Page 72 of The Broken Heart Playlist
I draw myself up straight. “Of course.”
“And this is what it looks like?” He gestures around the kitchen.
I’m assuming his gesture encompasses the vegetable platter and the fruit in the fridge. “Yes.” My brow furrows. “What’s the problem?”
He drums his fingers on the countertop and glances down at Lisset, who’s sitting on a bar stool and watching the exchange with wide eyes.
“Is this really what your mom does for movie snacks?” he asks her.
She nods sadly, milking it.
His gaze returns to me. “Kate, movie nights are for junk food and indulging.”
I point triumphantly to the oven. “That’s why I have pizzas cooking away in there.”
Gideon and Lisset exchange a look I can’t decipher. I’m starting to feel the odd one out here.
“What?” I ask.
He unzips his bag. “I’m about to introduce you to movie night essentials.”
Lisset, seeming to sense that change is on the horizon and looking like she’s all for it, leans forward eagerly in her chair.
Gideon starts pulling out popcorn, chips, Smarties, pretzels, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and chocolate raisins from the bag and laying them out on the counter. “These are movie snacks.”
I gape at him. “These are a hyperglycemic trip to the hospital.”
He tut-tuts. “Only if they’re part of your regular diet. Right now, they’re treats for a special occasion. My first movie night at your house.”
“It’s looking to be your last one with the way this is going,” I mutter under my breath.
Gideon, however, simply grins at me, unfazed.
When he starts ripping open packets, Lisset jumps into her role of willing accomplice and yanks open cupboards to locate bowls for him.
I end up going along with the both of them, because the playful energy in the air is too contagious to resist.
I draw the line, though, when Gideon empties a box of Smarties into his bowl of popcorn.
I grimace. “That’s so disrespectful to the popcorn.”
“Savory and sweet. Don’t knock it ’til you try it,” he says with a gleam in his eye, scooping a handful of the disgusting mix into his mouth.
It takes us fifteen minutes to choose a movie. We eventually settle onJumanjiand Lisset and Gideon make themselves comfortable on the three-seater couch.
I set up my ironing board in the space to the left of the couch.
Gideon frowns over at me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m ironing.”
Lisset speaks around her mouthful of popcorn. “Mom always irons when we watch TV.”
“Nuh-uh.” Gideon points to the couch cushion next to Lisset. “Sit. Watch the movie.”
“I am watching the movie.”
“You’re ironing.”
