For as long as she could remember, charcuterie boards had been a thing in her family. When she’d been little, her mom had made a game out of using up whatever leftovers were around for their end of the week, day before payday dinner. She’d had a big platter she’d used to put out things like leftover spaghetti and a random half sandwich. At the time Shannon had loved the assortment and the novelty of eating spaghettiandcold cereal for dinner. She hadn’t realized that there wasn’t enough money for her mom to go shopping until she got paid and that the food on their charcuterie board had been the last of what they had.
Later, after going to work for Luis and Gina, the money problems had eased, and the contents of their weekly charcuterie board had gotten a little less eclectic. But the tradition had never gone away, and now Shannon put them together for the weekly dinners with her, Aaron and Javiar.
When the timer dinged, both men wandered into the kitchen. Javiar took the heavy platter over to the kitchen table while Aaron collected two beers and a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator. Shannon retrieved the now-hot crab dip and carefully carried it to the table.
When her wine was poured and they were all seated, Javiar raised his beer.
“To good friends.” He winked at Shannon. “And to your mom who has lost her mind.”
Shannon groaned. “I know, right? What was she thinking?”
They touched glasses and bottles, then dug into the charcuterie board.
“It has to be about closure,” Aaron said. “I guess she wants to know about Ava’s life.”
“I doubt she wants to go have dinner with Ava and her family,” Shannon said, still stunned by her mother’s announcement. “I think she feels guilty about what she did when she kept me, and this is her way of apologizing.”
She looked at Javiar. “You could have gotten out of going. I have a feeling theAnd bring your familypart is only about me.”
“I want to go.” Javiar grinned. “It’ll be like dinner theater. I can’t wait.”
She turned to Aaron. “I know you offered, but it’s going to be really uncomfortable. I get it if you want to skip the evening.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be there. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
If she hadn’t already been wildly in love with him, that comment would have pushed her over the edge. Because that’s exactly who Aaron was—he was the man who took care of her. Even when she was a careerless mess or the cause of some strange family dinner.
“You’re going to be at the center of it,” he added. “You’re the baby Ava and her husband wanted. They’re going to have questions.”
“About my life?” she asked, then tried not to groan. “You’re probably right. I need you both to be prepared to jump in if the grilling gets too intense.”
“I’ll distract them by offering to run comps on their house,” Javiar teased. “I can do a whole presentation.”
She laughed. “That would cause a shift in the conversation.”
Javiar asked Aaron about his latest landscaping project. Shannon scooped crab dip onto her plate as she listened. She appreciated that her friend and her fiancé were both going to be there for her. She’d been surprised when her mom had mentioned the dinner invitation and more startled when Cindy had asked her and Aaron to attend. Spending the evening with the couple whose child you decided to keep had to be the definition ofawkward. Yet her mom had been determined to be there.
Shannon would admit to a little curiosity about Ava and Milton. Under other circumstances, they could have been her parents. There was no way to imagine what that would have been like or how she would have been different. Not that it mattered, she reminded herself. She was who she was, and all the wondering in the world wasn’t going to change that.
The upscale neighborhood of nice houses quickly gave way to even nicer and bigger houses. Shannon stared out the window as the lots got bigger and the gates got fancier. Aaron stared at the quarter-acre lawn of one house and whistled.
“I wouldn’t mind having the gardening contract on a few of these places.”
Javiar nodded. “Or the real estate contract. These people have money.”
Shannon’s general sense of nervousness morphed into uneasiness. “We sell houses like this,” she murmured. “We don’t live in them.”
“And that’s not going to change,” Javiar said cheerfully.“We’re only the guests. Be grateful they’re letting us come in the front door.”
“I’m just glad we brought your car.”
Javiar drove a comfortable BMW X5. The roomy SUV had plenty of space for clients. Her Corolla, while sensible what with its great gas mileage and dependability, would have looked out of place for sure. As would Aaron’s work truck.
“You coulda been a rich kid,” Javiar added. “I always wanted a really rich friend to invite me to his place on the French Riviera.”
“Maybe they’re old-school and have a Swiss chalet instead,” Aaron said with a laugh.
“I could do a chalet.”
