“Always. Angelo, don’t let Roux intimidate you. She likes shiny things, so be careful.”
Roux stuck her tongue out at me. “Who are these little guys?” she said, holding a handful of pawns. “They’re adorable. I want one.”
“Have fun,” I said, waving at them as I left. Even as we walked away, I could hear Angelo’s calm, measured voice. “You may have many pawns. No, no, not that many …”
“Nervous?” I asked Jesse as we walked over to the Boathouse, where we were meeting his mom for lunch.
“A little. Not as nervous as I was that time when a madman was chasing us and we had to jump in a helicopter.”
I grinned and squeezed him tighter. “I like to keep you on your toes,” I said. “And besides, I was just getting back at you for that whole ice skating thing.”
“That seems fair,” he said.
“Are you still coming over for dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, of course. Your dad’s making chili, right?” Jesse and my dad had really started bro-ing it up, which was good for my dad. He had spent too much time surrounded by women. They even watched the Super Bowl together, which I had never seen my dad do in my life.
“I think so. Guess we’ll find out.” We stood at the entrance to the restaurant and I saw Jesse scan the diners, his face relaxing as he spotted a tall blond woman. “There she is. You ready?”
“Always,” I replied, and we went forward without looking back.