Page 29 of The Lineman

“High school science,” Elliot said. “She’s scary smart.”

I grinned. “You’re already trying to set me up with your sister? Bold move for a first date.”

Elliot chuckled, shaking his head. “No chance. She’d eat you alive, a hell of a lot faster than those kids you talk about.”

I snorted. “Noted.”

He grabbed another slice and sat back, eyeing me thoughtfully. “What about your family?”

I exhaled. “Ah, the dreaded turn of conversation.”

Elliot raised an eyebrow. “What, bad relationship with your family?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” I said quickly. “I love them. They’re just . . . a lot.”

Elliot smirked. “Define a lot.”

“Well,” I said. “I have two older sisters. Both are brilliant and terrifying in equal measure. My mother is a human hurricane of energy and unsolicited advice, and my dad is a quiet man who has mastered the art of nodding and staying out of the chaos.”

Elliot chuckled. “Sounds like you grew up in a sitcom.”

“Basically.” I sighed. “Family dinners were like a verbalHunger Games. If you didn’t speak fast, you didn’t speak at all, and you might not eat, either.”

Elliot shook his head, clearly amused. “I’d pay money to see you at one of those dinners.”

I pointed at him with my pizza slice. “Oh, no. You’d get eaten alive.”

“I’d hold my own.”

“Oh? You good at quick-fire family combat?”

He shrugged, washing down his pizza with the last of his wine. I reached across and refilled his glass. “I got Matty, Sisi, and Omar. They keep me on my toes. Think of them as Family Interrogation Training.”

I perked up. There it was. The perfect opening.

I wiped my hands on a napkin and stretched an arm over the back of the sofa, almost enough to touch his arm with my fingertips. “All right. Tell me about them.”

Elliot gave me a look, like he knew I was digging but wasn’t mad about it.

“Well,” he said, leaning back, “Matty is . . . a force of nature.”

I grinned. “Go on.”

Elliot smirked. “He’s dramatic. Loud. Overly invested in my personal life.”

“Sounds like my sisters,” I said, nodding.

“Probably. He also has expensive taste and no sense of volume control.”

“I love him already.”

Elliot set his plate atop the boxes. I wasn’t sure if he was finished or giving himself a break before another round. “Sisi is the queen of brutal honesty.”

“Oh, I need one of those in my life.”

Elliot chuckled. “Yeah. She’s blunt, hilarious, and terrifying in the best way.”

“And Omar?”

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