Page 42 of Lucky in Love
“Alex’s death threat put a little pep in our step,” Tess explained.
“Also, it’s not like this is the first time this one’s demanded we meet her for cake.” Faith hitched a thumb at Alex, who had both arms draped over the deli case, studying the contents with great care.
“Plus, you know…pie,” Juliet said.
“Whatda y’all want?” Alex asked. “I’ll serve.”
“Just grab an apple and six forks,” Tess said.
“And a sliver of cheesecake,” Faith added. “Never mind. I’ll get it myself.”
Nick and Brody pushed two tables together while the women made themselves at home. Alex got into the deli case behind the counter and pulled out an entire pie. Faith cut herself a slice of cheesecake. Tess brought six coffee cups and filled them before returning the carafe to its base. Juliet went to the serving station and returned with a handful of napkins and forks.
“I’m surprised you’re eating dessert without running two miles first,” Faith said.
“I can’t run. Plus, it’s been a rough day.” Alex shrugged. “The funeral this morning. And then a bait and switch from the writers’ group. They got my hopes up for cake, but it was all a ruse.”
“The romance writers?” Juliet asked. “What’d they want?”
“They asked about Blossom.”
“Oof,” Tess muttered. “She who must not be named. Bad move.”
“Who’s Blossom?” Brody asked.
“Alex’s mom,” Faith said at the same time Alex said, “No one.”
Alex shot Faith a death glare and shifted gears.
“You done with campouts?” she asked Tess.
“Almost,” Tess said. “Next weekend is the last one of the season, and thank goodness. It’s getting frickin’ cold up there.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Brody asked.
“Oh, it’s this weekend warrior thing we do at the Outpost. City slickers come from all over and pay a crap ton of money to rough it for a couple of days and learn survival skills.”
“Tess takes ’em into the mountains and tries to make ’em cry,” Alex said. “What are you like, ninety out of a hundred or something?”
Tess laughed. “Not quite. This one should be ripe for some tears though. Temps are supposed to be near zero.”
“You have room for one more?” Brody asked. “Sounds like an experience I could write into my article.”
Tess glanced at Alex, who was sneaking a forkful of cheesecake off Faith’s plate. When she finally looked up to see Tess staring at her, she shrugged. “What’re ya lookin’ at me for?”
Something passed between them, but it happened so fast Brody missed it.
“You’ll need some cold-weather gear,” Tess said. “We rent it at the store, or you can buy it.”
“Since I might spend the winter here, I’ll need a better coat and warmer clothes anyway.”
“Okay, well, come by this week and we’ll get you signed up.”
“So,” Juliet said. “If you’ve got that this weekend, should we look at the weekend after for a Celtics game?”
“I’m in for that,” Nick said. “I’ll check their schedule.” He pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen for a minute. “All right. Home game against the Pacers a week from Saturday. Perfect.”
“Brody, you in?” Nick asked. “Please say yes.”
