Page 9 of Firecracker

Arden smiled, but seemed a little bemused by the people who’d invaded her kitchen as they all filled plates with food and moved to her small dining table.

“I don’t have any napkins,” Arden said apologetically.

“No worries! We got some.” Mila pulled paper napkins out of a bag and handed them around.

“You don’t want that butter, do you?” Mila asked Jamie, reaching for his plate.

Jamie pretended to stab her hand with his fork. “Yes, I do.”

Tyler handed over a small container of whipped butter. “Here you go, butterball.”

“I love butter,” Mila confessed to Arden. “I probably shouldn’t have it, but thank you, Tyler.”

“You don’tlooklike someone who likes butter,” Arden said.

“She eats like a goddamn elephant,” Jamie said. “And yet still looks like a stickman.”

“Stickman! Seriously?” Mila scowled at Jamie.

Tyler ignored their insults. “Who wants to go to the beach today? I feel like some beach volleyball.”

“Sure,” Mila said. “It’s a nice day. I’ll need to shave my legs.”

“Thanks for sharing that.” Jamie shook his head and forked up more waffle. “Yeah, the beach sounds great.”

“Arden?” Tyler looked at her, trying to make his expression friendly and casual. “You want to come?”

She stared back at him for a moment, and he wondered what was wrong. Did he have bacon in his teeth? She nodded slowly. “Okay.” Then she gave her head a shake and looked down at her plate.

“Hey, let me text Olivia and book a cabana at the Beach Ball Café.” Jamie pulled out his phone.

“You’ll never get a cabana at this short notice,” Mila said.

“Pfft.” Jamie bent his head as he texted.

Tyler’s own phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. “Norton.” He made a face. “Should I invite him?”

His cousin Norton was close to their age, a couple of years younger, and hung out with them sometimes. He was a good guy, but easiest to handle in small doses.

“Sure, invite him,” Mila said easily. “Arden’s going to have to meet him some time.”

“I apologize in advance, Arden,” he said as he tapped in a text message. “He has a good heart.”

Arden laughed. “Ooookay.”

“And I’ll see what Garth is doing.” Mila turned to Arden. “Garth’s my boyfriend.”

“Got a cabana,” Jamie announced triumphantly a moment later.

“That’s so cool!” Arden looked more animated than she had all morning.

“Norton will meet us there,” Tyler added.

“Perfect. Let’s clean up this mess and get going.”

“It’s okay—” Arden started.

“Hell no, we invaded your apartment and made the mess, so we’ll help clean it up.” Jamie began picking up dishes.

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