Minutes later, Kez returns, a seemingly healthy Ember in one hand, her cellphone in the other. Her shoulders drop in relief. “Ember will be okay. I’ll keep a close eye on her tonight and tomorrow to be sure.”
We all take a much needed breath. I reach over and rub Kez’s back to comfort her. By the way she melts into my touch, I can tell she appreciates my support.
“While I got you,” Kez says to Paige, calmer now. “Do you have time to help judge a cookie decoration competition?”
“A what?” Paige asks.
“Charlotte’s trying to cheat by only having one of her friends judge. Time to even the odds.” She winks at me. After another careful inspection, Kez gently lowers Ember to the floor, then taps her screen to start a video call Paige never consented to.
Now, there’s two phones standing upright, each angled at the cookies. The holiday cookie competition is officially about to begin.
I quickly explain the rules, and five minutes into the judging, I can already tell this is headed nowhere fast. Rory’s ranting about structural integrity. Paige’s face screams she couldn’t care less and is trying to rush off the phone.
Rory narrows her eyes. “Wait. Why does your voice sound familiar?”
Paige tilts her head. “You too. Have we…?”
“Paige?” Rory blurts. “ThePaige. This is rich.”
“Rory?” Paige says. “The same woman who ghosted me?”
Kez and I lock eyes.Uh oh.
Kez’s gaze ping-pongs between the two screens arguing at each other. “What’s happening right now?”
“They went on a date,” I whisper, my hands covering my mouth. “I’m pretty sure this is the same woman from the wallet incident.”
Kez looks as if she finally connected the dots. “Damn.”
Rory huffs in exasperation. “You left me stranded with a two hundred-dollar bill.”
“I told you I’d pay you back, and I apologized ten times already. Like I said, I forgot my wallet,” Paige says plainly. “Apparently, I dodged a bullet. You can’t even judge cookies without needing a caliper, let alone choose a normal restaurant for a first date.”
Rory gasps. “You know what? We’re doing another date when I return stateside. I know you won’t dish this amount of ‘masc sass’ to my face.”
“Oh, so youdowant a second date?” Paige huffs a laugh. “Ghosting sure is a funny way of showing it.”
“I was processing!” Rory growls back.
Their voices double in volume, overlapping; neither of them is listening to a word the other says. The insults are so ridiculous, Kez and I chuckle.
Kez, standing beside me, leans closer and lowers her voice. “Should we interrupt them?”
I watch for a moment. Rory’s gesturing to the air, sipping a beverage inside the pineapple she’s holding while Paige rants about the restaurant’s Caesar salad dressing.
“No,” I finally decide. “We should let them finish this.” Whatever this is.
We quietly tilt the phones so they’re facing each other more directly. They barely notice.
Kez glances at me, a smile tugging at her mouth. “You want to go make out and watch a movie?”
Butterflies flutter in my belly at the way she looks at me. There’s so much love in her eyes. She truly sees all of me. Plus, we make great looking cookies. I intertwine our fingers and tug her gently toward the living room. “So, who won the competition?” I ask as we exit the kitchen, passing Ember fast asleep in her bed, a red fuzzy sock between her paws.
Kez laughs. “We did.”
CHAPTER 13
KEZ
