Page 28 of Patio Lanterns

“Heya, Robbie. Good to see ya.”

Time had done the man no disservice. Tall, tanned, and broad-shouldered, this version of Aidan was still the teenage dream he used to be, albeit a little more filled out and his bleach-blonde hair dimmed to sandy brown. He still had that cocky, movie-star swagger, maturing into more of a Glen Powell type than the Cole Sprouse he used to be.

“Robbie?” Aidan repeated, removing his sunglasses and tucking them into his shirt pocket.

Robin hurtled back to reality. “Oh, hey...” She snapped her fingers, pretending not to be able to place the face. “It’s… uh, Aidan, right?”

He stepped inside, and his low laugh rumbled into her chest. “Duh, of course it’s me, silly. You look great.”

Beaming, she threw back her shoulders. “You too.”

“Bestie! You made it!” Lark elbowed Robin out of the way like she wasn’t even there, jumping into Aidan’s arms and climbing him like a koala.

“Are you kidding me, Bestie? I missed you so much.”

“Oh, me too,” she said, clinging tight until he set her down on the floor again.

“All right, Lark,” Robin said, rolling her eyes. “Let the poor guy in already.”

“Oh, right,” Lark said, laughing as she pried herself out of Aidan’s arms. “It’s just so good to see you. It feels like it’s been forever.”

“Years, even,” Aidan added, his eyebrows shifting as he mentally calculated the time that had passed. “But you look exactly the same, and a ray of sunshine as always.”

Lark blushed. “Aw, Bestie.”

Dove came downstairs and waved. “Hey, Aidan.”

He waved back. “Hey, Dove. How are ya? God, this is so surreal, right? Like old times again.”

Lark grabbed Aidan by the hand and hauled him over to the stove to show him what she had on the menu—some kind of pasta dish and a Panzanella salad. She popped a cherry tomato in her mouth and he did the same. Before Robin knew it, they were chatting and laughing and lost in their own little world.

“Just like old times,” Robin echoed, feeling utterly invisible as she faded into the background. She looked over at Dove, who tilted her head and shrugged.

“Uh, Aidan?” Dove called out. “Is your father still joining us? We thought he was coming with you.”

“Yeah, he should be here any minute,” he called back, momentarily pulling his attention away from Lark. “I offered to pick him up, but he said he’d make his own way over.”

“Can I offer you a beer, Aidan?” Robin asked casually, even though she was the one who could really use the drink.

“Actually,” Lark said with a twinkle. “I made up a pitcher of Caesars.”

“You didn’t!” Aidan cackled. “I can’t believe you remembered.”

Robin rolled her eyes. “Remembered what?”

“One time, me and your sister were over at Capsized, and there was a new bartender working there…”

“Billy Joe,” Lark interrupted.

“Right, Billy Joe. He swore to us that he made the best Caesars on the planet because his

uncle invented them back in 1969 or something,” he said, snickering. “So naturally, we ordered a couple of Billy Joe’s famous Caesars.”

Lark squawked with laughter. “Do you remember his face… when we told him…”

“…you can’t make Caesars with tomato juice!” Aidan guffawed. “All along, he’d actually been making Bloody Marys!”

Oh my God. Now they’re finishing each other’s sentences. Robin bristled. “Guess you just had to be there.”

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