Page 5 of Wicked Serve

Mia gives me a one-armed hug before letting herself get swept up in Sebastian. She wipes a spot of sauce on his cheek with her thumb, wrinkling her nose when he ducks to kiss her.

“Is it Alice?” he murmurs.

“No.” She plucks at something on his shirt with her black nails. “Some idiot who probably jerks off to pictures of Elon Musk.”

“Ew,” I say. “I hate that you put that image into my mind.”

She just grins. “How’s it going, Iz?”

I shrug as I pull out silverware and grab napkins. Earlier today, I cleaned off the kitchen table and added a vase of flowers. I arrange the place settings, admiring my handiwork for a moment. “This is pretty, right? Do we want wine?”

I glance over and see that they’re making out, too. Just fantastic.

“Hello? Earth to the space idiots.”

The kitchen timer goes off, and Sebastian reluctantly untangles himself from Mia to pull something out of the oven. Mia looks at me, biting her lip guiltily. “Sorry. It looks great.”

“Mm.”

“Really, it does. The place mats are a nice touch. Did you get the flowers from Trader Joe’s?”

I can’t stay annoyed for long. Mia’s my friend, and it’s always nice to see Sebastian looking so happy. “Obviously. Their bouquets are the best.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Sebastian says, loud enough that Cooper and Penny can hear. He plates the food—pan-roasted chicken, potatoes, and vegetables all dripping in a sauce that I know firsthand is delicious—and pulls a bottle of white wine out of the refrigerator. “For you, Izzy.”

“Aw, Sebby.” I take a plate to my usual seat. “You’re the best.”

Practice left me starving, so I focus on my food while the conversation goes on around me. The skating lessons that Penny and Cooper teach together at the town ice rink are starting up again. Sebastian, who is graduating after this semester, has an interview with a culinary school near the astrophysics study abroad program Mia’s doing in Switzerland next year. I lean back in my chair, wineglass in hand. Honestly, we should take a picture of this moment. Mom would be happy to see us sitting down together to eat. That was her hope when she convinced Dad to rent a house in Moorbridge, the town entwined with McKee’s campus, for us to use during our college years.

“It’s too bad that James and Bex postponed the wedding,” Sebastian says.

“When are they doing it now? The spring?” Mia asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “Probably April or May. But that means the baby can party with us!”

They were originally going to have their wedding over the summer, but they decided to take their time and make it nice when they’ve settled into being parents. Bex is due in December, just in time for Christmas. If the baby comes a week early, we might even share a birthday. I smile at the thought. Bex and James are going to make the best parents, and I can’t wait to be an aunt.

“Maybe she can be the flower girl,” Cooper says. He stretches his arm over the back of Penny’s chair, twirling her coppery hair around his finger. She smiles and leans over for a quick kiss.

“I’m already trying to convince Bex,” I say, ignoring the tiny spike of loneliness that rises at the sight of them. Sebastian and Mia are practically nuzzling each other, too. “I worked on a wedding over the summer that had the cutest little baby ring bearer.”

“We’ll come back for it, of course,” says Sebastian.

Penny sips her wine, turning her attention to me. “Speaking of love, how did that summer connection work out, Izzy? Are we finally going to meet him?”

“If she’d ever say who he is,” Mia teases.

The question sends my heart into a sprint. I ignore everyone’s eyes, Cooper’s especially, as I finish my wine. Summer is over. Nik is in Massachusetts and I’m in New York, and when his team comes to play McKee, I’ll find an excuse not to go to the game.

It hurts anyway, and I hate that it hurts.

My parents have the gold standard of marriages. My three older brothers are hopelessly in love with their partners. Even though I’m happy for them, it stings to know I’m so far away from that. I’m not brilliant like Mia, or creative like Penny, or determined like Bex. I’m not my mother, seemingly capable of handling every aspect of her busy, colorful life, a husband and four kids included.

It’s no wonder that to guys like Nikolai—and especially Chance, my one and only ex-boyfriend, who cheated on me without a thought to my feelings—I’m not the serious option. It’s not just that I’m not wife material. I’m barely girlfriend material. And fine, I knew the rules when I fell into bed with Nik, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, recognizing that even in different circumstances, I’d never be enough to steal his heart.

“It just fizzled out,” I say with a shrug. “You know how it goes.”

“Aw, too bad,” says Penny. “What about other prospects? Any crushes we should know about?”

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