AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Emily smiled. “Well, Piper loves the lasagna. Right, sweetheart?”
Piper nodded eagerly. “Lasagna is my favorite.”
“Mine, too,” Lincoln added.
Lincoln and Piper grinned at each other.
An idea popped in my head. “You know, my mom has the best lasagna recipe. She used to make it once a week when I was a little girl. I’d love to make it for all of us sometime.”
“Really?” Piper asked.
I nodded. I would love to make Piper a nice home-cooked meal like a real mother would. “Sure.”
“Maybe we could do that for one of our future get-togethers,” Emily suggested.
I frowned as I thought about the preparation. I couldn’t exactly make lasagna in my hotel room, and my parents’ house was out of the picture because of my father.
Lincoln’s brow furrowed. “What is it, Liv?”
“Well, I don’t exactly have a place to cook.”
Piper’s face fell. “It’s okay, Miss Liv. You don’t have to.”
The disappointment in her eyes broke my heart. I hated that I’d let her down already when we were just starting to get to know each other.
“Hey, my parents are going out of town in a couple of weeks for their anniversary. We could do it then. We’d have the house to ourselves the whole weekend,” Lincoln offered.
I smiled. “That would be great. Could you check what date?”
Lincoln took out his phone. “Sure thing. I’ll be right back.” He got out of the booth and walked outside, pressing the phone to his ear.
I turned my attention to Tim and Emily. “I’m sorry about the weird situation. I can’t exactly cook in a hotel, and I don’t want to be in the way while his parents are home. His mom wouldn’t let me do anything if she was there; she would insist on doing it all,” I joked.
Tim and Emily laughed as Lincoln walked back in. “The first weekend in June,” he informed as he sat back down.
“Would that work for y’all?” I asked.
Tim shrugged. “Works for us.”
“It’s a date, then,” I said, winking at Piper.
She giggled, and the sound warmed my heart. I was so thankful that Tim and Emily were being so understanding, and that I was given a second chance.
After looking over the menu for a few more minutes, the waiter came to take our order. Once he left, we chatted about the previous week.
“How was school, Piper?”
“Fine.” Her stormy blue eyes brightened with excitement. “I have a habitat project coming up.”
I loved projects when I was in school so to see Piper’s excitement made me happy. “Oh, really? Have you decided what you want to do?”
She shook her head despondently and sighed. “No. Do you think you could you help me? It’s the last project of the year and a big part of my grade.”
I was surprised, to say the least. I glanced at Tim and Emily, who nodded. “We figured you were the expert on the subject, so if you have the time, we’d love for you to help Piper.”
My heart swelled with joy. “I … I’d love to help.”
Piper grinned from ear to ear. “Yay! Thank you, Miss Liv.”
