“Have fun,” Amy says, heading toward one of the tables, and I realize she’s planning to pull out her laptop and sit at one of the booths along the wall while I work on the oven. Brendon must have shut it down during the oven-building process.
“Oh, no,” I say, taking one of her shoulders in mine and steering her back toward the project. “You’rehelping.”
“What? No, I’m not. I have no idea how to do this stuff!”
“How do you thinkIlearned?” I ask, reaching down and handing her a pair of gloves. She stares obstinately at me, then glances back at her bag on the table as though it’s a long-lost lover she might never see again.
“Fine,” she grounds out, and for the next four hours, we work together quietly, laying stone and cement. Brendon stands on the other side of the counter, doing his own work and hummingunder his breath, prepping loaves of bread and several pans of cinnamon rolls.
Halfway through the project, I blink and look up when something is thrust in front of my face. Some sort of croissant, nearly sliding right off the plate. I yank off a glove and reach up, just to keep the pastry from falling on the floor.
Brendon hands one to Amy, too, and she blows on it carefully before taking a bite.
“Pizza croissant,” Brendon says, seeing my confused expression. Some of the trepidation from earlier has slipped off his face. “Figured, you’re doing this for me, might as well feed you.”
I take a bite, not expecting the burst of flavor that follows—pizza, mozzarella, oregano, garlic.
“Holy shit,” Amy says through her bite, in a move that’s uncharacteristic for her. “That isgood.”
“Thanks,” Brendon says, the corner of his mouth ticking up, his gaze swinging over to me. “Actually, your granddad came up with the idea.”
I raise my eyebrows at him, taking another bite from the croissant.
“Yeah,” Brendon says, relaxing back against the counter and watching us as we eat. “I’ve wanted a pizza oven forever, but a few months ago, he said, ‘Why not make pizza a different way in the meantime?’ That stuck with me.”
“Huh,” I say, nodding and finishing the last bite. “Well, it’s good. Pizzas out of this new oven should be, too.”
Brendon collects our plates and disappears, and Amy gives me a look before we go back to work. Another four hours pass, and when we’re done, we stand and stretch, Amy admiring our work.
“It’s wild to think back to this morning,” she says, moving around to admire the oven from different angles. “And we just—made it.”
“Right.” I laugh, shaking my head at her. “Real confusing notion.”
She punches at my arm lightly, and Brendon arrives with a box. “Here,” he says, holding it out. “More pizza stuff.” He turns, grabs another box, and stacks it atop the next. “And dessert. Take some to your granddad for me.”
Amy glances at me, interest piqued.
“All right.” I sigh, and I can see the victory clear on her face as we gather our things and leave. “This should be interesting.”
CHAPTER 16
AMY
“Amy?” a voice says.
I start, looking up, realizing I’ve been daydreaming during a meeting. I glance at the other people around the table and clear my throat, tossing out some half-baked observation about the discussion so it doesn’t seem like I wasn’t listening.
Because I wasn’t.
Before I left Granite Peaks, Evan and I went to see his grandpa. We enjoyed the pizza scones and turnovers together, and when Gramps challenged me to a game of chess, I couldn’t turn him down.
It turned out to be an hours-long match, with Evan watching, bringing us drinks, making little comments that drove both of us nearly insane. In the end, it was late enough that I had to go, and Evan took a picture of the board so we could set it up next time.
Next time.
When it was time for Evan and me to say goodbye, I didn’t know how to start or end the interaction, feeling awkward.
I left that first night because I could already tell I was going to get attached to him, and there I was, doing the very thing I wanted to avoid. When I’d turned to climb into my car, Evan had caught my wrist, pulling me back, wrapping his arms around me and tucking me into his chest, taking a deep breath like he needed the hug as much as I did.
