he made his way back to his workspace and resumed…whatever he’d been doing all morning.
I settled back into my planning, feeling better about being friendly. Maybe it would make this internship more bearable.
Chapter Thirteen
D R E W
As Sophia and I moved around her kitchen, I couldn’t help but think how in sync our movements were. We skated around each other, gathering plates, utensils, and food as if we’d choreographed it. It made me insanely happy to have these small domestic moments with her, even though thinking about how much I liked it made me feel a bit like a sap.
It was Friday, and everyone was kind of run down from internships, jobs, and life. So we’d decided to invite everyone to hang out in the courtyard of our apartment complex, grill some food, and enjoy one of the fire pits. Taylor and Aamee were already downstairs guarding the grill and mixing cocktails. Sophia and I were putting the finishing touches on the food before everyone else showed up.
I was thrilled to have the night off so I could hang out with everyone. Since I’d been put in charge of the deck, Sean had started paying me as a manager, which meant I could pull back from bartending. I still planned to keep Saturdays until the deck actually opened because every extra dollar helped, but I’d been more than happy to give up Fridays.
Which reminded me… “I talked to Sean about your ideas today.”
Sophia looked up from where she was chopping fruit to give me a small smile. “And?”
“He was into it. He basically just wants to make money, and he’s fine with whatever as long as I think it’ll help us do that.”
“That’s awesome,” she said as she dumped the fruit into a bowl. “I thought he’d be resistant to giving it its own name.”
“No, he took that surprisingly well. Waiting a few more weeks to open was a harder sell since he wanted us to launch Memorial Day weekend.”
Sophia stopped bustling around the kitchen and looked at me with a scrunched-up face that made her look cuter than anyone had a right to look. Her dark wavy hair framed her round, tan face perfectly, her green eyes sparkling against the darker contrast. What the hell someone so gorgeous was doing with me, I wasn’t sure, but I was damn thankful.
“How would you ever be ready to open by next weekend?”
“We wouldn’t, but I think Sean was hoping for a miracle. He was bummed, but he also understood how important a grand opening would be.”
Sophia smiled brightly and stepped into me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I love how much faith he has in you. You deserve to have him be in your corner like that.”
I hugged her back, allowing myself to soak up her unwavering support. It felt damn good.
After a moment, we pulled away.
“We better get the rest of this stuff downstairs,” I said.
“Yeah. I’m surprised they haven’t come looking for us yet.”
We packed the food into coolers—thankfully Sophia had ones with wheels—for easy transport and carted it downstairs. When we got to the courtyard, I saw Brody and Carter trying to light the grill while Veronica was sitting at a table chatting with Taylor.
When Sophia had insisted Brody invite his fake wife, I wasn’t sure she’d actually come, but there she was, casually dressed, her dark hair piled under a wide-brimmed hat. She looked comfortable in her skin, which was a feat since Aamee seemed to be resolutely ignoring her presence.
“Food!” Carter bellowed across the courtyard when he caught sight of us. “Gimmee.”
Sophia rolled her eyes fondly as we arrived at the table the girls had claimed and began unpacking the food.
Carter wasted no time grabbing a plate and piling fruit and pasta salad onto it.
“Do you have a single manner?” Sophia asked him, arms akimbo.
He pretended to think for a minute before saying “No” and resuming eating.
“Boys,” Sophia said with a sigh before smiling at Veronica. “Hey, Vee. Glad you could make it.”
Veronica returned the smile. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Absolutely. Mi courtyard e su courtyard.”
I leaned in and pressed a kiss to Sophia’s cheek. “I love when you speak bad Spanish.”
“Well then, you better stick around. There’s a lot more where that came from.”
I felt a buzzing in my pocket, so I pulled away and checked my phone. “Xander’s on his way,” I said as I put the phone away again.
“Awesome,” Carter said. “I didn’t even know he was still around.”
“I didn’t either. Aniyah texted