“Always,” I promise, glancing toward Paige. She’s standing a few feet back, watching us with that careful half-smile that makes my chest feel uncomfortably tight.
Jason looks between us, suspicion and amusement mixed in his expression. “Good. Because if she tells me you’ve been a pain in the ass, I’m putting your head through the bar’s jukebox.”
I chuckle, slipping my keys into the lock. “It’s digital, Jase. You’d just be buying me a new tablet.”
He smirks. “Fine. I’ll find something else to break over your head.”
Paige finally moves closer, her voice soft. “Come on, guys. I’m really getting hungry. Let’s go get that breakfast, huh?”
Jason’s face brightens like he’s just had the greatest idea of the morning. “You know what? We should just eat here,” he says, nodding toward the dark interior of the Pint like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re open, right?”
I open my mouth, already prepared to shut that down with a quick explanation—Lilly’s not here, the kitchen isn’t prepped, the griddle’s still colder than the beer taps. But before I can get a word out, the universe conspires against me.
There she is. Lilly. Strolling down the sidewalk behind them with her sweater zipped up against the chill of the morning, hands deep in her pockets, knit beanie pulled low. She’s whistling. Whistling.
Jason spots her too. “Right on time,” he says with a grin, clapping me on the shoulder hard enough to rock me a step sideways.
I glance toward Paige. She’s trying not to look at me, but her arm brushes mine as she moves closer to the door. Gwen gives me a squeeze as she passes. Donovan offers a nod.
“Yeah,” I say, forcing a grin that doesn’t quite reach my eyes. “Sure. Come on in. Sit wherever.”
The door swings open, and they file in. Paige hesitates just inside, scanning the dim room. I can’t tell if the twist in my chest is dread or something else entirely.
Jason strides past her toward a booth. “We’ll take this one,” he calls over his shoulder.
Lilly comes in behind me, nods at the Richards family and heads right back to the kitchen to get it started up. She knows Jason as he hangs out here often. Gwen and Don have come in for dinner many times over the years, but Paige is pretty much unknown, having been gone the past few years.
Jason leans back against the seat, grinning. “Man, this is perfect. I haven’t had breakfast here in a while.”
I roll my eyes, heading for the bar to grab menus. “That’s because you’re in bed until noon, you bum.”
“Lies,” he says, holding a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Sometimes I’m up by eleven-thirty.”
Gwen laughs and slides into the booth beside Donovan, settling in. “It’s nice to be in here before it’s full. Usually, we have to wait for a table.”
“You know you never have to wait here, Gwen. Just give me a call or text before you come, and I’ll boot someone’s ass out,” I say, setting the menus down. My eyes flick toward Paige without meaning to. The booth is a U-shape for families, so she’s in the seat across from Ben, next to Jason.
Her gaze is down, but I catch the way her fingers toy with the corner of the laminated page.
“Coffee all around?” I ask, forcing my tone into neutral territory.
Jason nods for the table, but Gwen leans forward. “Are you guys going to have those big cinnamon rolls? You know, the ones that are gooey and soft and covered in icing?”
I shake my head, real regret in my voice. “Sorry, not anymore. Brent used to make them, and he moved out of town a couple weeks back. He was the one who made those from scratch. Nobody else in the kitchen’s managed to replicate them.”
Gwen’s face falls just a little, but she recovers with a warm smile. “That’s a shame. Those were my favorite.”
Jason slaps Paige on the shoulder, causing her to send him a steely look. “Luckily, a bakery is opening up next door, huh? Would you look at that? Brent leaves, and my sister comes back to town. Could it be any more perfect?”
Paige shoots him a look sharp enough to cut glass, but Jason just grins wider, clearly enjoying himself.
“Hey, that is perfect,” Don cuts in. “Paige does make really good cinnamon rolls. We just had to turn to alternatives when she left for school.”
Paige rolls her eyes. “I didn’t abandon you, drama queen. I was in school. It was like two hours away, Dad.”
Donovan smirks, and it’s so much like Jason’s that it stops Ben short for a moment. “Two hours might as well have been the other side of the country for how often we saw you.”
Jason grins. “Well, she’s back now, and apparently right next door to my favorite watering hole.”
