"The dogs can come too or the kids will be pining for them. In for a penny, in for a pound," she said like it was no big deal.
Wyatt was amazed and grateful. "I'm going to owe you so big."
Lara was up for that. "And I'm gonna cash in. I like to take a trip to Ashbury for shopping and a girls' night out. Then the slumber party will be over at your house."
"It's a deal," Wyatt told her. he couldn't wait to let Sam know.
When he went back to rejoin the boys, Wyatt saw that Mrs. Del Rio had stopped by their table. With her was a cute, young guy who might have been in his early twenties. She had her arm around him, and when Wyatt came up to them she introduced him.
"This is my grandson, Enrico Del Rio. I'm showing him off to everybody. Say hi to Wyatt Hayes and his nephews DJ and Riley," Mrs. Del Rio said.
"Nice to meet you," Wyatt said to Enrico, who didn't look thrilled to be paraded around.
"He'll be staying here with me for a while. Just like when he was a little boy, he runs straight into my loving arms every time he runs away from home," Mrs. Del Rio said with a chuckle.
"I didn't run away from home. I'm just taking a break from school," he protested, but she had already moved on to another topic.
"He's here just in time to volunteer for the festival. You boys are going to be signing up, isn't that right?" Mrs. Del Rio asked DJ and Riley, while her grandson took the opportunity to escape.
"Us?" DJ said and looked up at Mrs. Del Rio, his blue eyes wide.
"Yes, you. You'll be in the parade, won't you?" she told him and chucked him under the chin.
"What are we talking about?" Wyatt wondered.
"Why, the Peach Blossom Festival," Mrs. Del Rio said. "We have it every spring."
"The pie one is better," Hannah said as she came over too.
"A pie festival?" Wyatt said.
"We have that in the summer. Pies as far as the eye can see," Mrs. Del Rio said.
"And the boys will be in some parade?" Wyatt said since this was the first he was hearing about it.
"They'll be the Little Peaches on Parade. It's the most adorable thing ever. They are part of the Peach Blossom Parade that passes down Main Street, which is renamed Peach Street for the occasion," Mrs. Del Rio said, but Wyatt was still a little lost, maybe because he wasn't giving her his full attention.
While she was telling him about this parade, Wyatt was only half listening. His attention was on Sam who was over by the wait station talking to Enrico. For no good reason, Wyatt felt his insides clench. A sudden burst of jealousy overwhelmed him, and he couldn't take his eyes off the guys.
They were just talking. Wyatt had no reason to react like he did, but he was suddenly intensely aware of just how amazing Sam was, how incredibly desirable.
Enrico wasn't bad either with his hazel eyes and dark hair, but he might not even be gay. Though Wyatt thought that he was.
So they were both great-looking and about the same age. That was no reason to obsess about them chatting, but Wyatt just couldn't talk himself out of this fixation and the fear that Sam could be stolen away from him when he only just found him.
In the meantime, Mrs. Del Rio was still talking about the festival, and Wyatt realized he should be paying attention so he would know what was going on. There was some good news in what she said. She expected Wyatt to volunteer and Sam too. She was hinting that they might get to work together.
Sam came over with their order, and Wyatt was glad to see that Enrico wasn't anywhere in sight. Wyatt smiled up at Sam, and Hannah caught him up on what they were talking about. "For the Little Peaches Parade, the little kids wear these round, Styrofoam, peach constumes and wobble down the street," Hannah said and she cracked up. "When they fall, it's just hilarious. Shawn fell all the time."
"You were in it too, young lady," Mrs. Del Rio told her.
"But I had a sense of balance," Hannah claimed then she turned to Wyatt. "You'll have to be there as a spotter. When they fall over, you have to pick them up."
"I won't fall," DJ claimed defensively and Riley followed his lead.
"Me either," Riley said.
"I'll still be there just in case," Wyatt told them. He was looking forward to seeing them dressed up as peaches and taking lots of pictures and video.
