Page 64 of Cinnamon Roll Set Up

Next to me, Finn groans like his stomach’s troubling him. “Would you please not talk about kissing?”

“There’s nothing wrong with kissing!” She manages to work the cheese into her mouth and look vaguely threatening at the same time. “It’s a nice thing to do.”

“So gross.”

“Miles and Georgia can kiss if they want to! You’re not their boss!”

Love to hear that she’s on my side, even if this is a wildly inappropriate conversation to have.

“We don’t need to talk about kissing in front of other people like this.” Georgia’s remarkably calm, given the context.

“But we did before, and you didn’t mind. You said you wanted to kiss Miles.”

I think the pizza I ate is now wedged right behind my sternum. I take a drink of water before I can start sputtering like a madman.

“I didn’t say that,” Georgia says, eyes on me. “I said wedon’tkiss.”

Not the relief I was looking for, to be honest.

“Oh.” Willa considers this. “I think you should.”

Finn’s long-suffering sigh fills the kitchen. “Not everybody likes each other that way. You’re obsessed with kissing.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Please shut up.”

“You shut up,” Willa tosses back.

“Okay!” Georgia says loud enough to snap them out of their squabble. “Let’s wash our hands and get ready to watch a movie.”

The kids scramble out of the kitchen so fast I’m surprised they don’t upend the chairs. In another few seconds, a muffled argument over who gets the soap first drifts through the wall. Georgia and I lock gazes. Pause. And burst into laughter.

“Will you ever forgive me for tonight?” she says, getting up to clear the plates.

I start putting away all the leftover pizza ingredients. “The night could go a whole lot worse. Aren’t uncomfortably inappropriate conversations par for the course with kids?”

She laughs, filling up her dishwasher. “You’re not wrong. It’s probably best to stay on Willa’s good side if you can. She’s a master at zeroing in on the worst things to bring up.”

“She likes me.” I’m maybe a touch overconfident in my assessment, but she’s never told me to shut up or declared me a stupid-face the way she sometimes does with her brother. I’ll count it as a win.

“Let’s wait and see how things go at her birthday party tomorrow before you start bragging.”

By the time we’re finished cleaning up in the kitchen, the kids have made blanket nests on the floor in front of Georgia’s television. They’ve even cued up a Muppet Halloween movie, one of my favorites. All Georgia and I have to do is collapse onto the couch together.

We don’t leave much space between us, but we never do on movie night.

The movie gets rolling, and the kids settle in, lying on theirstomachs and propped on their elbows. It’s homey and comfortable in a way I don’t usually experience.

I tilt my head a little closer to Georgia’s so I can whisper to her. “Owen and Josie are on their second date tonight.”

“I know. Josie called me.” She nudges me with her shoulder, moving slightly nearer to me in the process. “Seems unfair that the guy against matchmaking has so much luck with it.”

“It was pretty easy. I just saw two people who were meant to be together.” I decide not to mention Owen’s long-standing crush. Depending on how things progress with Josie, maybe one day he won’t mind if it’s shared.

“How did you know, though?” Her voice is soft, just for us. “That they were meant to be?”

I get the feeling she’s asking about more than just Owen and Josie. As much as she loves imaginary romance, she doesn’t have a lot of trust in the real version.

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