Ava’s cheeks flame and her mouth parts. “Uh, ha, yes. No! I mean. Ha. You’re so funny.” She laughs again.
Erin’s own cheeks turn a little pink, but she lifts an eyebrow as she smirks at Ava. “Why, thank you,” she says.
Ava nods, smiling as she looks down at her feet.
Erin’s gaze turns to me. “Hey, good-lookin’, surprised to see you here. You giving my friend over there grief?” Her head tilts toward Juju.
“What? No!” I say, a little too forcefully.
She points at me. “Good. I’ve been meaning to box you upside the ears about a few things.” She shakes her head. “That Caribou comment, for one. Pfft. That was so uncalled for.”
I grimace and run my hand down my face. “Yeah, I don’t know why I said that.”
“I have a few theories, but I’ll keep them to myself for now.” Her eyes narrow.
“Good. I better be going,” I say, backing up.
I’m starting to feel sweaty.
“But you haven’t eaten your bear claw yet,” Ava says.
“Oh…yeah, I should probably take it to go after all.”
I rush to the little bar and get a to-go cup, sloshing some coffee as I pour. I wipe it up, cursing under my breath the whole time, and jump when Hector and Hal burst into another song.
Without another glance toward the counter, I leave. My heart is racing when I reach my SUV. What the hell is wrong with me?
My phone buzzes, and it’s the family thread.
Dad
Proof of life requested, please.
Dylan
That’s proof of Kevin’s life. Where are you, pray tell?
My family has ridiculous tastes in pet names.
My photo choice is a big mistake. It starts a slew of messages.
Goldie
I hope you played nice with Juju!
Noah
Yeah, what’s with you guys? You’re either glaring at each other or blowing up.
That’s what they think? We’re not always glaring at each other. And yes, we blow up sometimes, but…I didn’t think we were that obvious.
Dylan
I’m sensing some sexual tension there.
I get a text from the sibling thread. It’s titled “Four Men and a Baby,” which Goldie changes every single time a text is sent. Sure enough, she changes it to “One Woman and Four Babies.” It’s changed back immediately, I suspect either by Dylan or Tully.
