you come to dinner.IVY: Good. You should. Do you know the last time we had alone time?ME: When you got pregnant?IVY: No. I was in labor. I would rather not do anything that could lead to that hellish experience again.ME: And I would like to never hear the story again.IVY: I’ll be sure to save it for dinner tonight.ME: Looks like I’m coming down with a violent stomach bug.IVY: Shut up. I’ll call Mom and ask if she can put two tables together for us. Seven?ME: Seven people?IVY: O’clock.IVY: Baby’s crying. Gotta go.I rolled my eyes and put my phone back down right as Seb came back.
“Everything okay?” he asked, taking his seat across from me.
“Hm? Oh, fine.” I sipped my water. “Dinner tonight? At seven? Everyone is meeting at Bronco’s.”
“You’re actually inviting me to dinner?”
“It’s a group thing, baller. Cool your jets.”
He stared at me for a long moment, then said, “I suppose I can fit you into my busy schedule.”
I answered with a very simple gesture involving the middle finger of my right hand.
Then finished my burger.***So as it turned out, it was harder than I thought to dress for a dinner date with all my friends when one of those friends was someone I was frustratingly attracted to.
Lunch with Seb hadn’t done me any favors. By the time we’d both finished eating, we’d fielded questions from three other people about our budding relationship. The news had spread through town quicker than I’d expected, and because of that, I hadn’t had a moment to breathe all day.
At least that was what it felt like.
What I really needed was a long, hot bath, and a long, warm sleep in my bed.
And wake up, like, next week, maybe.
That’d be great.
I finally settled on jeans and a t-shirt with a knitted sweater. Like it really mattered—it was absolutely freezing outside and had been snowing all day, resulting in the town being covered in a steadily growing blanket of white shit that probably meant I’d be walking to be work in the morning.
