Write What You Know: A Sweet Romantic Comedy by Mastorakos Jess

Author:Mastorakos, Jess
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

16

aurora

“Are you expecting anyone else to join us?” My dad asked Georgie, nodding toward the empty seat on his left.

Georgie chuckled. “Oh, no, sugar. That’s Gertie’s spot. She’s around here somewhere. Comes and goes as she pleases.”

I shared a look with Chip. The goat got a seat at the family dinner table?

Dad smothered a laugh, nodding stoically instead. “Right. Well, I’m looking forward to sharing a meal with her.”

“Thanks again for having us over for dinner,” Chip said to Georgie in an effort to steer us away from Gertie and her chair, one hand on his flat stomach. “I’m so full, but I also want seconds.”

“Real men get seconds,” Travis said under his breath from the seat on my right.

Thank goodness I was the only one who’d heard him.

Ignoring Travis, I playfully bumped Chip’s arm. “Save some room for dessert. Maybe we can go for ice cream after this.”

“Ooh! I wanna go!” Phoebe squealed.

“Oh, um, I was thinking it could be just Chip and me tonight,” I replied, leaning forward so I could see her around Travis.

Chip made a humming sound from my other side. “You know, we’re leaving pretty early. I think I’d rather just go back to the room and pack. But you should still go with Phoebe.”

I tried not to let my disappointment show, but it was hard while also attempting to ignore the shaking of Travis’s shoulders as he tried to stifle his silent laughter.

“Who turns down an ice cream date with a pretty girl?” he asked, once again low enough so he couldn’t be heard by the rest of the family.

I intentionally dropped my napkin so I could lean down to pick it up, hiding my whispered reply. “Someone responsible enough not to stay out late when he’s got a long drive tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh.”

The conversation shifted to Phoebe’s upcoming dance recital, and her squeal of delight broke the glare-off between Travis and me, nearly piercing my ears.

“I can’t wait for Wednesday night!” Phoebe preened, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. She was trying to look sophisticated, and while she often succeeded during a performance, her giggles gave her away tonight. “I’ve been practicing the routine everywhere I go.”

“We know,” several of her uncles and both grandfathers said.

“Hush, y’all,” Georgie chimed in. “Just because our girl here has been commandeering customers in every store on Main Street for an impromptu performance—”

“With scoring cards!” Phoebe cut in.

“Right, with scoring cards,” Georgie amended, “doesn’t mean any of you can give her any lip.”

“Ooh! Wanna see it right now and score me?”

There was a beat of hesitation, and then everyone at the table nodded enthusiastically and told her to go for it.

Suddenly, our family dinner turned into dinner with a show, and I didn’t miss the twinkle in my dad’s eyes throughout Phoebe’s routine. It was probably the fifth time he’d seen it, and he’d only been in town for a few days, but he looked way more lovingly patient than anyone in his command had likely ever seen him.

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