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Tiago and Cas had made enough food to cover my contribution as well, something I was grateful for. I could cook but had no clue what to bring to something like that. I was pretty sure my usual rabbit food wouldn’t go over well. My brother had made a Fourth of July cake, a sponge cake with red Jell-O on top, decorated with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and blueberries, all to resemble the Stars and Stripes. A little cheesy but also cute, and it tasted like my childhood. Yes, I had the honor of testing it when he made the first version the day before.
“Tomás!” Auden called.
He was sitting at one of the tables with Keaton next to him. Two of their four kids—the two younger ones, so if I remembered their names correctly, Dani and Milton—were seated across from them.
“Hi!” I waved, and a chorus of greetings came back.
“Come sit with us.” Auden gestured at the empty spot next to him. “Or were you already hanging out with others?”
“Tiago and Cas are on their way, but they’re picking up Cas’s sister and her girlfriend. But there’s plenty of space for them to join.”
I slid onto the bench next to Auden.
“Want me to get you some food?” Dani asked, much to my surprise.
“She enjoys doing stuff like that,” Auden said with a smile. “Plus, little Miss Energy here has trouble sitting still for too long, so it’ll give her something to do.”
“Oh, in that case, sure.”
Dani got up. “Do you have any allergies? Preferences?”
I chuckled at how seriously she took her task. “I’m not a huge fan of fish, but other than that, I’m good with whatever.”
“Let’s skip Mrs. Brown’s tuna salad, then,” Milton said, also getting up. He leaned in toward me. “It’s not that good anyway, and I do like tuna.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said, and they were off.
“They seem to get along well,” I said to Auden.
He shot a proud look at his husband. “They do. We’re both still a little surprised by how well both our families has blended. We expected more trouble, to be honest.”
I squeezed his shoulder. “I’m so glad to hear that.”
“Oh, look.” Keaton raised his hand. “There’s Fir and his kids.”
Fir. I swiveled my head, and yup, he was walking toward us with a kid on each side. Well, they weren’t kids anymore, both as tall as he was. The moment he spotted me, he missed a step. He caught himself but then looked away.
“Wanna come hang with us?” Keaton asked Fir when he was close enough.
Fir cleared his throat. “Sounds good. Where are your kids?”
Auden gestured vaguely. “Dani and Milton are getting food for Tomás, and the other two are hanging out with friends somewhere.”
“Can I go find Violet?” Gabe asked.
“Me too, Dad?” Josiah joined in.
“Sure. Have fun.”
Fir sat down opposite me, and our eyes met, then held. “Hi,” I said softly.
“Hi.”
Keaton snorted. “You two need to practice pretending you barely know each other. You can cut the sexual tension with a knife.”
Auden elbowed his husband. “Hush. Let’s pretend we didn’t notice that.”
“Why? Teasing them is so much more fun.”
