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he noted. “What time do you guys usually eat?”

      “Five thirty,” Charlotte told him.

      “I guess that means it’s dinnertime,” he acknowledged, mentally inventorying the contents of his refrigerator to determine if he had anything left to feed them. “What do you like to eat?”

      “Pizza,” Emily announced.

      “Chicken fingers,” Charlotte countered.

      “S’ghetti,” Hanna chimed in.

      “Well, at least we have a consensus,” he said drily.

      “What’s a sen-sus?” Emily asked.

      “It means agreement,” he told her.

      Her little brow furrowed.

      “He was being sarcastic,” her older sister explained.

      “Oh,” Emily said. Then, “What’s scar-tas-tic?”

      “Sarcastic.” Tristyn enunciated the word for her. “And it’s your uncle Josh’s way of trying to be funny, but he’s not.”

      “S’ghetti,” Hanna said again.

      “You had pasta for lunch,” Josh reminded her.

      “Not s’ghetti,” she argued.

      “What’s your vote, Tristyn?”

      A peek at her watch made her grimace. “Actually, I—” she glanced at the girls’ hopeful expressions “—I think going out to eat would allow everyone to choose what they wanted.”

      “And it would give my kitchen a reprieve,” he agreed.

      “I just need to make a quick call first,” Tristyn said.

      He offered his new phone.

      “I’ve got my own,” she reminded him, tapping the screen as she stepped away.

      “Can we go eat now?” Emily implored. “I’m hungry.”

      “Me, too,” Charlotte said.

      “As soon as Tristyn’s finished with her phone call, we’ll go.” He didn’t pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping on her call, and though he heard only bits and pieces of one side of the conversation, it was enough pieces to put together and figure out she was canceling plans for dinner with someone else.

      “You had a date,” he said, when she’d disconnected the call.

      She nodded.

      “You didn’t have to cancel,” he told her, though he was secretly pleased that she’d done so. And grateful that she would be sticking around to help him out with the girls for a little while longer.

      “Well, my car’s still at your place, and by the time we drove back there and then I drove home to change, I would have been late, anyway.”

      “I’m sure your date wouldn’t mind waiting...especially if you promised to make it up to him later.”

      “So what’s the plan for dinner?” she asked, deliberately ignoring his comment.

      The question was answered with renewed calls for “pizza,” “chicken fingers” and “s’ghetti.”

      “All of those are on the menu at Valentino’s,” Tristyn pointed out.

      “But what do you want to eat?” he asked her, as he led the girls back to his truck.

      “Are you buying?”

      “It seems the least I can do to thank you for your help today,” he told her.

      “Then I want steak,” she decided. “A nice thick juicy steak.”

      He buckled Hanna into her booster seat, then stepped back so that Emily could climb into hers while Tristyn opened the door on the other side for Charlotte. “From Valentino’s?”

      “No, from The Grille. So I’ll have the seven-layer lasagna tonight and take an IOU for the steak.”

      He lifted a brow. “You’re trying to wrangle a date, aren’t you?”

      “Ha!”

      “Is that where you were supposed to go for dinner tonight?” he asked, settling behind the wheel and securing his own seat belt.

      “I’m not discussing my plans with you,” she told him.

      “Who was your date with?”

      “Refer to previous answer.”

      He should let it go. It really was none of his business, but he was curious. “Was it a first date?”

      “Refer to previous answer,” she said again.

      “Because I haven’t heard you mention that you were dating anyone.”

      “Should I add my social engagements to the itinerary of GSR’s monthly meetings?”

      “That would be helpful,” he agreed.

      “Well, it’s not happening,” she told him.

      Her response didn’t surprise him. What surprised him was how much he sincerely wanted answers to his questions. But for now, he decided to be satisfied with the knowledge that she’d canceled her date to have dinner with him.

      * * *

      The waitress introduced herself as Sydney, recited the daily specials as she handed out menus and filled their water glasses, then left them alone to peruse the offerings.

      Valentino’s didn’t specifically have a children’s menu, but they did offer child-sized portions of any of their entrées.

      Charlotte frowned as she scanned the options. “There’s no chicken fingers on the menu.”

      “The cook will make them,” Tristyn assured her.

      “How do you know?”

      “Because he’s made them for my niece before.”

      “I want pizza,” Emily reminded them all.

      Tristyn pointed to the section of the menu that listed the various options and toppings, but Emily wanted only cheese.

      “Pep-ro-ni,” Hanna said.

      “You said you wanted spaghetti,” Josh reminded her.

      His youngest niece shook her head. “P’za.”

      “Pizza with pepperoni?” he asked, seeking clarification.

      She nodded, and then said, “I has to go potty.”

      “You just went when we were at the store,” he reminded her.

      “I has to go agin,” she insisted.

      He looked at Tristyn, who sighed. “This is the real reason you offered to buy me dinner, isn’t it? So that you could escape bathroom duty.”

      “Well, I can’t take her into the men’s room, and there’s no way I’m walking into the women’s,” he pointed out.

      “I hafta go, too,” Emily said.

      “Charlotte?” Tristyn prompted.

      She shook her head.

      “Why don’t you come, anyway, to wash up before dinner?” Tristyn suggested.

      So she herded the three girls off to the ladies’ room, leaving Josh alone at a table for five. Thankfully, he knew what everyone wanted, so when Sydney passed by the table again, he was able to place their order.

      Charlotte and Hanna returned first, and Josh was settling his youngest niece into the booster seat again when Tristyn’s sister Jordyn came over. Jordyn was married to Marco Palermo, whose grandparents had started serving pasta in the original downtown location

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