LITMIR.BIZ

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video games like Ms. PAC-MAN and pinball.

      Celeste came here about once a month, either with her sister or with friends. Usually she enjoyed the delicious wood-fired pizza and the comfortable, familiar atmosphere. The scent alone—garlic and yeast and a fabulous red sauce—made her stomach rumble.

      On the heels of that first sensory overload, though, Celeste became aware that people were looking with curiosity at her and her companions.

      She saw the police chief, Trace Bowman, and his wife, Becca, at one table with their children. In the next booth were Nate Cavazos and his wife, Emery, one of her good friends. Emery and Becca both looked intrigued.

      For a wild moment, she wished she had refused the invitation from Olivia—or that she had persuaded Flynn to take them all the way to Jackson Hole or even Idaho Falls, somewhere far away from Pine Gulch where people didn’t know her.

      Instead, she squared her shoulders, waved at her friends and did her best to ignore their speculative looks.

      “Hi, Celeste,” Natalie Dalton, the hostess chirped the greeting while looking at Flynn and Olivia with curiosity.

      She used to babysit for Nat and her siblings. “Hi, Natalie. Great to see you. I miss seeing you at the library these days.”

      “I still come in, though mostly at night for study groups. I just don’t have much reason to hit the children’s section anymore unless I’ve got one of the little ones with me.”

      Her father and stepmother had two children together, in addition to the four Wade Dalton had had with his first wife, who had died tragically in childbirth.

      Natalie turned her attention to Olivia and Flynn. “Hi, there. Welcome to The Rock. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Natalie.”

      Celeste felt as though she had the manners of a dried-up turnip right now. “Sorry. This is Flynn Delaney and his daughter, Olivia.”

      She smiled at them both. “Hi, Olivia. Hi, Flynn.”

      “We’re here celebrating a certain young lady’s seventh birthday today,” Celeste said.

      “Happy birthday!” Natalie exclaimed, beaming at her and holding her hand out for a fist bump.

      “Thank you,” Olivia said. She didn’t meet her eye, and though she raised her hand halfheartedly to bump Nat’s, she quickly lowered it again and looked at the floor.

      What had happened to the animated birthday girl who had chattered in the car about her favorite Jan Brett Christmas book? Now she seemed nervous and uneasy, as if she wanted to be anywhere else in the world than the best pizza place in the entire region.

      Celeste placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. When she’d first arrived in Pine Gulch after their Colombian ordeal, it had taken her a long time before she could completely relax in public places like this. She imagined Olivia was feeling the same way.

      “I’ve got the perfect table for a birthday girl,” Natalie said, her cheerfulness undeterred by Olivia’s reticence. “Follow me, guys.”

      Indeed, she led them to an excellent table overlooking the Christmas lights on Main Street. From here, they even could see the fun display in the window of the local toy store.

      “Thanks,” Flynn murmured. Olivia slid into the booth first and Flynn went in after her. Celeste slid across from them.

      “What’s good here?” Flynn asked, scanning one of the menus Natalie left them.

      “Everything,” she answered honestly. “The pizza, the pasta, the sandwiches. You can’t go wrong.”

      “I wanted pizza,” Olivia said, her voice still small.

      “Pizza it is,” Flynn said. “Why don’t we order three personal size? Then everybody can choose the toppings they like.”

      “The personal size is usually huge,” she told him. “At least enough for two people.”

      “That’s okay. Pizza leftovers are one of the true joys in life, right?”

      When he smiled, she thought he should have been the movie star in the family instead of his mother and former wife. He would break hearts all over the world with those completely natural good looks.

      Her stomach jumped all over the place again. Oh, this crush was so embarrassing. She would be lucky if she could eat any pizza at all.

      At least she was able to talk casually when he asked her to help him choose between pizza selections. A few moments later the server, Lucy Boyer—Natalie’s cousin—headed over to take their order.

      She beamed when she spotted Celeste. “Hey, Ms. N. How are things?”

      “Great, Lucy. How are you?”

      “Can’t complain. I’m working on my college essays and it’s such a pain. You probably love that kind of thing, since you’re a genius author and all. You might not know this, but for some people writing is hard.”

      She didn’t want to burst that particular fantasy by telling her the truth, that sometimes every single word was a struggle.

      “Hey, what’s this I hear about a Sparkle movie in the works?”

      How on earth did rumors spread like that? She hadn’t made her final decision yet, though she knew she couldn’t wait much longer.

      “A movie?” Olivia exclaimed. “Really?”

      For some reason, Flynn’s easy expression had tightened, and he was gazing at her with his brow furrowed.

      “I don’t know yet. Possibly.” Probably.

      She still wasn’t sure she wanted to see her baby on the big screen, but at this point she didn’t know how to stop that particular train.

      “That’s seriously cool. I’ll be the first in line to buy tickets. That’s such a great story.”

      “It’s my favorite, too,” Olivia said.

      “Cool! I heard from a little squirrel that you’ve got a birthday today.”

      Olivia nodded. She looked as though she was torn between withdrawing into herself to hide from the attention and any kid’s natural excitement about being the star of the day.

      “We’ll make sure your pizza is perfect, then. What kind do you want?”

      Olivia ordered cheese, which Lucy assured them would come with a special birthday surprise. Celeste picked her favorite, margherita, which came with fresh basil and the hand-pulled mozzarella The Rock was famous for, and Flynn went for the meat lover’s delight.

      After she left, Flynn picked up the conversation.

      “A movie?” he asked.

      “We’re in talks,” she answered. “It’s a terrifying proposition, to be honest.”

      “Will the real Sparkle be in the movie?” Olivia asked.

      Celeste smiled. “It’s going to be animated, so no.”

      She and the little girl started talking about their favorite holiday films—Olivia’s was Elf, while Celeste still favored It’s A Wonderful Life.

      In no time, their pizza arrived. Olivia’s surprise was that her pizza was shaped like a Christmas tree.

      The pizza was every bit as good as usual, cooked just right in the wood-fired oven.

      Flynn apparently agreed. “Wow,” he said after the first bite. “That’s a good pie. If I’d known how good, we would have been eating here every night since we came to town.”

      “Doug and Jacinda DeMarco, the owners, are big on the artisan pizza scene. They make their own mozzarella and burrata and try to use locally sourced produce and meats wherever they can. They have an extensive greenhouse where they grow their own

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