Page 56 of It's in the Contract
“STAY!” Mia shrieks and throws her chubby little arms around my waist. The apron, which has long since been destroyed by goopy butter smears and swaths of flour, brushes against my legs, but I find that I don’t care. Not too much, anyway. “Sister evil unicorn.”
That’s it. How can I say no to that?
I smile and gently touch Mia’s springy black curls. “I would love to stay.”
Twenty-One
Which of these girls will take the crown? And which will get cream pie in the face? Find out at the Homecoming fair!
TikTok caption by @CassidyandBrianMVH.
“Mmmm.”A truly unholy moan escapes my mouth. Caroline served homemade lasagna for dinner, and I chew a mouthful of gooey cheese and al dente noodles covered in savory ragu.
Zeke grins. “Mama’s lasagna is the best.”
Caroline smiles from where she sits at the dining room table across from Zeke, who is sitting next to me. Mia is by Caroline, picking all the ground beef bits out of her lasagna and hunting for the cheese and noodles. My kind of girl.
“I love it, Mrs. Harris,” I say. “It’s amazing.”
Caroline beams and scoops another portion to my plate.
“Cheese is the way to Callie’s heart,” Zeke adds with a wink.
I blush and take another bite. “He knows me too well.” I add this in partially for Caroline’s benefit, hoping that this will help sell to her that Zeke is making friends.
Caroline looks between us with a knowing smile. Uh oh. I hope she’s not thinking that there’s anything more going on here.
There’s not. Definitely.
The front door opens, and a masculine voice says, “I’m home!”
I freeze, fork halfway to my mouth. I don’t know why, but I’m sort of nervous to meet Zeke’s dad.
Mia leaps up from her chair and runs to the front door. “Daddy!” I hear a lot of giggling and screaming and a male voice playfully roaring, and then he comes around the corner, carrying his daughter on his shoulders and wearing light blue scrubs.
Zeke stands and gives his dad a hug, and I can see where Zeke gets his height. Mr. Harris has a head of tight black curls like his daughter and is tall and lanky like his son. He has a broad nose and an even broader smile. Caroline walks over to give him a hug and a kiss.
“Shawn, have you met Callie?”
I stand and stretch out my hand for a handshake. Shawn takes my hand in a warm grip. Mia giggles and clutches his head tighter. “No, I haven’t. So this is the famous Callie?”
“Famous?” I turn to Zeke with a raised eyebrow, who ducks his head with a laugh.
“They’re just happy I made a friend so quickly,” Zeke says.
“Daddy, I’m soooo hungry,” Mia says.
“Hi, Hungry, I’m Dad.”
Mia guffaws. “That’s a dad joke!”
Shawn lifts Mia from off his shoulders and sets her in her chair. He takes a seat and helps himself to a heaping pile of lasagna. “Smells amazing.” He smiles at his wife, who pours Mia a cup of milk then sits back down next to her husband.
The conversation goes on, warm and friendly, and Zeke’s parents ask him about the things he cares about—D&D with hisbrothers later, where he’s at in his video game, what he thinks of the books he’s reading. It’s . . . nice.
“So Callie, what do you like to do?” Shawn asks, using a piece of garlic bread to swipe up some stray marinara from his plate. Shawn and Caroline turn to me expectantly.
Despite living in the spotlight for much of my life, I’m uncomfortable with the attention, and I stiffen. “Well . . . I’m a cheerleader. I like that. What about you?” I try to turn the conversation back to Shawn.
