Page 53 of Make It Last

When my phone buzzed with another text, I started to feel popular.

Tanner: Ah. Foster cat. Great. I love cats. I’ll knock and wait for the all-clear before I come in.

I hearted his reply. I wanted to say more, so much more. I looked at Growly. “If Tanner wants to kiss me again, don’t mess it up, okay?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Tanner

This town knows everything

When I stopped to pick up pizza, I was minding my own damn business, waiting at the counter, when I heard my name. I glanced back to see Nate, Beck, and Griffin walking in.

“Oh hey, guys,” I said, thinking nothing of it.

Willow Brook wasn’t exactly a booming metropolis, and this was easily the most popular pizza spot in town.

“Hey, hey,” Beck said as he stopped beside me, nudging me lightly with his shoulder.

Griffin chuckled. “Beck likes the body-check greeting.”

Beck rolled his eyes, just as the kid behind the counter called my name and handed over two pizzas. That earned me a collective side-eye.

Griffin narrowed his gaze. Nate tilted his head in quiet question but didn’t say anything. Beck, of course, immediately asked, “Why are you getting two pizzas?”

“Because I like pizza.”

“Nah,” Beck said, just as Nate added, “It’s for Ava.”

I blinked. “How the hell do you know?”

Nate shrugged. “Holly told me. She said Josie dropped off the foster cat, and she saw her at the gas station.”

“Josie delivered the cat?”

“Yeah. Said Ava fessed up you were bringing pizza over. I’m sure she appreciates it because she’s kinda stuck there. Holly said a break like that’s a major pain in the ass,” Nate said.

“You gotta be really careful,” Beck added. “Mess it up, and you’ll never walk the same. On another note, though, it seems like you like Ava.”

I looked between my friends—fellow firefighters and relentless meddlers—and shook my head. “I’m just taking her some pizza.”

Griffin raised his brows. “You rescued her and all, so might as well make it official.”

“Make what official?”

“Dude,” Beck said. “It is time for you to move on.”

“Move on? What are you even talking about?” I glanced among my friends, who, right about now, were starting to annoy me.

Joey, the high schooler working behind the counter, chimed in. “He’s not wrong.”

“Joey,” I muttered, turning to pay for the pizzas, “I’m not taking life advice from you.”

Joey just rolled his eyes. “You should. You’ve been single since Laney left town. What were you, like, twenty?”

My gaze rotated between my friends, all curiously eyeing me. “I’m taking Ava pizza. That’s all.”

Griffin lifted a shoulder in a slow shrug. “You could be nice, in more ways than one.”