Jon put his arm around Laura. “She’s sort of into football.”
“More than sort of. I’m kind of a stats whiz, so if you’d like to know your tackles, assists, sacks or interceptions, I can quote any of those statistics for you for any year you’ve played.”
Flynn arched a brow. “Really.”
“Yeah, really,” Jon said. “She’s really annoying about it.”
Laura looked over at her husband. “Really brilliant, you mean.”
Jon nodded, then slid a glance at Flynn. “Yes, brilliant. That’s what I meant.”
Flynn grinned. He could see the connection between these two. It was cute.
“So I’ve attempted to make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner,” Laura said. “I will say up front that I am not a cook, and by not a cook I mean not anything close to the cuisine you’re used to from Amelia. I mean I make basic stuff.”
“I like basic stuff,” Flynn said. “And thank you for inviting me over for dinner.”
“She also lies,” Amelia said, smiling at her friend. “She’s a very good cook.”
Laura shrugged. “If you like home-style food. Or the stuff that comes from cans.”
Jon rubbed her back. “But you can give us CPR if one of us collapses. Or first aid if we fall down the stairs.”
“Amelia told me you’re a nurse,” Flynn said, “which is so much more important than spaghetti and meatballs. Now I know who to call next time I get an ankle sprain.”
Laura let out a snort. “I believe you already have a highly skilled and likely overpaid medical team to take care of those things for you.”
“Then they monitor me and I can’t play. Wouldn’t it be easier for you to ice it and wrap it for me so I can sneak an injury past the team docs?”
Laura laid her hand on her chest and feigned shock. “What? You’d lie to your medical team in order to get game time?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Laura turned to her husband. “I’m sorry, Jon, but I’m leaving you for Flynn. You know how I feel about football.”
Jon gave a resigned nod. “I knew this would happen. I’ve already packed.”
Amelia laughed. So did Flynn.
They moved into the dining room and they all helped Laura serve up the salad and the spaghetti, along with amazing homemade bread, despite Laura’s protests that her meal was nothing but average fare.
“What did you use in the meatballs, Laura?” Amelia asked as they ate.
“Veal, beef and pork. I told you, just basic stuff.”
Flynn could have eaten all the meatballs, but he had to be polite and share. “I don’t know what you consider average stuff, Laura, but these are damn fine meatballs. I’d serve them at Ninety-Two.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
So did Amelia, who said, “I’m thinking of stealing your recipe and serving them at the restaurant.”
Laura looked from Flynn to Amelia. “Now you’re both trying to make me feel better.”
Jon had taken a sip of wine and laid his glass down. “Accept the compliment babe. They’re right. This is exceptional.”
Laura beamed a smile. “Thank you. All of you. I might actually start cooking.”
“Don’t tease me, woman,” Jon said.
Laura laughed. “Oh, shut up.”
After dinner, they had coffee and a buttery cake that Laura said she’d picked up at the bakery.
“I would have liked to make dessert myself, but I pulled a double shift and couldn’t manage it.”
“The dinner was amazing, Laura,” Flynn said as he accepted a piece of the cake. “I appreciate you making dinner. I’m sure finding any spare time to cook is tough with the hours you work. Amelia said they’re somewhat erratic.”
She shrugged. “We don’t have kids yet, and Jon has similar crazy hours, so right now I don’t mind doing the erratic times. At some point we’ll start a family and I’ll have earned the right to work more stable shifts.”
“What do you do, Jon?” Flynn asked.
“I’m a software engineer, so I have the luxury of making a lot of my own hours. Which means when she works, I work.”
Flynn nodded. “Sounds like an ideal situation for both of you.”
“It works for now,” Laura said. “I’m starting to feel the burnout of all the hours, so probably within the next year I’ll be ready to start popping out some babies.”
“Really?” Amelia grinned. “I’m ready for that, too.”
Laura grinned. “To pop out babies of your own?”
“Ha. No. To cuddle your babies.”
“Oh. But wouldn’t it be fun if we had babies together?”
“That would be great, but my timeline isn’t the same as yours.”
“It could be.” Laura shot a pointed look to Flynn.
“Don’t look at me. I mean, I like you and all, Laura, but I’m not having any babies in the next year.”
Jon snorted out a laugh.
“Oh, you’re no fun at all, Flynn Cassidy,” Laura said.
He grinned.
“So I guess that means I’m back in the running as baby daddy?” Jon asked Laura.
Laura sighed. “I suppose. And you are supremely hot and tall and exceptionally smart. I suppose your genetics will work for me.”
Jon smiled at her. “Nice of you to say.”