“Yeah, I had an eye on you.” To the rest of the table, Evan added, “When we started the cooking portion of the event, he made Paige do all the work.”
“Oof,” said Lauren.
“He’s the first foodie I’ve met who doesn’t know how to cook,” said Paige.
“They’re out there,” said Lindsay. “Remember when I dated Matt Petroff?”
Everyone groaned. The Petroff family was well known in New York for being culinary giants. They’d run a food-related magazine empire before selling it off to the highest bidder for an absurd profit, and now Matt’s parents owned several of the city’s hottest restaurants. Matt Petroff had all the privilege of the sort of white guy who grew up with very wealthy parents and zero self-awareness.
“I don’t know if that counts,” said Paige. “Matt was like the one person in that whole family who did not care about food.”
Lindsay frowned. “Well, his wife’s social media is wall-to-wall pictures of food, so I guess he’s eating. Oh. I didn’t tell you? He married a photogenic home chef last year.”
“Story checks out,” said Evan.
Lindsay sighed. “You’re right, Paige, men suck.”
“I didn’t say anything,” said Paige.
“No, but that’s the subtext. I have been unimpressed by Brooklyn’s offerings of late.”
“And yet you skipped the singles event of the year,” said Evan.
“Something good came out of it, didn’t it?” said Lindsay.
Evan narrowed his eyes at her. “Sure. I hope that taping you went to was better.”
Lindsay mock swooned. “Chef Campanello is so dreamy. He’s like if Superman grew a beard and became a chef.”
“What was the taping?” asked Lauren.
“It’s a new reality show calledChef Gauntlet. Four contestants have to get through three rounds of grueling cooking challenges, and whoever is left standing wins. Chef Campanello won, by the way.”
“What is a grueling cooking challenge?” asked Paige.
“Oh, like, make an appetizer with this really gross ingredient, like an obscure fruit from Southeast Asia that smells like dirty diapers. Make an entree, but the only tool you’re allowed is this one big knife. And the last challenge was to repurpose a birthday cake into an entirely different dessert. It was really fun to watch. I’m writing it up forDine Out New York.”
There’d been a time when these little gatherings had felt more like girls’ nights, plus Evan. Caleb’s presence was throwing Paige off a little. Not that she didn’t feel free to talk openly in front of him, but he was often quiet and made her wonder if he and Lauren talked over everything they said when they got home.
But apparently this was just Paige feeling nervous; Lindsay said, “How about you, Caleb? How is the veterinary biz?”
Caleb smiled. “Fine. A poodle gave birth on my watch today, so that was unexpected.”
Evan gasped. “Are the owners keeping the puppies?”
“Are you going to adopt one?” asked Lauren.
“My cat would probably disapprove.”
“I think they are keeping the puppies. There were only three. The mama poodle is a retired show dog and I kind of got the vibe the owners want to show the puppies when they’re big enough.”
“Dog shows are so weird,” said Lindsay. “I’ve always wanted to go to one. Actually, now that I write for an animal website, I wonder if I can finagle a press pass for the one they do at Chelsea Piers every year.”
“Youhaveto take me,” said Evan.
Maybe the thing bugging Paige was how normal all this felt. Tonight could have been interchangeable with any other night that her friends met for drinks over the last couple of years. Except Paige felt out of sorts. Her gut churned, her chest ached, and she missed Josh so much that she was tempted to text him under the table, though she wouldn’t.
She could so easily picture Josh here with his arm casually draped around Paige’s shoulders the way that Caleb’s was around Lauren. Josh would probably tease Lauren and make jokes with Evan and talk about food with Lindsay.
