“Oh, right, you were a coconspirator,” said Josh. “That was tricky of you, making me show up an hour early.”
“And yet you’re still late,” said Caleb, with a raised eyebrow.
Evan looked between everyone. “What’s going on?”
Josh shrugged. “Paige used subterfuge to feed me ice cream and talk me into taking her back.”
“And?” Lauren said.
Josh, still acting casual, said, “I took her back.”
Everyone let out a little cheer.
“Anyway,” said Caleb. “Thanks for coming, everyone. We didn’t think it would be this crowded.”
“You really should have known better,” said Lindsay. “A Brooklyn barbecue joint on a nice summer day? I’m surprised it’s notmorecrowded.”
“It’s casual and summery,” said Lauren, sounding defensive.
“Oh, guys, this is Will,” said Evan. “He’s my date for this shindig. He’s a cookbook editor.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Josh, shaking Will’s hand.
Paige almost laughed, surprised she hadn’t recognized Will from their disastrous singles event. Will was a cute blond guy with glasses. “Nice to see you again.”
“Josh is Lauren’s brother, right?” Will asked.
“Yes, and he and Paige are now dating again, by the sounds of it.”
“Accurate,” said Paige.
The setup at the restaurant was that diners ordered food and drinks from one of a few different counters and then were given a buzzer that lit up when their food was ready. After ascertaining what Paige wanted, Josh got up to go order their food.
When Will left to pick up his and Evan’s food, Paige leaned over and said, “So that’s going well.”
“Yeah, so far, so good. He’s cute, he’s smart, and he’s a great home cook.”
“And you know this because you’ve been to his home?”
“Maybe. Also, his boss is this apparently famous, award-winning cookbook editor. Like, she was on an episode ofTop Chefas a judge. So he’s gotten to meet all these celebrity chefs. You’d be surprised which ones are cool and which ones are assholes.”
“I bet I wouldn’t.”
Evan laughed. “But, yeah, I like him, hence inviting him to meet my friends.”
“I’m happy for you, Ev.”
“And how are things with you and Josh, really? Did you talk to him?”
“Yes, just before we came over here.” Explaining all that she was feeling and everything they’d said too each other was too much in a loud restaurant, so she summed it up by saying, “We’re gonna give it a go.”
“Excellent. I was rooting for you kids.”
“Yeah?”
Evan shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic.”
As the sun set, Lauren banged a fork against Caleb’s beer glass and said, “Hey, guys, Caleb and I have some news, and since you’re all here, now is as good a time as any to tell you.”
