Page 44 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

“No!” Chloe shook her head. “Nora’s been amazing. She always has. When my mom got sick, she brought over dinners and offered to drive her to doctor’s appointments. She checked in on me and bought me school supplies and clothes. She told me if I ever needed anything to call her, day or night. I mean, like, she’s almost too nice. It’s weird, right? She says I’m family.”

“You are family,” I assured her. “I always loved Nora. From the first time I went to their house for dinner with Callum, Nora welcomed me with open arms. And Buzz, too.”

“Buzz is hilarious. Did you know he’sonlyworn overalls for like sixty years? And he eats the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.”

“Plain oatmeal for breakfast, a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch, and chicken and veggies for dinner. Oh, and sometimes strawberry ice cream when Nora makes it fresh.”

“Yes!” Chloe enthused. “And yeah, that’s exactly how Nora is. She’s been teaching me to cook and sew. She’s even been doing TikToks with me. She’s like the OG trad wife.”

I had a feeling that trad wives went back a few generations farther than Nora, but I understood why Chloe would consider her an OG of the trend. Nora could be the poster child for the trad wife; she was the Rosie the Riveter of domestic goddesses.

We pulled into the Slice of Heaven parking lot and parked next to Callum’s truck. A wave of either nostalgia or déjà vu washed over me. Maybe a little of both. I couldn’t count the number of times Callum and I had eaten here. We’d come during lunch breaks in high school for dollar slices. It was where all the teenagers went after Friday night football games. During the summertime, it was a local hangout for teens to play video games, darts, and the jukebox. Even before we were in high school and had cars, we’d ride our bikes here.

The gravel crunched beneath my feet as I stepped out of the car. Callum and Matty had waited for us, and we all walked in together. I couldn’t help but feel like I was intruding, even though I’d been invited. I didn’t belong with them. I was an outsider.

Callum held the door for us all, and as I walked past him, his crisp, masculine, woodsy scent drifted through the air as I inhaled, sending all sorts of signals to my brain that I was doing my best to ignore and shut them down. His pheromone game was strong. Whenever I was near him, I had to actively keep my distance from him. He was like a magnet that I could barely resist.

The place was crowded. Tables of families, groups of friends, a few teams from the bowling league, and a few members of The Pace Makers walking club were in the house. There was a hum of conversation, layered with music playing from the jukebox and the beeps, chimes, bloops, and explosions of arcade games.

“Can we play video games?” Matty asked.

“Sure.” Callum pulled out cash from his wallet and handed the money to Chloe.

“What’s this?” Chloe looked down at the money.

“It’s for you and Matty.”

“Oh.” She looked surprised that he’d given her the money and not Matty.

The kids took two steps toward the arcade in the back when Callum stopped them.

“Wait, Chloe, what kind of pizza do you want?”

Her eyes darted to the ground, and I could see that she felt uncomfortable. “I’ll eat whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters. It’spizza,” Callum emphasized.

She rolled her eyes, but I could see the tiny grin on her face. “I like pepperoni and mushroom.”

“Got it.”

Chloe and Matty raced to the air hockey table.

Callum turned to me. “That’s the second smile I’ve gotten.”

I wanted to tell him that she didn’t think he wanted to be here, but I also wanted her to feel like she could talk to me, and it wouldn’t get back to her brother.

“Grab us a booth,” he said.

“Okay.” I started to pull out my wallet, but he stopped me.

His hand covered mine, and my breath caught in my throat. The innocent skin-on-skin contact caused a current of arousal to flow through me. I took in a shaky breath.

“I’ve got it,” his voice was rough and low, and I wondered if he might be affected by this encounter.

I lifted my eyes to his, and the intensity in his stare burned me up from the inside out. “You don’t have to?—”

“I know,” he cut me off.

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