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The little girl stared at the salad with a frown, then glanced over to where her mom stood at the counter talking to one of her brothers. “Nope. No salad with my pizza.”
Aria chuckled as she put some of the Caesar salad on her plate. “Okay.”
“Do you want a drink?” Janessa asked as she put her plate down on Aria’s other side. “Gareth brought a variety of sodas.”
“Is there something without caffeine?”
“Probably. Do you have a preference?”
“Not really. Just no caffeine.”
“I’ll be right back.”
While she was gone, Gareth took the seat at the end of the table while the guy that Charli had been speaking with settled into the chair to his right.
“Have you met Wilder, Aria?” Gareth asked as he gestured to the man beside him.
“No. Not yet.”
“Well, this is Wilder,” Gareth said as he reached over to clap the man on the shoulder. “We also call him Wilder the Wanderer. He’s not a fan of staying put for long.”
The man shook his head in protest, setting his long curls swaying. “I stay put for most the winter.”
“True.” Gareth picked up one of his pieces of pizza. “He’s a ski instructor at the resort.”
“Have you ever skied?” Wilder asked, turning his brown gaze on her.
“No. I’ve never been a huge fan of winter sports,” Aria told him. “Or sports in general, to be honest.”
Wilder sighed. “That is just so sad.”
“Not everyone is as sports oriented as you, Jay, and Cole,” Gareth said.
“I know. But still!”
“I like basketball,” Layla announced. “Cause Uncle Cole and Uncle Jay play it.”
Janessa set a glass containing clear bubbly liquid in front of Aria. “Do you know anything about basketball?”
“Uh… a little?” Aria glanced at Janessa as she sat down in her chair. “But not enough to pass a quiz on the fundamentals of the game.”
“You’re going to get a crash course tomorrow,” Janessa said. “I mean, if you want one.”
“Why tomorrow?” Aria asked.
“Cole is playing in a game against the high school’s biggest rival. We’ll probably all be there.”
“Oh. Well, sure. That might be fun.”
“It is,” Janessa said. “Skylar is also cheering for the game.”
Aria hadn’t been into high school sports much. By the time she’d gotten to high school, making friends hadn’t been something she’d tried to do much since she and her mom had moved around so often.
The games had seemed like events for groups of friends to attend to cheer on other friends who were playing. Plus, not being an athlete herself, she just hadn’t had much interest in going.
“It’s lots of fun,” Layla said. “I can yell and scream, and Momma doesn’t tell me to be quiet.”
Wilder grinned. “Yep. The louder, the better, little sprout.”
