“Alright, we’re going back.” Luke nudges her away from the table. “You can tell me the names of the rest of the songs now that you know to listen for them.”
“Okay. Bye, Rose.” She raises two fingers to her eyes, then turns them out to jab toward me. “Ask her.”
Rose raises a hand to her mouth, trying to hide the way her lips twist with laughter as they walk away.
“She makes an enthusiastic yet frightening wingman,” I say.
Rose hip checks me. “I love her.”
I knew she would.
I also know I shouldn’t ask the question that’s about to come out of my mouth, but apparently, I can’t stop the tide any more than Jovie can.
“Do you want to come to dinner on Sunday?” My skin goeshot and cold at once. Suddenly, I’m a teenager again, asking a girl out for the first time. Pretty sure I wasn’t this nervous then.
She turns to face me, her mouth wry. “I can’t help but feel you’re asking under threat of pain.”
“A bit, yeah. But not just from her. My mom has mentioned it.” A few dozen times. “No pressure. Whatever you want is fine. But if you want to…I’d like you to come.”
The simple statement leaves me feeling laid bare, like she can peer between my ribs straight into my heart. She’ll see all the wants I’ve been crushing down for months, as powerful as if I’d never tried resisting them. Gazing at her now, I can’t remember why I ever tried.
“I want to come to your family dinner.”
The yawning ache inside me sighs in relief. “Good.”
Staring at Rose like my life depends on whatever she does next, it takes me a minute to register the three young girls hovering on the other side of our table. Giggling. With their phones aimed straight at us.
I stifle a groan. My foolish pining face is going to be all over the internet again.
Rose and I have just about got our equipment packed up for the night when Nathan walks over, looking self-satisfied. So. I was right that at least some of them were saving up their meddling.
“Why, hello, Rose.” He steps closer to help her with the tablecloth she’s holding. “Did you enjoy yourself tonight?”
“I really did.” They maneuver back and forth, neatly folding the black fabric. “The bands were great, and it was a beautiful night.”
“That sunset, right? The kind meant for romantic moments with someone…special.”
Okay, so Jovie’s already informed him of everything she said tonight. At least it’s not in the group chat. Probably. I had to mutethe thread. I couldn’t take a breath without my phone buzzing fresh notifications of familial amusement at my expense.
“So pretty.” Rose puts the folded tablecloth in a tote bag with the rest of the coffee cart’s supplies. “Hopefully you weren’t too busy at the medic tent.”
“Nothing serious. Sunburns and headaches, mostly. One guy came by who pre-gamed a little too hard and I funneled cups of water to him until he started to perk up, but that’s about it.”
“Pre-gaming for a concert in the park,” I mutter.
“He’s a serious music fan.” Nathan’s boyish grin shines out. “I came by to make sure you invited Rose to dinner on Sunday.”
I close the tote holding our supplies with a snap. “I thought Mom said no questions.”
“That was for the nugget. I didn’t agree to that.”
Rose laughs. “He did ask. And I told him I’d love to.”
“Excellent.” He helps me break down our folding table as if he’s part of our crew. “We might be overzealous, Rose, but that’s just because Reed’s never?—”
I clear my throat, indifferent to how obvious I’m being. He’s worse.
I’ve never brought a woman to family dinner before. It never seemed right to get someone I wasn’t serious with that involved in my family’s lives. Maybe I didn’t want to share that much of myself. I’ve been told once or twice I’m emotionally unavailable, and it’s true, to a degree. I’m not a heart-on-my-sleeve guy.
