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“This has been fun,” Reese said. She took a bite of the sundae and moaned. “My God, this is heaven. Where has this been all my life?”
“Told you it was good,” Grady said. “Every evening, the place is packed and there’s a line for a block. It’s an institution.”
“We may need to come back tomorrow.”
“I’d be happy to.”
She looked at him thoughtfully. “You must have a lot of history here, and tons of friends. I hope I’m not keeping you from them.”
“I have friends. We usually only hang out to party, and I’m growing out of that, you know? I’m happy to have a quiet weekend with you. And if you want to catch that get-together with my teammates, we can do that too. But only if you want to.”
She sensed he was nervous about that, or afraid she was going to say no. “I worry that I’m boring,” she said. “That they won’t find me interesting.”
He smiled. “You’re not boring at all. I’ve brought a few women out here, and not one of them would go on a five-kilometer hike or chase after me into the lake. They’ve all been too worried about their hair, or the hike would be too long. So much whining.”
“You’re picking the wrong women,” Reese said with a mischievous smile.
“Maybe I am.”
“About that get-together, I’d be happy to go. I’d like to meet your friends.”
He beamed at that. “Great.”
They finished their ice creams and took a slow walk back to the car. By the time they got back to the cottage, Julia was working on dinner. She had the barbecue fired up and was putting corn and chicken on it. Reese offered to make the salad while Grady set the table. Reese allowed herself a moment to take it all in, especially when Grady went outside to help his mom with the barbecue. Was this how normal families lived? She was going to miss this when her fake relationship with Grady was over.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Julia had a social calendar Reese could only dream of. She was going out for an evening of drinks and cards with her friends, calling out to Reese and Grady that she would be late and not to wait up for her.
“Your mom is popular,” Reese said, drying the last of the dishes.
“Mom is a social butterfly. Dad is too. They know everyone around here. And when she says she’ll be back late, it could be two or three in the morning.”
Reese’s head tilted. “Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah. They really will be playing cards late into the night. Mom will have a drink when she gets there and won’t have another. But she pretends she needs to wait for it to wear off, so she keeps playing.”
“What are they playing?”
“I actually don’t know.”
Reese watched Grady go into a cupboard drawer. He pulled out a s’mores kit.
“This is for later.”
“They look yummy! I’ve never had them before, but I’ve always wanted to.”
His hand flew to his chest overdramatically. “You have never had s’mores before.”
“I led a sheltered life.”
“That is going to change tonight. Once the sun has set, we can get a small fire started in the pit and make some s’mores.”
“You are a bad influence on me. First ice cream and now s’mores?”
“They are both worth it.”
He took her to the grassy area of the property where a firepit had been installed. They took a few lawn chairs and Reese watched as Grady set up the fire. Once he had a nice fire going, he took his seat next to her. Reese watched as he unpacked the s’mores kit, then impaled a marshmallow with a long metal skewer. He handed it over, then repeated the action for himself.
