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Addy stomped to the walk-in with the shrimp and yanked open the door hard enough to make Delaney chuckle. She had no dog in this fight, but watching them spar over something so trivial was definitely the most entertainment she’d had in months. It felt good to laugh again.
“Batman is a bored billionaire. It’s not like he’ll move on to clean up the next town when Gotham is all sorted.”
“Of course not. Captain America isn’t exactly traveling the world looking for bad guys.” Clara pointed a knife at Addy before adding it to the napkin with a metallic clunk. “Also, wasn’t the guy in a coma for seventy years or something?”
Addy sniffed. “He was frozen. I don’t see what that has to do with being the best superhero.”
“He was literally sleeping on the job forseven decades!”
“At least he was BORN!”
“What in the hell is going on in here?”
All three women jumped at the sound of James’s voice from the doorway. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black sweater, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, revealing muscled forearms. That was certainly something she shouldn’t be noticing. Or appreciating.
“Addy was informing everyone—loudly—of her wrong opinion about Captain America,” Clara said with a toss of her long blonde hair.
Addy mumbled a string of curse words under her breath. “Delaney was supposed to be settling it for us. Well?” She pinned Delaney with an expectant look when she didn’t immediately respond.
Delaney’s hands fumbled with all three sets of eyes on her, and she felt heat flood her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I haven’t seen any of the movies. I’m no help.”
“What?” Clara’s eyebrows shot up, and Addy’s mouth hung open. “You’ve never seen a single superhero movie? Not even an old one?”
Delaney shook her head and started rolling silverware again. “I don’t really watch much TV.” Hadn’t been allowed to.
“But these are…are…”
“Classics,” Addy finished. “You have to watch them. You should come over on Monday, and we’ll binge as many as we can.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’ll be fun!” Clara insisted. “We can watch them all in chronological order for maximum effect.”
“I’ll make pizza. My homemade pizza is to die for.”
“It really is. I bet I could get my sister to make brownies too.”
In a finger snap, they had gone from fighting to plotting, making a list of which movies were more important and which were fringe, and Delaney could barely process the switch. James caught her eye from across the room, lifting his shoulder and giving her a casual smile.
“Excuse me for interrupting,” he said, a little louder than their animated conversation. “Thanks so much for your time.”
Delaney’s lips twitched at the sarcasm.
“I’m heading out for a few hours. Mike should be here soon to man the bar and run food.”
“Oh, that’s right. Today’s the first day of the tr—” James cut Addy off with a sharp glare. “Thing,” Addy said instead.
“What thing?”
Addy shared a long look with Clara until understanding finally lit her green eyes. “Ohhh. Right. That thing. My dad was telling me about it the other night. I think it’s great.”
“You two try and behave yourselves,” James said, slipping his arms into his coat.
“Us two? What about Delaney?” Clara fixed her painted mouth into a pretty pout.
James met Delaney’s gaze and held it for a beat longer than necessary. “Out of the three of you, she’s the least of my worries. I’ll be back before the dinner rush.”
Without another word, he slipped out the back door, and she heard the deep growl of his engine as he pulled out of the lot.
