Page 93 of The Matchmaker Club

I choked on my bite of macaroni and coughed up the piece I almost inhaled.

Javier smiled, and Bill looked like he had died twice, been resurrected once, and didn’t know what the hell was going on.

Lainey took a long gulp of wine.

“It will be fifteen years in February,” Javier said.

Oh no. Lainey.

She poked through her mac and cheese with a fork but didn’t take a bite.

I screwed this up so badly.

“And you work together?” Charlie shook his head. “If couples can survive home life and working together that long, then you’ve got something special.”

Lucas gave me a knowing smile and shrugged. Austin was too busy shoveling macaroni in his mouth to even care. He may have obsessed a bit on what other people said about him, but he was never the kind to get involved in gossip. I did like that he didn’t react to the news, like it was no big deal.

“I’m a lucky man,” Javier said as he smiled at Bill. Bill returned that smile. You could see they were still in love.

I felt terrible that I had never noticed all those years we had known them.

We changed the subject after that, and things went back to normal. Even Lainey started to eat, and she laughed with Bill and Javier about something only they would understand.

Maybe this night wouldn’t turn out so bad after all.

When Lainey brought out dessert, I was too full to even think about it. Lucas passed as well. He said apples didn’t agree with him, but I had a feeling he didn’t care for the dessert. Instead, he helped me serve coffee and tea.

“Wow,” Javier said. “This is really good.” Everyone agreed as they put heaping forkfuls into their mouths.

“It tastes different than your usual,” my grandmother said.

“Probably the honey butter I added this time.”

My grandmother’s fork stilled in her hand, and she looked up at Lainey with wide eyes. “You used the honey butter I made to cook dessert?”

Lainey took another bite. “Yes, why?”

My grandmother smiled. “I think we should all stop eating now.”

“You didn’t!” I said.

She shrugged. “I wanted to try it with toast and jam. I didn’t know you’d use it in your cooking, for crying out loud.”

“What’s going on?” Javier asked. “Is something wrong with the dessert?”

I wrung my fingers together. “We… um… accidentally cooked the apple crisp with my grandmother’s THC butter. It’s like marijuana but concentrated into an edible. And you’re definitely going to feel it.”

Austin laughed. “Nice. Always wanted to try your grandma’s stash.”

Javier shrugged and took one more bite. “I got my own at home. I’m good with it.”

Bill seemed okay too, and so was Lainey. Poor Charlie was wide-eyed and about three shades paler. I put my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay with this? If you want me to drive you to a hospital, I will.”

He waved me off. “No, no. I’ll be fine. I’ve had your grandmother’s treats before.”

Well, this was new.

“Really?” I asked.