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“I think your pasta is boiling over,” Bethany whispered.

“Shit!” Cullen hissed, dashing over to the burner, making us all laugh.

Thirty minutes later, we were all settling down in the theater room with several bowls of pasta and a variety of takeout menus.

“How many desserts are too many desserts to order?” Beth asked thoughtfully as she thumbed through a leaflet. I had the remote in hand and was scrolling through the various movies and TV shows available.

“Order as many as you want,” Gideon said, sitting down on the couch next to her. She didn’t even flinch at the proximity.

“There’s got to be a limit. I cannot be allowed free rein on dessert menus,” she insisted.

“Honestly, we can each eat several desserts, easily.” Cullen passed her a fork for her pasta. “Get as many as you want, and I can assure you they won’t go to waste.”

Her eyes widened as she took in the menus. “There’s so much to choose from,” she muttered.

Gideon grinned, shaking his head. Reaching over, he plucked the menu from her hands. “Eat your pasta first,” he said, passing her the bowl.

She glanced down at the dish as he handed it to her, frowning. “What happened to my mac and cheese?” she asked, scrunching her nose.

Cullen smirked. “I added broccoli and chicken. I’m sorry, but there was no way I could serve you a meal with zero protein or veggies.”

He couldn’t help himself; the urge to care for Bethany was overpowering, and Cullen was very firm in his belief that a meal needed to contain protein and veggies to be balanced and healthy. No matter how much he wanted to please her and give her everything she wanted, we still had to look after her.

“Okay, I can accept the broccoli. Broccoli and cheese are a nice combination, but chicken? Really?” Her little nose scrunch was adorable.

“It’s good for you,” Gideon said.

She turned to him, sticking out her tongue before snatching up her fork and taking a bite. “It’s delicious,” she admitted, chewing slowly. “Even if you did desecrate it with extras.”

I had to put a hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing loudly. The look of righteous indignation on her face nearly sent me over the edge.

“Hush and pick what you want to watch,” Gideon said.

I never thought such a simple date night could be so perfect.

We insisted that Bethany pick the TV show, and in protest, she had chosen a trashy reality TV show. It was pretty obvious she expected us to object, but when I had excitedly put on the show, beaming at her as I pulled her in for a hug, she had simply stared at me in abject horror.

None of us really relished the idea of watching a reality show, especially not the trashy dating ones, but twenty minutes into the first episode, we werehooked.

“But that guy isn’t her type on paper,” I whispered as two of the contestants chatted.

Cullen hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not so sure. Big knots are everyone’s type.”

“You would know.” Bethany snorted lightly. She was nestled into my side, her head resting on my chest. As soon as she settled, Gideon had picked up her feet and placed them on his lap, his hand resting on her leg, always keeping her within reach.

Cullen was on the other sofa, watching us enviously.

When the third episode finished, we all glanced at one another.

“We have to keep watching,” I whispered.

Bethany bit her lip. “Just a few more minutes, maybe? They left it on a cliffhanger!”

Gideon grinned. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

She grinned at him. “Perfect, but first, I need a pee break!” she declared and extracted herself from our grasp.

“The dessert should be here any minute as well, so that’s perfect timing,” I said.