He tilts his head toward me. “No. It’s fine. We can.”
Violet: Okay. We’ll be there in an hour.
Rya: Excited face emoji
“Hey!” Ez says as he swings the door open wide, letting us walk through.
I reach in for a hug. “Hi.” The sweet, savory smell overwhelms me, making my stomach grumble.
Ez and Zay do their manly handshake. “Hey man,” Zay says.
I walk over to the kitchen, inhaling the scent that makes me hungrier. The kitchen is empty but there is a platter laid out on the island with waffles, and next to it are strawberries and bananas. “Where’s Rya?” I ask as I eye the champagne in the corner. No doubt she bought that for today.
“Still getting ready,” Ez says. He grabs a flute and raises it up. “You guys want a mimosa?” Both of us nod as he pours champagne into four flutes.
“Do you need help with anything?” I ask as I turn around, looking for Zay. He’s sitting at the table, staring between the two of us in the kitchen.
“Nah. I’m good. Have a seat and I’ll bring everything out.”
I go sit next to Zay and he lays a hand on top of my thigh, making me scoot closer to him so our shoulders touch. Ever since that night he apologized, he’s been more lovey-dovey. He must be making up for acting that way with me.
“Heyyyy!” Rya comes storming in with her heels clinking on the hardwood floor.
I catch a glimpse of her red high heels, paired with a black miniskirt and a loose white off-the-shoulder top. My brows furrow, questioning why she’s so dressed up. Usually, when we do brunch at home, we’re both in loungewear. I look down at my cropped gray hoodie and black leggings. I feel underdressed. At least Zay and Ez aren’t dressed up either.
She grabs a mimosa out of Ez’s hand and twirls back around to us with a full face of makeup. What the hell is going on?
Ezra sets our mimosas down, giving her an uncertain look, like he doesn’t understand what’s going on either. Her cheery voice and all dolled-up attitude are a little off for this early in the morning.
She walks over, sits down in front of Zayn, leans back into her chair, and takes a sip of her mimosa. My brows are still furrowed, questioning her before us.
“Rya, what’s going on?” I ask.
Her big smile falls. “What do you mean? We’re having brunch?” she says, twirling her mimosa around.
“Yeah, but since when do you get all dressed up for brunch, especially in the house?”
She shrugs. “I felt like dressing up. That’s all.”
Ezra comes and sets the waffles and fruit down in the middle of the table. I look up at him as his jaw clenches, eyeing Rya from behind. Is he upset she’s not helping?
I scoot my chair out, letting Zayn’s hand fall from my thigh. “Let me help you, Ez.” I say, walking over.
“Thanks.” He hands me a plate of eggs and bacon.
“Wow, you went all out.” I eye all the food as I walk the plate back over to the table and setting it down. Before I turn around, he’s setting down another plate with a stack of toast on one side and potatoes on the other.
He scoots the chair out next to Rya and sits down.
As I’m sitting back down, Zayn puts his hand right back on my thigh. Rya notices and her eye shoots away from us.
Zay softly sets his phone on the table, the quiet thud making me look over.
“Oh, you got a new phone?” Rya asks as she serves herself a waffle.
He avoids her gaze as he reaches over for the spatula to serve himself eggs. “Yup.”
I glance between everyone on the table as I wait for them to be done serving before I serve myself.
