The Bromance Book Club (Bromance Book Club, #1)(21)

“Sounds great,” Gavin answered. “Thanks.”

“I want the grilled cheese,” Amelia said, scampering onto her knees and leaning her elbows on the table. “And applesauce.”

“What do you want, honey?” Thea asked Ava. “You want the grilled cheese too?”

Ava shrugged. Thea held in a sigh. She couldn’t let this sullen behavior go on much longer, because Ava was venturing into outright disrespect, but Thea wasn’t going to say anything now. Tonight was tense enough already. Besides, she wasn’t going to punish her daughter for the crime of being a child and expressing her confusion the only way a child knew how. Adults expected too much of children sometimes.

Once, in the weeks after her father filed for divorce, Thea’s mother locked herself in her room for days. When Thea knocked one day to complain she was hungry, her mother screamed at her to grow up and to stop being so selfish.

Thea had been ten. She and Liv learned to cook for themselves after that.

Thea planned to make sure the girls received age-appropriate counseling after the divorce—something else she and Liv probably would have benefited from. Hopefully, that would help Ava adjust to the new reality of her world.

The waitress wandered over with their drinks and took their order before leaving them again in strained silence.

“Daisies,” Gavin suddenly said, staring at the jar in the center of the table. He smiled at Amelia. “Mommy had a daisy in her hair the first time I saw her.”

Amelia giggled. “She did?”

“I did?”

Gavin looked at her. “It was woven into your braid.”

“Why did you have a daisy in your braid, Mommy?” Amelia asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember that.”

“That’s too bad,” Gavin said quietly. “Because I’ve never forgotten it.”

“Mommy likes dandelions,” Ava grumped.

Thea blinked several times and tore her gaze away from Gavin, who was studying her again like he did during the theater. Like he did on Saturday. As if seeing her for the first time. Maybe he was. It had been years since she felt like he saw her at all.

Thea smoothed Ava’s hair. “Dandelions from you will always be my favorite.”

Awkwardness hung in the air like a thick layer of humidity. Thea pulled out the crayons and coloring books she always carried in her purse to keep the girls occupied when they were out. This time, though, Thea was using them to occupy herself. She helped Ava color a picture for several minutes until Gavin cleared his throat.

“So,” Gavin started, toying with his glass of water. “Wh-when are you going back to school?”

Thea kept her eyes locked on the coloring book. “If I’m accepted, I’ll start classes this summer.”

“So it’s just for one semester?”

She snorted. “I wish. Maybe if I went full time, but that’s not really possible with the girls. I hope to be done in eighteen months.”

“Eighteen months,” he repeated. “That, uh, that seems doable.”

“I’m glad you approve.”

“And then what? I mean, after you have your degree?”

“I’ll pursue an art career. Just like I always planned.”

He hesitated a long moment before responding to that one. “That’s, uh, that’s great,” he said. “I’m glad to see you return to your art.”

“So am I.”

Their food arrived, and the busy task of helping the girls eat while trying to also get some food into themselves stifled any other conversation, thankfully. Midway through dessert—a brownie skillet that they always shared as a family—Stella herself emerged from the back and wandered over to their table to chat.

“I was just thinking about y’all,” she said. “Been ages since you’ve been in.”

“We’ve been busy,” Thea said automatically, the lie so natural that she almost believed it herself. “The girls are in preschool now and taking dance classes, so it’s hard to get out.”

“Y’all have any plans for the holidays?”

“Nothing concrete,” Thea said.

Amelia looked up with a chocolate ring around her mouth. “We’re going to see Grammy and Papa in Ohio for ’Sanksgiving.”

Ah, shit. Thea hadn’t yet told the girls that their plan to visit Gavin’s parents was cancelled. She’d hoped they’d forgotten about it since it had been more than two months since she and Gavin had even talked about it. But little girls rarely forgot about trips to see grandparents who spoiled them.

“Well, that was our plan, but, um—” Thea searched the air for an excuse but came up empty. Her ability to lie on command was quickly losing power. “But it turns out we’re just going to be sticking around here.”

“But I want to go see Grammy!” Amelia whined.

“Me too,” Ava said, her voice an octave higher than Amelia’s.

Thea rested a hand on Ava’s leg. “Sweetie, we’ll talk about it later.”

“But why can’t we go?” Amelia asked.

“Amelia,” Gavin said quietly but firmly. “Mommy said w-we’ll talk about it at home later.”

“But you don’t come home anymore!”