I pushed my plate closer to Adam. “You can have them.”
He raised a brow, took a few more, and then pushed the plate back in front of me. “You’ve barely touched them, and I happen to know they’re your favorite.”
I sighed. He wasn’t wrong. But between the bun on the burger I had and the second beer I’d been nursing, I didn’t need any more carbs.
Izzy turned to Nicole and Mia. “Do you guys care if the boys join us?”
Zack didn’t wait for their response, already pulling up a stool at the end of the table between Nicole and Mia, shooting them both his signature smile. Mia glared back and huffed before looking over at me.
“Did they have to bring the annoying one?”
Working with these guys since July, I’d come to enjoy Zack’s carefree, happy-go-lucky personality. It was refreshing. But I’d also quickly realized he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
I shrugged and glanced around. “Where’s Jay and Owen?”
“They went home to their wives and kids,” Adam answered.
That tracked. “What about Seth?”
“You think he would choose to come out with us to a bar over going to Violet’s?”
“Right.” I chuckled. “Forget I asked that.”
Adam pulled up a stool next to me and Logan did the same on the other side next to Izzy. He leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek. I smiled. He was so crazy about her and it showed in everything he did. One day, maybe I’d find someone who looked at me like that.
Zack reached over and attempted to grab a fry from Mia’s plate, but she pulled it away. “Get your own fries.”
“Lyla shared hers. How come you won’t share?” He sent her a dramatic pout. “You know, sharing is caring.”
I stifled a laugh as he tried grabbing another fry and she slapped his hand away.
“Ugh. You’re the worst,” she huffed.
“Don’t you share a bedroom with Lyla? Seems like sharing a single fry with me wouldn’t be that hard.” He propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand. “Inquiring minds want to know, do you two sleep in the same bed?”
She rolled her eyes. “You must have been dropped on your head as a baby.”
He was really trying his best to rile her up tonight. Maybe our living situation was…different, but it worked out well for us. I had been living with my parents since quitting my boring desk job in a real estate office last year, taking some time to figure out what I really wanted to do. After I finished my EMT training, I got assigned to Half Moon Lake, and I really wanted to be closer to the station. My parents’ farm was two towns over and a forty-minute commute.
It was doable, but when Izzy decided to move in with Logan, she’d asked me if I was interested in taking over her apartment. Mia was also looking for something since her lease was just about up, and she wasn’t interested in renewing it. We’d talked about maybe finding something together, and the only thing that had come available in Half Moon Lake was Izzy’s apartment. It was just a one-bedroom, but we decided to make it work. We could doit for the remainder of the lease and then try to find a two-bedroom after that.
Adam leaned close and whispered, “Will those two ever get along?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t count on it.” They were like oil and water, and as long as Zack took every chance he had to torment Mia, she would continue to find him annoying.
“I wonder which one of you will be the next victim of the love curse.” Zack glanced over at me and then back at Mia with a smile.
Adam and I groaned in unison. He thought the whole thing was as dumb as I did, but supposedly the last four tenants had found love while living in the apartment. Adam and Zack had joked about it being cursed. And surprisingly, Mia had been reluctant about living there when I told her. I just assumed she’d laugh it off like I did, but even the slightest chance of being bitten by the love bug was enough to make her hesitate.
“Totally Lyla. I don’t do love.”
“Too much sharing, huh?”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Oh my God, if I give you some of my fries will you sit there and be quiet?”
His smile grew and he nodded as he pretended to zip his lips. “Not a sound.”
“Great.” She pushed her plate violently toward him.
