Page 23 of The Charade

I climbed out of Carter's truck, my math notebook in tow, and followed him into the restaurant.

8

Ava

Carter heldthe door open so I could walk in first—a surprisingly thoughtful gesture from such a self-absorbed guy—and when I stepped inside, I was met with the most interesting mishmash of decorations I'd ever seen.

A miniature version of Michelangelo'sDavidstatue stood beside a bench in the waiting area. But this wasn't just any regularDavidstatue. No, this one was wearing a sombrero on its head, and covering his nether regions were swim trunks with little Mexican flags.

What the heck?

I pulled my gaze from the strangely decorated figurine to find that in another corner, there was anotherDavidreplica—only this one wore a colorful fiesta serape and had a black mustache attached above his lip. And sitting on the sling over his shoulder was a plate with a wood-fired pizza.

I furrowed my brow and looked up at Carter. "So…it's an ItalianandMexican restaurant?"

"It's a diamond in the rough, for sure," he said, amusement in his expression.

A middle-aged waitress with dark hair, wearing a completely normal polo shirt and jeans, noticed we'd come into the restaurant. When she saw Carter, a huge smile lifted her cheeks.

"Carter Hastings." She held her arms open to the tall boy beside me. "I was wondering when I'd see you again."

"Hi Rosa," Carter said, rolling the "r" in her name, with a rare smile on his face as he bent over to hug the petite woman. "It's good to see you, too."

They held each other for a moment before Rosa stepped away. "Did you grow over the summer?" she asked, looking Carter up and down. "You're getting so tall these days."

"Maybe another inch." Carter shrugged his broad shoulders, seeming more at ease with this woman than I'd ever seen him since meeting him yesterday. "But then again, it's not too hard to be taller than you." He shot Rosa a teasing smile.

"Some of us only need to grow so much until we reach perfection,cariño." She patted his arm. "Apparently, it's just taking you longer than most."

"Hopefully, I'll make it there before too long." Carter laughed, a deep relaxed sound that surprised me. Then, as if he’d just remembered me, he said, "This is Ava, by the way. She and her sister just started at my school today."

"So nice to meet you, Ava." Rosa gave me a smile, her dark brown eyes warm. "Welcome to Eden Falls."

"Thanks," I said. "It's nice to be here."

"Well, since I know you probably have classes to get back to," Rosa said, grabbing two menus from the hostess's podium. "Let me get you seated so you're not late."

She showed us to a booth in a corner with a painting of a Tuscan landscape on the wall beside it. The tabletop was lined with Mexican tiles, but the salt and pepper shakers were in the shape of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I couldn't help but smile when I took in the eclectic decor. If the food was good here, this might just be the coolest restaurant I'd ever been to.

After setting the homemade menus in front of us, Rosa asked, "Would you like me to start you off with something to drink?"

"Just water for me," Carter said.

"I'll take a Dr. Pepper," I said.

"Great, I'll be right back with those."

After Rosa left, I took the time to glance over the menu. And sure enough, when I turned through the pages, I found that there was a full lineup of Italian-style dishes on the first two pages, and then Mexican cuisine on the last two.

"When you asked if I liked Italian or Mexican food," I said. "I thought you were planning to narrow the options down." I glanced around the room again. "I didn't expectthis."

"They don't have places like this where you're from?" Carter raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently, we're a lot more boring in central New York."

"Eden Falls definitely has its own special charm," Carter said.

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