Willing at the Library by Liz Fox

Author:Liz Fox [Fox, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Hope

I pull the lasagna out of the oven and set it on the stove top. Glancing around the kitchen, I make sure everything is ready. Salad, check. Garlic bread, check. Chocolate pudding pie, check. I can’t believe Ryan ditched me to take care of some kind of work thing. Disappointment flows through me, followed quickly by anger. Of all the disrespectful, jackass things to do.

Screw it. Screw him. I’m not going to let him ruin my evening. In fact, I’m the lucky one. I get an evening with a smart young woman. We’re going to have good food and good fun. And, I decide right then, he’s not getting any leftovers.

“Let’s finish setting the table.” I squeeze Finley’s shoulder. “It looks like we’ve got more than enough food. Hey, I have an idea. Would you mind if we invite a couple of my friends to eat with us?”

“Yeah, that’s okay.” She seems a little subdued, and she’s already a quiet girl. She’s obviously not surprised by her father’s behavior, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t disappointed. I can’t imagine how many times he has pulled the same stunt. Father fail.

Setting Finley on a stool in the kitchen, I make a call to Sara, my coworker from the library.

“Hey girl, do you have any plans tonight?”

“Nah. Me and Zach are just hanging out. We were about to order some pizza.”

“Well, I made a full meal and don’t want it to go to waste. You want to come over? Zach is welcome to join.”

“That sounds great.”

Ten minutes later, the four of us are sitting around the table. It turns out Finley isn’t a picky eater. In fact, she loads her plate with all the food it can carry. I’ll be surprised if she manages to finish even half of it.

After we sit, I introduce Finley.

“Hey Finley, this is Sara. I’m sure you remember her from the library. And this is her friend, Zach. Guys, this is Finley.”

With the introductions complete, we dig into our food. Zach looks like he hasn’t eaten real food in days, devouring a slice of garlic bread in just two bites. Sara, Finley, and I watch in amazement. Our amazement turns to giggles as Zach looks up, his cheeks stuffed like a hamster.

“What?”

Finley’s tinkling laughter is the cutest. Once we finish eating, we leave the table and head to the living room. On the way there, Zach gets down on her level and starts getting to know her a little better. I catch Sara staring at him dreamily and laugh to myself, getting her attention.

I raise my eyebrows and look back and forth between the two, as if saying, “So, is there something going on here?’

She gives me a look that says, “No. We’ll talk about it later!”

I simply smile, nod my head, and bring the chocolate cream pie to the family room.

“Does anyone want pie while we watch a show?”

They reply with a chorus of, “Yes.”

While I slice the pie and put it on the plates, I ask, “What do we want to watch?”

Everyone looks at Finley, waiting for her to pick.

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