Chapter 7 #2
“Oh.” My stomach rumbles at the delicious smell of the pizza, so I start divvying out pieces onto two plates.
“He’s proven to be persistent,” I explain.
“He’s still trying to get a hold of me. I mean .
. . I obviously didn’t come back knowing anything about your uncle or your ranch.
I only thought of this . . . marriage when I realized you guys were dealing with that.
But Tobias knows where I’m from—I’ve talked about Saddlebrook Falls.
If he happens to come sniffing around looking for me, it wouldn’t hurt for him to find proof that I’ve moved on.
” I put a plate with two slices of pizza in front of Kasey.
He just keeps looking at me, mouth tight. It’s a little unnerving—
“Did he ever physically hurt you, Ava?” He sounds way too calm, considering what he’s asking.
“No,” I reply quickly, focused on carefully floating a large slice of pizza to my plate. It’s not a lie, but I don’t have the heart to look at him. I don’t want him to see all the things I’m not saying. “Nothing like that.”
He exhales through his nose, finally looking away.
“Kasey Bennett!” a man shouts. Kasey turns around in his seat. I look over his shoulder to see Gus Romano marching toward us from the kitchen, a lopsided smile plastered to his face. “Well, I’ll be—it is you!”
“Yes, sir,” Kasey says, standing to shake the man’s hand, his blue jeans stretching around muscled thighs. He towers over him by at least a foot. “Nice to see you again, Gus.”
“Been way too long, kid—way too long.” Gus pushes his glasses up his nose and looks at me. “And Ava! What a blast from the past seeing you two here together. I didn’t know you were home, sweetheart.”
I find it hard to believe he hasn’t heard I’m back in town by now, sure he’s just being polite, but his delight seems genuine. I return his smile with my own. “Been back for a couple weeks,” I confirm.
“Gosh, it’s been years, hasn’t it?”
I nod. “Almost ten.”
His eyes widen. “Get out! Ten whole years?” He looks to Kasey and then back to me. “Well, it sure is good to have you back. Are you staying for a while?”
“That’s the plan,” I say, feeling Kasey’s gaze shift my way. I look over at him, letting a secret smile play on my lips. “Finding it hard to stay away, you know?”
Kasey shoots me a strange look, but then Gus turns to him again and his face wipes clean.
“Yeah, uh,” he stumbles, “it’s been . . .
great . . . having her back.” His mouth tips up into a sad attempt at a smile, but it looks so painful and forced I almost laugh.
He’s so not good at this. Like, really bad, actually.
“I bet,” Gus says, nodding. “Well, look, you’ve made my night coming in here. Can I get ya a couple milkshakes or a slice of cake? On the house of course!"
“You don’t have to do that, sir, really,” Kasey says.
Gus sighs. “You’re a man now, Kasey, no need to call me sir. And I insist, please. Let me treat you.”
Kasey looks at me, brows raised.
“Milkshakes, please,” I say. “Vanilla.”
“Extra cherries,” Kasey adds. It surprises me that he remembers. Again.
Gus smiles wide, slapping Kasey on the shoulder. “Nothing’s changed with you two, has it?”
Kasey flushes instantly.
“Guess not,” I tease.
“I’ll have Derek bring those right out. Please, stay as long as you’d like and let me know if you need anything else, okay? And don’t be strangers!”
“Thank you, Gus,” Kasey says, sinking down into his seat again.
Gus moseys back to the kitchen. I lift my slice of pizza, hovering it in front of my mouth.
“Well, your acting could use some work, but all things considered I think I’d call that a win.
” I take way too big of a bite and nearly moan with pleasure, closing my eyes as I savor all the rich flavors. The pizza is damn good.
When I open my eyes again, Kasey is studying my mouth. He catches me staring and clears his throat. “My acting was fine,” he grumbles.
I laugh, taking another bite. He shakes his head and picks up his own slice, eyes tracing over the meat and vegetables before he digs in too. “Good, huh?” I ask.
He nods. “It’s good.”
A comfortable silence settles between us. I inhale my first slice and far too quickly serve myself a second, eager to put as much food in my belly as I can manage. Halfway through my third piece, I realize Kasey’s still watching me.
“What?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on him.
A small smile touches his lips, so tiny I almost don’t catch it. “I always liked watching you eat,” he says quietly.
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Your whole face changes.”
I stare at him. “It does not.”
A low laugh spills out of his mouth, and my focus homes in on the sound. “It does,” he says. “When you enjoy something—or when you don’t—it’s written all over your face. It’s one of . . . uh . . .” He scratches the back of his head, eyes dipping down to his lap as he hesitates.
“What?” I press.
He looks at me again. “It’s one of the few real glimpses I think I ever actually had at your feelings.”
The words squeeze uncomfortably, like a vise around my ribs. Kasey was one of very few people in the world I trusted with my feelings. Doesn’t he remember? “Kasey—”
“Two vanilla milkshakes,” our server announces, eyeing Kasey warily as he sets down a pair of frozen glasses. They’re filled to the brim with the frothy dessert, mounds of whipped cream sitting atop each one, covered in rainbow sprinkles and at least half a dozen maraschino cherries.
“Thank you,” I tell him before he disappears again.
Kasey pushes one of the milkshakes my way before pulling the other toward him. I find the straw with my lips and take a deep gulp. “We should probably discuss plans for a . . . wedding,” he says, frowning.
I laugh, pointing at his face. “Every girl’s dream is to see that expression when discussing her dream wedding.”
He snorts. “Ava, come on. Dream wedding?”
My shoulders rise to my ears as I suck down more of my shake. It’s . . . delicious. A perfectly sweet pairing to the savory pizza. “We might as well have fun with it.”
“I don’t find any of this fun,” he mutters.
I roll my eyes. “Fine, you grump. We’ll go see Pastor Brown and find out what we need to do to get married in the church. And for a reception . . .” I trail off, thinking. “Maybe we can host it at Wild Coyote?”
“Fine,” he concedes. “Nothing fancy though. Just the bar and what comes with it.”
“Fine,” I agree. “Basically the dream, anyway.”
He cocks a brow. “A dive bar with sticky floors and mean-as-hell regulars?”
“Literally what I have written in a diary somewhere.”
“Liar,” he says around a gulp of his milkshake.
“You don’t know!”
Dark brown eyes trace over my face. I watch his throat work to swallow down the sip he just took. “You wanted a party on the beach.”
I blink as the memory snares me: whispering that exact wish to him as we lay curled around each other in the bed of his parked truck, gazing out into the dark ocean blanketed by stars.
I remember thinking marrying him was everything I’d ever want, not knowing how painfully fear would crack through me when it all became real.
I don’t like this feeling, that he still knows me so well.
“Maybe in another life” is all I can say now. I don’t look at him, keeping my eyes trained on a black-and-white team photo of the Mustangs football team from decades ago hanging on the far wall.
“Hm,” he hums. We finish the rest of our slices in silence, and Kasey waves down the nervous server to ask for a to-go box for the rest of the pizza, offering the box to me once it’s packed.
“You keep it,” I say. “Take it to your nephews.”
He pulls it back. “Sure.”
Gus Romano appears again, having just dropped plates off at another table. “You kids all set?” he asks.
Kasey smiles up at him, lines around his eyes etching into sun-kissed skin. “Yes, sir. The food was as good as ever. Thank you for the milkshakes.”
“Any time.” He waves a hand. “Hope to see you back here soon.”
We both nod and watch Gus disappear into the kitchen again.
I reach a hand across the table, wrapping my fingers around Kasey’s. He goes still, eyes snagging on mine.
I feel it like a current.
“Thanks for a sweet date night,” I say.
His smile fades. “Let’s go.”