Page 73 of Reckless With the Rookie
I look through the microwave door at the rectangle of ground beef rotating on a thaw setting.“Eh.It’s getting there.”
My first mistake was trying to make brisket.It’s Magnus’s favorite, and I had visions of myself fielding compliments about how incredible my brisket is—people asking me how this could possibly have been my first time making it.
Instead, even Dong didn’t want any.I got impatient and turned up the heat because the internal temp had stalled out.When Suki FaceTimed her chef friend Harry, he said that’s probably what made it tough and dry.
Jules and Suki to the rescue.I know from Suki’s fondue party that she’s a born hostess.And my sister can do anything she puts her mind to.We searched the freezer for meat options and now we’re working on creating a taco bar.
“How’s the shredding going?”I ask Talia.
“Check out Mount Cheddar.I think this might be enough.”
I look over at the massive mound of cheese she shredded with the stand mixer, using an attachment.
“Wow.That’s a lot of cheese.”
“I’ll get it into serving bowls and start chopping onions.”
“The lettuce is done,” Lainey says.“And those bacon-wrapped shrimp are so good.”
“Thank you.”I give her a grateful look.“At least I didn’t screw everything up.Just the main course.”
Jules puts an arm around me.“Babe, it’s okay.Breathe.We can still order food.”
“I know, I just wanted to make all of Magnus’s favorite foods, and now we’re having tacos and Swedish meatballs, which is like ...obviously not a great combo.”
“It’s a perfect combo.”Magnus walks into the kitchen and comes straight to me, taking my face in his hands and kissing me.“You love tacos and I love Swedish meatballs, and this is our party.”
I nod and mouth “Thank you.”
“How are Mara and Leo doing?”Talia asks.
“They’re good,” Suki says.“Their manny is coming from nine at night ’til five in the morning so they can sleep.”
Mara delivered their son, Grayson John Abbott, almost a week ago.He has brown hair and looks exactly like Leo, who is the proudest father ever.
“She wanted to come today, but they’re being careful about exposing the baby to lots of people so he doesn’t get sick.”
“That’s smart,” I say.“We completely understand.”
“The taco shells are here,” Magnus says, looking at the notification on his phone.
We ordered a few groceries for delivery because we had enough meat and cheese, but nowhere near enough taco shells, taco sauce, and sour cream for twenty-seven people.
I check the pot of Swedish meatballs on the stove, making sure they don’t burn while keeping them warm.
Eli brings Hallie into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator, his Crush jersey with Magnus’s name and number on the back making my heart squeeze.
“Do you like apple juice?”he asks her.
“Sure.”
“I’ll get you some.You can use my cup.”
Jules and I exchange a look.Eli doesn’t share his purple plastic cup from a trip we took to Cedar Point amusement park.He was mad at Coop for two days because Coop touched it.
When I check the ground beef, it’s finally thawed enough to cook.
“I’m glad we got a keg,” Jules says, walking back into the kitchen from the basement.“The guys are really liking it.And it’s good we put down the tarp, because Isaac’s chugging it like a frat boy on a Friday night.”
