Page 72

“Yeah, I feel the same way,” she said. “I mean, I’ve read articles about you, but seeing you in person is different, obviously.” That comment was directed at Eloise, who had been gazing at Cade with hearts in her eyes.

“Thank you. Don’t believe everything you read.” Eloise winked and Sophie let out a little squeak as her face blushed brilliantly red.

“Hey, are you hungry? Should we get something to eat?” I asked Sophie.

She nodded and I pulled her toward the food, setting a plate in her hands.

“I know you warned me about meeting Eloise Roth, but I’m still freaking out a little bit. She’s so famous!” she hissed at me as I served her.

“How do you want your burger?” I asked her. There was something intimate about doing this for her. Sophie didn’t seem to mind that I’d taken over.

“Uh, cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato. Oh my god, I need to calm down,” she said, putting the plate down and shaking her hands out.

“Hey. You’re good. Everything’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you, Soph. And if you need to go, all you gotta do is talk about peaches and we’re gone. My friends will all understand. Okay?”

I made sure she looked into my eyes and saw how serious I was. This was going to be a good day for her. I’d do whatever I could to make that happen.

“Yeah,” she said, and I handed her the plate again. She waited with me while I made one for myself and then we snagged some drinks.

There were plenty of chairs and my friends had grabbed a few, so I headed in that direction.

Stace’s little brothers ran by, chasing their friends.

We’d just sat down when Stace’s mother, Maggie, came over to ask us if we needed anything.

“Oh, you must be Sophie, it’s lovely to meet you,” Maggie said, giving Sophie a warm smile. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for having me,” Sophie said.

“Of course. We just love Reid.” She winked at me and I snorted.

“She’s exaggerating,” I said.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Maggie said, hands on her hips.

“No, ma’am,” I said, and she grinned.

“Damn straight. I’ll be around if you need anything. My husband is at the grill if you have any requests.”

She pointed at the man wearing the apron with KING OF THE GRILL printed on it who was waving a pair of tongs around as he told a story to a group of other men who were all laughing.

A moment later a tall man with absolutely massive muscles walked over with a wiry man with red hair.

“Hey, Reid, how’s it going?”

I nodded. “I’m good, Tor, how are you?”

He shrugged and had a swig of his soda. “Eh, can’t complain.”

“This is Sophie,” I said, nodding to her. “Soph, this is Stace’s brother Torrin and his boyfriend Micah.”

She said hello to both of them.

“Wait, are you the one who brought the nut-free cobbler?” Torrin asked, setting one beefy arm across Micah’s shoulders and pulling him closer.

“Um, yes,” Sophie said. “That was me.”

“Thank you,” Micah said, leaning into Torrin. “I really appreciate someone taking allergies into consideration.”