When she returned, he realized her pepperoni quirk was in fact super weird.
And she was grinning because she knew it.
He looked at the pizza tray in her hand, then up to her face. “That’s not how you assemble a pizza.”
“Says who?”
He pointed to his own pizza, with all the ingredients evenly distributed. “Says everyone.”
She shrugged. “Everyone is wrong. Pepperoni is hard to cut, and it falls off the tips of a pizza slice. It only belongs within an inch of the crust.”
So he could see. Her pizza was concentric circles of toppings. Pepperoni around the perimeter, then green pepper, mushrooms, and finally onion in the center.
It was, technically, the same pizza he’d assembled.
But it was completely different. Just like Grace.
“Each bite only has one flavour to it,” he said, still hung up on her design. “That’s not how pizza works.”
“No? We’ll see. I’ll let you have a bite once they’re cooked.”
They got in line for the ovens, and while their pizzas were baking, they loaded up their plates with side salads and garlic bread wedges. Once they were back at their table, she cut him a small piece of hers—and it was, in fact, delicious. Each bite was a distinct taste, but they built up, and when he finished, he eyed the rest of her pie.
“Do you want more? I won’t eat it all.” She took a big bite of her garlic bread and gestured for him to take another slice.
He did, but he set it to the side, and ate it last after consuming his more conventional version.
Hers was better.
He told her as much, and she smiled like she’d been given a gift.
* * *
After dinner,people spilled out onto the lawn, which ran down to the lake. There would be a bonfire after dusk, but for now, there was more drinking and flirting.
“Do you have aStarCrossedprofile?” Frank asked as he watched Grace watch the rest of the campers.
She gave him a surprised look. “No. Why?”
“Just curious. I don’t either.” He felt his neck heat up. “Wyatt wasn’t exactly clear on the fact that a dating app was sponsoring this week.”
She made a face. “Sorry. I knew, but Tegan promised that part was optional.”
“So far it has been, so I guess she was right.”
“That must have been an unwelcome shock when you realized.”
“It contributed to my grumpiness on the first day.”
Her lips quirked. “You mean yesterday?”
“Jeez, was that only yesterday?” He barked a laugh. “Yeah. That.”
“You’ve survived thirty hours of dating camp,” she said with mock-solemnity. “Well done.”
He dragged in a breath. “Thanks. Today wasn’t so bad in the end. After breakfast, I thought the whole peace and quiet thing was a non-starter, but then I got to chill out, andthenthere was the whole fun kayaking thing…”
Grace laughed.
