“Is Henry friends with Dexter?” Kate asked.
“They’re pretty good friends. Why?”
“Maybe we can invite him to come over, too.”
Seriously? Last night it had been glaringly obvious that Kate was flirting with Henry, and it was just as clear he was flirting back. And that was okay. She could handle that. But Dexter, too? No way.
“I don’t know...”
“Oh, come on. I can tell you’re totally into him.”
“I’m not...I mean, how...” If her dumb crush was obvious to Kate, did that mean everyone knew? Even Dexter? Casey felt her face heat up.
Kate rolled her eyes. “Yes, you are. And the feeling’s mutual. He likes you, too.”
“He does? I thought...I mean, he spends more time talking to you than me.”
“That’s because boys are clueless about this stuff, but this’ll be fun. You and Dexter, me and Henry. Not to mention your mom and my dad. What’s the worst that can happen?”
Casey couldn’t begin to imagine anything worse than her mom’s reaction if she found out about this crazy plan. But as she looked into the little dog’s big dark eyes, she knew she had to go for it. Petey was worth it. And hanging out with Dex was totally worth it.
“Okay. This is going to work. I know it.” Kate grinned and held up her hand for a high five, and Petey barked excitedly when they slapped their palms together.
This better work, Casey thought, because if their plan backfired, her mom was going to kill her.
JON WAS AT the kitchen island arranging pizza toppings on plates when the doorbell rang.
“Kate?”
“Got it, Dad.”
A moment later, Sarah and Casey followed her into the kitchen.
He looked up and caught Sarah’s smile as she and her daughter set bottles of cola on the counter.
“Thank you,” he said. “Kate, would you put those in the fridge, please?”
“Sure. What kind of pizzas are you making?”
“One is vegetarian,” he assured her. “Tomatoes, peppers and artichokes.”
“Mmm, my favorite.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sarah asked.
“Thanks, but everything’s ready. I just have to roll out the dough and then we can get them ready to go in the oven. Can I get you something to drink?”
“I can do that. Just point me in the direction of the glasses.”
“Thanks. They’re in the cupboard over the dishwasher, and there’s ice in the freezer.”
Casey looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Princess?”
“She’s sleeping in my room,” Kate said.
Jon cut the pizza dough into four portions and centered one of them on a floured board. “I hear you got a dog this afternoon,” Jon said.
Sarah set four glasses on the counter. “We did not ‘get’ a dog. We are dog-sitting for a few days.”
Undaunted, Casey launched into an animated description of Petey, how he was the cutest, smartest dog in the world, how he needed to find a forever home. While he listened to the girls chatter about pets, he watched Sarah pour drinks for everyone.
Earlier he’d seen her come home from work in one of those elegant business suits she always wore. Now wearing slender-legged jeans with cuffs rolled above the ankle, yellow-and-blue flower-patterned espadrilles, and a sweater the color of butter, she looked fresh and youthful, too young to be the mom of a teenager. She handed glasses to the girls and smiled at him as she set one on the island counter close to where he worked.
“Thanks,” he said, picking it up, raising it toward her.
“You’re welcome.” She lightly touched her glass to his, ice clinking.
The girls giggled. To his chagrin, he realized their laughter was directed at him and Sarah. If Sarah noticed, she didn’t let on. He set his glass back on the counter and, head down, went to work on the pizzas. He knew Sarah was watching as he rolled and fitted rounds of dough to the pans, brushed them with olive oil, spread them with sauce, layered on the toppings. He heaped both pies with generous handfuls of grated cheese and was sliding two of them into the oven when someone’s phone let out a wolf whistle.
“That’s me,” Casey said, digging her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “It’s a text from Henry. Oh, cool. Some of the kids from school are coming over to his place around seven o’clock. He wants to know if we can go over.” She gave her mom a hopeful look. “Can we? I haven’t seen him all summer and this’ll be so much fun.”
“Can we, Dad?” Kate chimed in.
He and Sarah exchanged a look. “I’m okay with it,” he said. “As long as you’re home by nine.”