Page 40 of And I Love Her

Casablanca Wed. night. 7pm. Be there or be square. Or you can be both there and square. Your call.

She typed a reply.What if I’m busy?

You are. With me.

Suppressing a smile, she set the phone on the counter. “Rory, do you know anything about hamsters eating tiny food?”

“You mean the videos?” Rory took a cocoa-dusted cake from the cold case and started boxing it up.

“I guess. What are they?”

“Videos of hamsters eating tiny food.”

“That’s it?” Callie poured herself a cup of decaf coffee. “People watch videos of hamsters eating?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure they went viral. But they’re not just eating. They’re eatingtinyfood, like tacos and stuff. Hamster-sized people food.”

“What’s the point?”

“They’re cute.” After tearing off an order form, Rory taped it to the front of the box.

“But that’s it?” She took a sip of coffee. “It’s just videos of hamsters eating little tacos?”

“And other stuff. Pizza, burgers, sushi.” Rory set the box on a shelf and eyed her with a hint of exasperation. “They’re just cute, funny videos, that’s all. Who told you about the hamsters anyway?”

“Um, a student.”

Callie ducked her head to conceal her blush. She and her sisters had always been like oil and water, but they also loved each other and had always been there for one another. Yet not for anything would Callie tell either Rory or Aria—or their mother, of all people—about hanging out with Jake last night. They could keep a secret, but the more people who knew about Jake, the riskier his position became.

If the press found out who he was, they would bombard him with unwanted attention. Not only did Callie not want to be the one to blow his cover, she really didn’t want to share him with anyone else just yet. Least of all a mob.

Even if Jake wasn’t a celebrity, she wouldn’t have told her family about him. Her mother and Aria would shriek like banshees and perform a celebratory dance over the fact that she was seeing an actual living, breathing man. Rory would tell her it was about time she was getting some. They’d all want to know about the date.

Callie wasn’t willing to share a single detail with anyone. Especially not three women who were on her case about being “controlling” and responsible.

And yet, if she left them on their own for longer than a week, it’d be a disaster.

“Speaking of tacos, Mom mentioned doing a taco bar for our Wednesday night dinner,” Rory said.

Callie looked at her coffee. She hadn’t missed a Wednesday night dinner since they established the tradition a year ago. They all made an effort to plan their schedules around dinner at Eleanor’s on Wednesday nights.

A heavy sensation settled in her gut. Her book proposal was apparently outdated, which meant she had to start from scratch. She didn’t know if she understood what the Cambridge editor had even been talking about. Her mother was “bitching” about her. Her sisters wanted her to get out of town, probably because they needed a break from her. A big trip to New York had taken over her high-tea plans for Eleanor’s birthday. Everyone knew about the hamsters except her.

“Actually, I’m not going to Mom’s on Wednesday.” Drawing her shoulders back, Callie leveled her gaze on her younger sister.

Rory blinked, her mouth opening and closing. Hah. Nice to see tough-as-nails Rory speechless for a change.

“Why not?” Rory asked.

“I have to work on my book.” The lie came without effort, since it was usually Callie’s honest excuse.

“You can’t do that earlier?”

“No.” Turning her back, she pushed open the double wooden doors of the kitchen. “Guess you’ll have to eat tacos without me. Maybe you should make them hamster-sized.”

She strode into the kitchen and let the doors slam behind her with a satisfyingthud.

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