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After Emma had gone out, I smiled. “She’s so lovely.”
“She really is. So sweet, like a delicate little fairy,” Ally said, sipping her beer.
“Hmm, I don’t know about that. I don’t think you could nurse in Cambodia for years and be delicate.”
“You’re not wrong,” Lucy said quietly. There was something in her voice that had both Ally and I looking at her curiously. But she didn’t say anything further and the air fryer beeped, so the subject was dropped.
I emerged from the guest house, plates in hand, just as Matt and Gabe piled the last of the concrete in the skip. “That smells amazing.” Matt stripped off his gloves and tucked them in his back pocket. I handed him one of the plates, but didn’t let go of it when he went to take it. As he’d walked toward me, a smile on his face and his eyes on mine, I’d been hit, almost overwhelmed, by a storm of emotions. Yearning. Longing. Need. Desire. Matt tilted his head to the side, a question in his eyes. I could only imagine how I looked, standing there staring at him.
Forcing myself to smile, I said, “It does smell terrific, doesn’t it? Jake, here’s yours.”
“Thanks.”
“Gabe.”
“Thanks. I could eat a horse, I’m that hungry.”
“That really is the weirdest expression.” Emma said as she handed out beers, thanked Ally when she gave her a plate, and took a seat. I sat down next to Matt, resting my plate on my lap, taking a bite of pie and moaning with satisfaction.
“So good, Ally.”
“Ducking delicious, if I do say so myself,” Ally replied, popping a potato wedge in her mouth and moving to a seat on my other side.
“I’m sorry, ducking?”
“Autocorrect. I dropped the F-bomb in front of Mom the other day.”
“Oh no. She didn’t take it well?”
Ally pressed a hand dramatically to her heart. “Ooh, Allegra, non avrei mai pens to di sentirti parlare di quella sporcizia. Mi spezzi il cuore!” She sank back into her chair, her eyes closed in a faint, bouncing up impishly again when everyone laughed.
“What does that even mean?” Emma asked.
“‘Oh, Allegra! I never thought to hear such language from you. You break my heart!’She only ever speaks Italian to me when she’s really upset, so I knew it was serious.”
“You’re right though, it is ducking delicious.” Matt raised his beer, reaching across me to tap his bottle against hers.
“Amen. Cheers.” I joined in as the others raised their beer bottles and we clinked our bottles together.
“You guys going to the bar tonight?” Lucy asked.
“Of course. You?” Jake replied.
“Thought I might. What about you, Zara, Ally, Em? You wanna come? There’s a game on. Who’s playing, anyone know?”
“Knights versus Bulls,” Jake replied. “Should be good.”
I looked at Ally, saw the no rising to her lips and turned back to Lucy, shaking my head. She was unconvinced.
“Oh, come on, why not? I’ll drive, so you can have a few drinks. It’ll be fun. Please?”
Her obvious disappointment was no match for Ally. “Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. We’d love to come, yeah, Zee?”
“Yes, for sure.”
“Perfect! I’ll pick you up at seven, yeah?”
“That’d be great, thanks.” I finished the last of my pot pie just as the truck with the gravel arrived and started backing down the drive. I took Matt’s empty plate, and he went to meet the driver.
