“It’s no trouble, really,” Austin says. He turns to me. “Your dad and Gage have outdone themselves on the menu. The appetizers that the waiters are passing around are…” He kisses the tips of his fingers.
“Be sure to tell them that when you get the chance. It’s necessary to feed their massive chef egos,” I tease.
Declan glances at my earrings. “Gorgeous. You made those, right? Austin said you make jewelry.”
“Yeah, just earrings though,” I say.
Theo frowns. “What do you mean ‘just’? Maya, those are incredible.”
My heart thuds in my chest. He sounds so proud of me.
“We’ve all been trying to get her to start an online earring business,” Austin says.
“Why haven’t you?” Declan asks.
I feel my face start to heat. I shrug. “It’s a lot of work. And there are a ton of jewelry lines out there. I probably wouldn’t do that well.”
“Don’t say that,” Theo says. “Tons of people would love them, I bet. And if they didn’t, I’d buy them all.”
My heart literally skips in my chest. How is he this perfect?
“That is ridiculously sweet, Theo,” Austin says. Declan nods in agreement.
I bite back a smile as I look at Theo.
Just then some relatives pull Declan and Austin into a nearby conversation. A waiter passes by with a tray of shrimp toast. Theo and I grab some.
“Oh my god,” I moan at the burst of flavors on my tongue. Fatty, salty, rich, and herby.
“Whoa…” Theo says before flagging down the server and grabbing a few more.
He hands me one. I chuckle as he stuffs his face.
“What?” he says with his mouth full as he smiles.
We grab some sesame chicken bites when a different server walks by. Another server offers us some champagne and Theo swipes two flutes. He hands one to me.
“To Declan and Austin,” he says, clinking his glass to mine. “And your dad and brother’s amazing cooking skills. Good god, this food is incredible.”
I laugh. “Cheers.”
We take a sip together before I start pointing out family to him.
“Just so you know, everyone’s gonna come up to you and hug you. That’s the default greeting in my family. Sorry in advance.”
Theo laughs. “It’s all good. I’m good with hugs.”
Just then Millie and her husband Peter walk in with baby Evelyn in a carrier. I wave them over and we hug. I crouch down and say hi to baby Evelyn. I give her chubby cheeks a gentle squeeze.
“Oh my gosh, look at this chunky monkey,” I coo.
Millie and Peter laugh.
“She’s outgrown all her onesies already,” Peter says.
We fawn over Evelyn’s cuteness for a few minutes until Tyler walks in with our mom.
“Mom, look at you. Gorgeous!” I hug her and we do our usual air kiss that we always do when we’re both wearing makeup.
