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“Tyler, you look nice.”
My hand barely wraps around her. “Thanks. You do too.”
“It’s really nice of you guys to invite me to Kristen’s birthday dinner.”
“I didn’t invite you. Diane gets to take all of the credit for that.”
Beverly raises a shoulder. “Either way, Noah and I are thrilled to be here. Since my divorce, Sundays have been such a lonely day.”
Diane takes her apron off and folds it neatly on the counter. “I’m sure Tyler feels the same way. Maybe we should make this dinner a monthly tradition.”
Beverly beams. “I’d love that.”
“Boys!” Diane calls, leaning into the living room. “It’s time for dinner.”
Beverly loops her arm around mine. “You’ll sit by me, won’t you, Tyler?”
Diane ushers us into the dining room. “Of course he will.”
Krew and Noah pull out chairs across from us, and Diane sits at the head of the table. “I made Kristen’s favorite meal. Salmon with lemon noodles and garlic-herbed green beans.
“Gross,” Krew mutters to Noah.
“Krew, that’s not nice manners. Hasn’t your father cooked you salmon before?”
He shifts his focus to me. “No, we eat chicken nuggets, pizza, and Panda Express for dinner.”
“Tyler, he can’t live off of that kind of food. You need to expand his palate.”
“I thought Panda Expresswasexpanding his palate.”
Diane puts a large helping of salmon on Krew’s plate. “When you’re at grandma’s house, you need to eat grandma’s food.”
Krew pushes his plate away. “No.”
“Krew.” Diane’s voice turns stern. “You will sit at this table until you eat every bite.”
“But I’m not hungry.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not. I had pancakes this morning.”
Beverly turns to me, brows raised. “You made pancakes?”
I open my mouth to answer, but Krew cuts me off.
“No, Mrs. Johnson made the pancakes.”
Diane’s fork freezes midair, and Beverly lets out a strained laugh.
I’m thinking of every swear word in my mind right now, but no way I can say any of them in front of Krew. Or my particularly judgy mother-in-law.
“Um…” I clear my throat. “Miss Johnson left something in my car last night after the game and came by this morning to pick it up. I didn’t want to be rude, so I invited her in for breakfast.”
Diane’s lips press together into a thin slash. “And she agreed?”
“I’m very persuasive.”
