Katy insists we put our cover-ups back on to eat. Amie twists her way back into a cute halter dress and I slip my arms into my kaftan again. Paloma slips into a loose, floaty playsuit to cover her high-waisted,vintage pin-up-style bikini, while Katy covers her swim shorts with a pair of palazzo trousers that boast splits up to her thighs.
“I just think it’s nicer when we’re eating,” she says, adjusting the straps of her cropped vest.
“I mean, we’re uncouth, but we’re not that uncouth, K,” Amie laughs. “Tie me up?” She spins and lifts her hair for Katy to tie the halter straps in an intricate bow.
“Speak for yourself,” Paloma says with a wink. “I was planning on stripping naked for food.”
“You plan on stripping naked far too often, Lo. I can’t keep up.”
“Single girl’s gotta do what a single girl’s gotta do.”
“And what is that, exactly?” Jay’s voice joins the conversation as his hands clamp down on my shoulders. They’re cool and slightly damp, like he’s just been retrieving drinks and dishes from the fridge. I flinch at the initial contact, and then relax as he rests his chin on top of my head.
“Get dicked,” Paloma answers matter-of-factly. “Or get—whatever the girl equivalent is.”
“Get pussied? Get clitted?” Amie posits some options and Katy snorts.
“A scissor-fight?” I offer. Jay wrinkles his nose.
“Lip syncing,” Katy says decisively after a moment of thought. Paloma and I both snort and snicker. Amie groans. Jay simply shakes his head with a smile.
“Sorry I asked. Food’s up. Race ya to the potato salad, Rooey.”
By the time we reach the table on the porch, everything has been laid out, and Cam is serving meat and corn cobs fresh from the grill. Maisy is in Everett’s lap, a corn cob already between her hands and melted butter smeared around her wide grin. Amie and I take seats on either side of Everett, and Jay fills the seat on my other side. Katy sitsnext to him, with Paloma on her other side, and Cam sits next to Amie, his chair so close they’re practically touching.
“This looks amazing, guys, thank you for cooking.” Amie scoops a spoonful of potato salad onto her plate, and a smaller one onto Maisy’s, before cutting a piece of steak into small pieces for her daughter.
Thank yous echo around the table, and then the only sound is cutlery on plates for several minutes.
“You’re spoiling him.” Katy breaks the silence to admonish Jay, who is dropping pieces of meat under the table for Pup.
“Tell me I didn’t see you sharing your steak with him two minutes ago, Princess.”
“You didn’t see me sharing my steak with him two minutes ago.” Katy remains deadpan until the final word, when a sheepish grin curls her lips. “I can’t help it, those eyes do me in every time.”
“Pup have dinner too?” Maisy holds out a forkful of potato salad towards Jay.
“Pup has his own dinner, Maisy Mouse,” Amie explains patiently. “It’s kind of you to share, but you should eat yours.”
“I eat mine,” Maisy agrees, shoving the fork into her mouth.
I glance around Everett to see Cam nudge Amie’s arm, and she looks up at him with a dopey grin. Everett seems to notice the same thing, because he nudges my arm to get my attention. When I glance up at him, he leans down to kiss me softly. Maisy giggles.
“This potato saladslaps, Roo,” Paloma says through a mouthful of food. Katy hums an agreement, swallowing first before she speaks.
“Is this another Granny Bevan recipe?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” I say, hiding my smile behind my glass of wine. I spoon some pasta salad onto my plate before grabbing a second corn cob. The corn is perfectly charred and smothered withenough butter to have it almost dripping, and my mouth waters before I even take a bite.
“I’ll give you the recipe, Princess,” I hear Jay say lowly as he presses a kiss to his girlfriend’s temple. Her smile is the brightest, most pure smile I think I’ve ever seen, and it guts me a little that I ever resented their relationship.
Everett raises his beer bottle with his free hand, and his voice startles me from my thoughts back into the present.
“To family,” he announces. “To you guys, for letting me in. For making Ruth the woman she is. And to all of us, and the memories we’ve yet to make. And to Cam. Happy birthday, buddy.”
“To family.” Cam is the first to raise his own bottle, and everyone else follows, echoing both the toast and the birthday wishes.
“Roo?” Amie looks over at me, and I push my chair back from the table.
