Page 72 of Lucky in Love
She didn’t mention that she’d already put up the drawbridge to her heart, soliterallyfalling in love shouldn’t be an issue. Still, accidents happened. Better to cover all her bases.
“Accidentally?” Tess raised an eyebrow.
“Just take it a day at a time,” Juliet suggested. “And don’t punish Brody because all the other guys you’ve dated never worked out. Give him a fair shot.”
“Well,” Alex said. “I thought of one possible pro. It’ll be nice not to have to be on my best behavior. If he’s leaving anyway, I can do or say whatever I want.”
“There ya go,” Tess said. “That’s a big plus.”
“Fine,” Alex said. “I’ll ride this wave until it crashes and deal with the consequences later.”
“Attagirl,” Faith said.
They finished their food—Alex only eating half since she was still unable to run—and moved to the living room.
“Hey,” Juliet said. “About Thanksgiving. Should we do something for Max and Lilly? Does anyone know if they have plans?”
“His family is staying in GVF until further notice,” Faith said. “I already talked to Max’s mom, and they’re planning a quiet dinner, just them.”
“They’re really keeping to themselves,” Tess said. “I used to run into Max all the time at The Rise and Grind. I haven’t seen him since the funeral.”
“Time’s weird,” Alex said. “It’s been almost a month since Jenny’s death, but it simultaneously seems like yesterday and forever ago.”
“Agreed.” Faith nodded. “It’s been over a year since my mom passed, and I still feel that way.”
Conversation paused for an impromptu moment of silence before Alex changed the subject.
“There’s another reason I brought you all here.” She pulled out a notebook and a pen. “How the hell do you cook a turkey?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
On Thanksgiving morning, Brody picked up his mom from the airport. They drove straight back to Alex’s, where he found her in a metaphorical fetal position—surrounded by fresh produce and raw poultry, seemingly shell-shocked by the overwhelming task in front of her. Pops arrived right after they did, and the influx of people appeared to snap her out of her daze.
“Mom, this is Alex and her grandfather, Charles. Aka Pops,” Brody said. “Guys, this is my mom, Violet.”
After Brody did the introductions, he suggested Charles and his mom get a drink and watch the parade while he helped Alex in the kitchen.
“You okay?” he asked once they were out of earshot.
“Whatwas I thinking?” Alex whispered. “I blame you for this.”
He chuckled. “Hey, my mom and I usually order a pre-made meal from a local restaurant and eat while watching football games, so pretty much anything you’ve got going is better than that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
Over the week, he’d seen her planning—she was big on lists—and knew she’d met with Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Walker for advice. It would just be the four of them, but it was still new.
He thought she’d been exaggerating her culinary deficiencies, but when a pot of water on the stove boiled over, he realized perhaps he should have taken her at her word.
She grabbed the hot lid and dropped it with a yelp and a curse.
“How can I help?” he asked.
Thrusting her hand under cold water, she looked around. “I don’t even know where to start,” she said. “Making pie crust from scratch was way too ambitious. Don’t ask me how I thought I could pull off an entire dinner.”
“Take a deep breath.” He put his hands on her hips. “Let’s pare back a little. And focus on one thing at a time. We’ll make sure the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes are good. If that’s all we get, fine.”
She relaxed in his arms. “I did buy a frozen pie. For a break-in-case-of-emergency type situation.”
