Page 121 of Break Away
“I was unbearable before. Now I have purpose.” Cade’s gaze shifted toward my family crossing the lot. “Be careful with Bliss, be careful with yourself, and sit with the fact that wanting to hate Aura didn’t stop you from looking like I punched you when I said nobody picked her.”
I opened my mouth, but Mom called my name before I could answer.
Cade stepped back, the conversation over because family had arrived and the public version of us needed to exist again. Mom took one look between us, then at Cade’s face, then mine.
“Whatever this is,” she said, “save it until after waffles.”
Cade straightened slightly. “Yes, ma’am.”
Mom looked him over. “Handsome, polite, and clearly involved in nonsense before breakfast. Dangerous combination.”
Cade’s mouth twitched. “I’ll try to be less obvious.”
“Don’t bother. Men are terrible at subtlety.”
Skylar slipped past us with her phone in hand. “Is there a booth, or are we loitering in the parking lot?”
Vivi looked at the Waffle House sign, then at me. “The letters are bright. I need the booth away from the window glare.”
“Got it,” I said, grateful for something I could actually fix.
Inside, Briggs saw us and rose like he had been waiting for a royal procession. “Easton’s family!” he announced, then caught himself and lowered his volume so abruptly the entire restaurant seemed to tilt. “Respectfully and at a reasonable morning decibel, welcome.”
Vivi looked at him for a second. “That was quieter.”
Briggs nodded solemnly. “I have range.”
Skylar walked past him with her phone in hand. “You give golden retriever energy.”
“Is that an insult?”
“It’s a brand identity.”
Briggs considered that. “I accept.”
Rider stood and nodded toward Mom. “Morning.”
Mom looked him over. “You’re the calm one.”
He smiled faintly. “Sometimes.”
“Good. Every group of idiots needs a witness.”
Ryan lifted his coffee. “I’ve been saying that for years.”
“And yet you keep standing near them,” Mom said.
Ryan’s mouth twitched. “Character flaw.”
Bliss slid out of the booth before I could say anything and hugged Mom like they had known each other for years instead of meeting at the game the night before. Mom hugged her right back, one hand smoothing down Bliss’s hair in that automatic way she had with people who looked like they had been through too much and still showed up sweet.
Cade watched with a softness he would have denied under oath.
Vivi chose a booth after inspecting the window glare, the distance from the speaker above the counter, and the location of the syrup dispenser. Skylar took the outer seat beside Rider and immediately asked whether he actually liked his hair that length or if hockey players had a legal requirement to look like they had unresolved feelings.
Rider treated the question like it deserved serious consideration, which meant Skylar decided he was still the cool one and Briggs would spend the entire meal trying to recover.
Breakfast was chaos in a way that should have made my headache worse and somehow didn’t.
