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19
Shelby
“Hi,” Aria said as she hurried over to our table at the venue. “Happy Valentine’s Day, guys.”
“Thank you,” I said, grinning up at her.
Paul had bought the tickets for our five-course meal but made sure to leave a snarky remark in the comment box for his sister to find. But then we arrived and were totally blown away by the beauty of the white, gold, and red decor throughout the outdoor pavilion. He couldn’t have looked prouder of what Aria had put together if he tried.
I’d always loved their relationship. He was as fiercely protective of her as any big brother would be, but he still understood that she was her own person. Well, except for when it came to the guys she dated. He couldn’t help but stick his nose in to offer his opinions or scare a certain type of guy away. According to Paul, if he was the type of dude who was scared of a grown woman’s older brother, he wasn’t man enough for her anyway.
“No Valentine’s Day date for you tonight?” Paul asked her, taking a sip of his beer. Red wine probably would have been more Valentine’s Day appropriate, but he hated it, and with me, he didn’t need to pretend in order to look fancy.
Aria rolled her eyes. “Please. Event planners don’t get to enjoy their own events. But I did have a Galentine’s Day brunch with Lyndi and Layla yesterday.”
“Hey,” I said, my mouth hanging open, “where was my invite?”
“Uh, hello, you’re officially booted from our Galentine’s club,sister.” Aria pointed between me and her brother with a wry smile. “And while I am very happy for you both, I will say that we missed you.”
“Yeah, well, you can’t have her back,” Paul said. “Now, are you our server or are you just here to crash our date again?”
Aria smirked down at him. “You don’t want me as your server. Not unless you want a hot plate of scallops on your lap.Bye.”
Paul and I laughed as she walked away, scurrying off to oversee her amazing event. I pouted at him over the top of my menu. “I can’t believe they booted me from the Galentine’s club. I just assumed they weren’t doing it this year, but it didn’t even occur to me that they’d stopped talking about it in the group chat with me.”
“It’s a strange new world we’re living in.”
“You can say that again.”
We turned to our menus then, and my stomach growled. I’d intentionally eaten even lighter than normal today so I could save up my appetite for this evening. I knew it would be intense with five courses involved, and as I looked them over now, I mentally prepared to have a food hangover tomorrow.
“You know what’s good about fancy dinners when you have a heart condition?” Paul asked.
My brows snapped together. “What?”
“The portions are always ridiculously small. That will be great for you and rough for me. I bet I’m gonna have to hit up a drive-thru on the way home.”
“Hmm. That’s actually a good point. You should bring me to fancy dinners all the time.”
His eyes widened. “Oh no. Dating you is gonna be pricey, huh?”
“The priciest,” I replied with a laugh.
In reality, Paul knew I was the best kind of cheap date. I didn’t drink, had a small appetite, and I lived in a studio apartment, so I didn’t really see the point in buying too much stuff. Where would I even put it?
“Hi, Shelby,” Janie, our server said when she approached our table, smiling at both of us. She’d graduated from high school last year and had been on my dance team. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Hey, Janie, how are you?” I asked.
“Good, thanks. Do you guys need a minute to look over the menu?”
I looked at Paul. “Are you ready?”
“Ready if you are.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing over my menu one more time to make sure I knew what I wanted. “Do you want to share the seared scallops with bacon and pomegranate jam for our appetizer?”
“As long as Janie brings it and not Aria,” he said with a wink.
