Holden is all smiles as we wait to place our order, chatting excitedly about the movie. He reminds me of a golden retriever hoping to play fetch. Except,I’mhis toy. I can see the interest, and I can see why Piper thought I’d be interested in him, since I’ve dated similar men in the past. But there isn’t a spark, or even a flicker of interest on my part. I mean, he’s cute and all, with his light eyes and side-swept blond hair, but he doesn’t even come close to Miles. Miles is… Miles. An adorable, sweet teddy bear I want to snuggle. He’s the one I want.
And he’s a million miles away.
It’s so unfair.
There are only two seats left when we get to the long table in the middle, which means Holden and I are forced to sit together. I eye Piper suspiciously, but she’s too busy talking to Quinn to notice.
“Yeah, we’re starting another project in a couple of weeks. Ian and I are really excited for it.”
“Where is it?”
“In Melba, which is a small town near us. There’s an animal sanctuary there that caught fire recently, so we’re going to rebuild the pens and fix their main building. Things like that.”
“That sounds amazing,” Piper says.
“Yeah, we’re stoked,” Quinn says with a grin.
“How’s school going?”
Quinn groans. “It’s tough, working and going to class. But I’m managing.”
Seth is all smiles as he listens to his son, happy to have some time together. He’s mentioned before that Quinn is in the Master of Business Administration program at Boise State University, and he’s clearly proud of him even if they’ve had a rocky year. It’s unnerving how similar they look, with Quinn being a younger replica of his father. Same sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. Same smile. Even a similar laugh.
“Maybe Declan and I can fly up for a few days soon.”
Quinn and Ian both smile. “We’d like that.”
Eventually, five large pizzas cover our table. I smother my pieces in grated Parmesan cheese—the only correct way to eat a pizza. As we eat, our conversation slows. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the first bite. The piece of toast from this morning and box of Whoppers only went so far.
I look around, wanting to take in the moment. Declan and Seth are laughing at something, Ian is giving Quinn a seductive smirk as Quinn licks grease off his own finger, Hunter and Korie are refilling their glasses from a pitcher of soda, and Piper is slowly stretching her piece of pizza out to see how far the cheese will go—which is another reason we love coming here. Their unique blend of cheese makes the pizzas extra stringy. It’s fun to see who can stretch it the farthest.
“Seth, look!” Declan says, noticing Piper.
Seth guffaws and begins clapping for her. “Yeah, Piper! Keep going!”
She kicks the wooden chair back as she stands, still holding the piece of pizza in her mouth. The cheese gets longer and longer until it finally breaks.
“Damn. That was almost the entire length of your arm!” Korie says, unnaturally blue eyes wide with excitement.
Piper pushes the tray of cheese pizza toward Quinn. “You should try.”
Quinn hesitantly reaches for a piece of cheese pizza and bites into it, but it breaks apart before he even starts stretching it. On his second bite, he manages to get a few inches.
Holden tries next, leaning over his plate, like he doesn’t want to get his shirt dirty. It stretches nearly a foot before the cheese breaks.
Korie bursts out laughing. “My turn.”
Korie’s piece makes it slightly further than Quinn and Holden’s, but not much.
Declan tips his chin at me, grinning proudly. “Come on, Jord. You have to try. You’re our reigning champion.”
Everyone snaps their attention to me, making me want to crawl into a hole.
Holden smirks. “I need to see this.”
I reach for a piece of the nearest pepperoni and sausage pizza. “The trick is to go slow.”
I pull the crust back nice and slow. The cheese stretches and stretches, and the entire group holds their breath. When it gets to be nearly two feet long, Declan and Piper start chanting, “Jor-dan! Jor-dan! Jor-dan!”
